Vita, Manitoba

Vita is a small community in Southeastern Manitoba settled by Ukrainian immigrants in the late 1890s. It is roughly 50 km by road from Steinbach, Manitoba (via PTH 12 and Manitoba Provincial Road 302) in the Rural Municipality of Stuartburn.

Vita has a multi-cultural population with residents from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, the largest being Ukrainian and Mennonite.

Bust of Taras Shevchenko in the foyer of "Shevchenko School" in Vita.

Vita is served by "Shevchenko School" (part of the Border Land School Division), built in 1970. It educates Kindergarten through Grade 12. From 1965 until 1991 the Ukrainian language was taught as an option at the elementary and secondary levels – parallel to the French language.

Businesses and services in Vita include, but are not limited to: a restaurant, fuel station, hospital, credit union with drive-thru ATM, post office, two grocery stores, an arena-curling rink, a liquor store, and a hotel-motel.

Vita is known for its large Canada Day celebration on July 1 of each year. The event generally includes a softball tournament, rodeo, beer gardens, and live entertainment. The night is capped off by a fireworks display. Other events include "socials" throughout the year and other events such as Halloween, Valentine's Day, and New Year's Eve

Vita was heavily damaged by a tornado in 1954 - the roof of the hospital was completely torn off.^{[citation needed]}

Ukrainian culture in Vita

Postmark from the original "Szewczenko" post office dated 1908; the office was renamed "Vita" in 1910.

The original name for the community – "Szewczenko" – was a Polish spelling of the surname of the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko. When the railway arrived in the district in 1910, the company decided that "Szewczenko" was both unpronounceable in English and too long to be put on train schedules – thus, "Szewczenko" was changed to "Vita".

Two traditional Ukrainian churches serve Vita: Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Church and St. Demetrius Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. There is also a Ukrainian "National Home"/community hall.

References

Sources

• Ewanchuk, Michael (1977). Vita : A Ukrainian Community. Books 1-3. Vita, Manitoba: Boundary School Division No. 16. 

• Marunchak, M. (1970). The Ukrainian Canadians: A History. Winnipeg, Manitoba & Ottawa.