N.D. family celebrates centennial of Badlands ranch

The Basaraba family will observe and celebrate the sacrifices and hardships of their ancestors who started a ranch in the North Dakota Badlands 100 years ago. Roy Basaraba, 90, of Dickinson, is the patriarch of the family, being the sole surviving child of the Mike and Pearl Ewoniuk who immigrated from Ukraine. "We members of the Basaraba family salute our parents and grandparents and all the Ukrainian pioneers for their determination and fortitude," Roy said. "They bravely sailed the far oceans and boldly encountered the unknown, ultimately inhabiting the harsh expanses of the virgin steppes in North Dakota." Nearly 100 people are expected to attend the reunion. It starts at 1:30 p.m. Saturday with a memorial service at a grotto by the St. Joseph's Church cemetery at Gorham. The grotto was designed and financed by Roy and his wife, Ann. "I erected the memorial to my parents, Mike and Pearl, and to all the homesteaders," Roy said. The grotto is erected with local rock and was finished in 2015. Inside the grotto is a marble statue of Jesus of Mercy, with two kneelers at the side and a bronze commemorative marker that tells the history of the area.. "My mother wanted to erect a memorial at the same cemetery, but abandoned the idea," he said. "I didn't cut any corners-you don't put a price on a perpetual memorial like that." Members of the Mike Basaraba family are represented by the nine siblings-William, Josephine, Peter, Sam, Ben, Catherine, Steve, Roy and Elizabeth. All but two of Roy's nine children are coming, along with approximately 30 grandchildren and 13 or 14 great-grandchildren. After the grotto ceremony, they will travel by hay ride, visiting the homestead of Roy's grandparents, George and Dokia Basaraba. They will continue on the original trail to the ranch 10 miles north of the cemetery. The afternoon will be spent enjoying a barbecue cookout and reflecting on the past. The reunion will conclude Sunday with worship services.
Roy recounted how his grandparents emigrated from western Ukraine in 1902. The family excavated a dugout in a hillside and used thistles for a makeshift roof. The dugout was just northeast of the church. Mike was just 10 years old when he emigrated to North Dakota with his parents and siblings. Mike and Pearl Ewoniuk were married in 1911, and they homestead in Billings County. In 1916, they used their homestead property as collateral to purchase a section of land from the Northern Pacific Railroad Co. Here, the family enjoyed a two-room house, which was enlarged to accommodate the growing family. They endured the 1929 stock market crash and drought of the the 1930s. Taking advantage of the "New Deal," Mike received $1,400 for 90 head of livestock. He was left with five head of cows, which he wintered with five loads of thistles. The cows became the foundation stock for their herd of cattle, and he paid off the ranch loan in 1947-just three years before he died. Roy remembers attending country school, walking two miles one way through hay fields and creeks. "We had no running water in school, so two young boys would walk to a spring over a mile and carry the water on a stick, because we were too small to carry it by ourselves," he said. Roy remembers family life was steeped in Ukrainian traditions, especially on Christmas Eve and Easter. Roy and Ann went on to purchase the ranch property, living there until 2006, when they moved into Dickinson. "We need to respect and commemorate those ancestors to dared to immigrated from Ukraine to this country to make life better for all of us," Roy said. "I always worry my grandkids think this was like this all the time. I keep telling my kids and grandkids never to forget all those people who sacrificed so much."The Basaraba family will observe and celebrate the sacrifices and hardships of their ancestors who started a ranch in the North Dakota Badlands 100 years ago.Roy Basaraba, 90, of Dickinson, is the patriarch of the family, being the sole surviving child of the Mike and Pearl Ewoniuk who immigrated from Ukraine."We members of the Basaraba family salute our parents and grandparents and all the Ukrainian pioneers for their determination and fortitude," Roy said. "They bravely sailed the far oceans and boldly encountered the unknown, ultimately inhabiting the harsh expanses of the virgin steppes in North Dakota."Nearly 100 people are expected to attend the reunion. It starts at 1:30 p.m. Saturday with a memorial service at a grotto by the St. Joseph's Church cemetery at Gorham. The grotto was designed and financed by Roy and his wife, Ann."I erected the memorial to my parents, Mike and Pearl, and to all the homesteaders," Roy said.The grotto is erected with local rock and was finished in 2015. Inside the grotto is a marble statue of Jesus of Mercy, with two kneelers at the side and a bronze commemorative marker that tells the history of the area.."My mother wanted to erect a memorial at the same cemetery, but abandoned the idea," he said. "I didn't cut any corners-you don't put a price on a perpetual memorial like that."Members of the Mike Basaraba family are represented by the nine siblings-William, Josephine, Peter, Sam, Ben, Catherine, Steve, Roy and Elizabeth. All but two of Roy's nine children are coming, along with approximately 30 grandchildren and 13 or 14 great-grandchildren.After the grotto ceremony, they will travel by hay ride, visiting the homestead of Roy's grandparents, George and Dokia Basaraba. They will continue on the original trail to the ranch 10 miles north of the cemetery. The afternoon will be spent enjoying a barbecue cookout and reflecting on the past. The reunion will conclude Sunday with worship services.
Roy recounted how his grandparents emigrated from western Ukraine in 1902. The family excavated a dugout in a hillside and used thistles for a makeshift roof. The dugout was just northeast of the church. Mike was just 10 years old when he emigrated to North Dakota with his parents and siblings.Mike and Pearl Ewoniuk were married in 1911, and they homestead in Billings County. In 1916, they used their homestead property as collateral to purchase a section of land from the Northern Pacific Railroad Co. Here, the family enjoyed a two-room house, which was enlarged to accommodate the growing family. They endured the 1929 stock market crash and drought of the the 1930s. Taking advantage of the "New Deal," Mike received $1,400 for 90 head of livestock. He was left with five head of cows, which he wintered with five loads of thistles. The cows became the foundation stock for their herd of cattle, and he paid off the ranch loan in 1947-just three years before he died.Roy remembers attending country school, walking two miles one way through hay fields and creeks."We had no running water in school, so two young boys would walk to a spring over a mile and carry the water on a stick, because we were too small to carry it by ourselves," he said.Roy remembers family life was steeped in Ukrainian traditions, especially on Christmas Eve and Easter.Roy and Ann went on to purchase the ranch property, living there until 2006, when they moved into Dickinson."We need to respect and commemorate those ancestors to dared to immigrated from Ukraine to this country to make life better for all of us," Roy said. "I always worry my grandkids think this was like this all the time. I keep telling my kids and grandkids never to forget all those people who sacrificed so much."