Saturday, January 15, 2011

With a name like "Slobodzian," my Ukrainian roots run deep.
My grandparents on both sides were born in the Ukraine, and they all made the voyage to Philadelphia before the Great Depression. Their villages outside Kiev were usually referred to in our house as "the old country." 
As the writer of this blog, I can see how many people visit  "Momentary Joy" each day. Those "pageviews" are also broken down by country.
Most of my pageviews come from the United States, but I get a kick when I see a more exotic locale, like Suriname. (I confess I had to look up where in the world Suriname was.)
When I checked my pageviews this week I had a moment of blue-and-yellow joy when I saw this:
"Ukraine    1"
My first-ever visitor from the old country!
Welcome, and come back soon.

6 comments:

  1. I am a proud Ukrainian and a Slobodzian too, though my great-grandparents went through New York before settling in Chicago. It's good to find more Slobodzians out there!

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  2. Perhaps we're distant cousins ...
    Believe it or not, my one grandmother's maiden name was Victoria Slobodzian, and she married Victor Slobodzian. Victor/Victoria!

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  3. How cool is this ... ahhh, the internet (thank heavens Al Gore had the foresight to invent it). Now where the heck in Suriname.

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  4. I am from Brazil, my name is Fabiane Sloboda, but my grandfather was born in Kiev and his name was Hilco Slobodzian... when he came to Brazil, in 1913, he changed his name to Sloboda ( was easier to write). It´s so nice to know other Slobodzians around the world!! Maybe we are cousins!

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  5. From Kiev to Philadelphia to Brazil, Slobodzians get around.

    I was belatedly wandering through the comments and just saw yours.
    Thanks, Fabiane!

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  6. Hello
    My grandfather was Jozef Slobodzian from the area that used to Poland now Ukraine, he was born early 20s and died in early 80s. He had a sister called Jadwiga who lived in Wroclaw.
    Does anyone have any connections/information?
    please email at adams_hannah@hotmail.com

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