St. Mary’s, Kingston, Pennsylvania
In 1987, St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church celebrated its 100th year of existence. This church, located in Kingston, Pennsylvania (just outside of Wilkes-Barre, PA), was a second home to many Osturna immigrants. The following is a brief excerpt from St. Mary’s souvenir book commemorating its centennial (special thanks to Eli Homza for providing a copy):
"The Sub-Carpathian Ruthenians of Eastern Europe were Slavic in origin. They came from the northeastern regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire...The Ruthenians left their homes in the Carpathian Mountains to come to America in order to escape the poverty, discrimination and political oppression of their native land. The immigrants were not afraid of hard work...so they came to this area, to the coal mines, not much better than Europe, but with the hope that their children might experience the wealth and freedoms America had to offer. They learned that the streets were not paved with gold, but with sweat and toil...
St. Mary’s parish in Kingston is one of the oldest in our diocese and the second in the Metropolitan Province of the Byzantine Catholic church in the U.S.A. Approximately 40 families gathered together in 1887 under the leadership of Rev. Father John Wolanski for the purpose of building a church of the faith they brought with them ...
St. Mary’s Church is the mother church for four other Ruthenian Catholic parishes: Saints Peter & Paul (Ukrainian) Church in Plymouth (f. 1898), St. Nicholas (Subcarpathian) Church, Swoyersville (f. 1904), Saint Vladimir (Ukrainian) Church, Edwardsville (f. 1910); and Saint John Russian Orthodox Church, Edwardsville (f. 1910). Saint Mary’s (Subcarpathian) Church in Wilkes-Barre was founded and built soon after Saint Mary’s Church in Kingston."
Osturna families who attended (and in some cases, still attend) include: Homza, Figler, Smolenyak, Yasenchak (the 1987 book was dedicated to Mrs. Anna Yasenchak who had died at the age of 104 that year), Kovalcik (Kovalchik), Hudack (Hudak), Tusack (Tuzak), Drugach (Drugash, Drugotch), Harabin, Bednar, Kapral, Romanchak, Vanesko, and Zavatsky.