Ridge Historical Society
The Connection Between the Ridge and Ukraine
By Carol Flynn
This Saturday, August 24th, is Ukrainian Independence Day.
Ukraine remains in the headlines as that independence continues to be threatened by Russia.
This post is a reminder that the Ridge has a historical connection to Ukraine, as well as a current one.
The historical connection comes through a prominent Ukrainian American family that lived on the Ridge.
Dr. Miroslaw and Bonnie Siemens (Sieminowycz, Sieminowich) owned and lived in the Givins Beverly Castle at 103rd St. and Longwood Drive from 1921 until the Beverly Unitarian Church bought the building in 1942.
At the time of Dr. Siemens’ death in 1967, at the age of 82, the family was living at 9559 S. Longwood Drive.
Dr. Siemens was born in 1885 in Ukraine and came to the USA in 1907. He graduated in 1913 from Bennett Medical College, affiliated with Loyola University.
He was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1914, and served in the U.S. military during World War I. He was a major, a regimental surgeon, with the 497th Field Artillery.
He then practiced at Roseland Community Hospital and kept an office in the Castle. He was also the physician for the Nickel Plate Railroad.
Dr. Siemens’ parents, Nicholas and Maria Magdalena Seiminowich, also lived in the Castle. Nicholas was a Ukrainian Catholic priest who rose to monsignor. In this rite, married men can be ordained priests.
Bonnie Veronica Barry Siemens, born in 1890, was Irish Catholic. They married in 1915 and had four children, Miroslaw, Jr., Roman, James, and Patricia.
Bonnie's mother Margaret Branan also lived with the family. Bonnie had tuberculosis and the grandparents did much of the childcare.
Dr. Siemens was very active and important in the Ukrainian American community. One notable achievement was to serve as the planner, fundraiser, and chair of the Ukrainian exhibit at the Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago in 1933-34. The exhibit showcased the country’s traditional arts and culture, including pysanky, the famous Ukrainian Easter eggs decorated using a wax-resist method. The tradition of decorating eggs, now associated with Easter, originated in Ukraine and the practice goes back thousands of years, predating the arrival of Christianity.
In 1939, Siemens was called to testify before the Special Committee on Un-American Activities of the U.S. House of Representatives because of a Ukrainian organization of which he was president. This was a precursor of “McCarthyism” when private citizens as well as public employees were investigated for “subversive activities” because of suspected communist ties. No charges were ever laid against Siemens’ group. The group dissolved in 1942.
Siemens was a benefactor of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Ukrainian Village on Chicago’s north side.
In the early 1950s he was instrumental in establishing the Ukrainian National Museum and served as honorary president.
Dr. Siemens has been called the “first ambassador for Ukraine in the U.S.” because of his efforts to preserve Ukrainian history and to help refugees from the country. Many dignitaries including the Crown Prince of Ukraine visited the family in the Castle.
The Siemens family is covered in "Chicago’s Only Castle – The History of Givins’ Irish Castle and Its Keepers" by Errol Magidson.
The Ridge community currently has two events going on that relate to Ukraine.
First, the book-signing for a new children’s picture story book, the “Plucky Ukrainian Sunflower,” created by local artist Judie Anderson and her daughter Karen Doornebos, will be on Ukrainian Independence Day, Saturday, August 24, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Bookie’s New and Used Books, 10324 S. Western Ave. Here is a link to an article on that event: https://www.beverlyreview.net/news/community_news/article_ce43cdba-598e-11ef-9490-3f76ccffd4b3.html
Second, the exhibit by Ukrainian artist Valeriia Tarasenko at the Beverly Arts Center, 2407 West 111th St., will continue through September 15th. Here is a link to an article on that event: https://www.beverlyreview.net/news/community_news/article_252dd3e2-4e94-11ef-9901-33b32ad93eb6.html