By Thia James

Veselka rainbow sign honours Ukrainian pioneers

Jun 14, 2015 | 4:48 PM

For 10 years, there was a rainbow in Ernest Adamko’s wheat field.

In 2004, his bid to construct a sign for the Prince Albert and District’s Ukrainian Culture and Heritage Association was successful. A metalworker by trade, Adamko constructed the sign with the help of his sons, which was meant to be an accent piece to the Ukrainian Pioneer Monument that was erected at the South Hill Cemetery.

On Sunday, it was finally unveiled at the cemetery in a dedication ceremony, where it was blessed.

“Thank God it’s out of my yard,” he said, and those in attendance broke out in broke out into laughter. “I’ve been cutting grass around it. The boys were using it as a … bike riding thing (ramp). It was sitting there, it was patient.”

The day was an emotional one for Adamko, 78, who fought back tears as he spoke at the end of the dedication. His sons Doug and Brad could not be present, as they now run the family business in Saskatoon and Regina.

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He said his sons would be proud. They had worked to install the sign on Friday, just in time for the dedication.

“This is a landmark forever with Ukrainian-culture people,” Adamko said of the sign.

The Veselka sign was created by Adamko, but is the vision of Ben Hladun.

Hladun, the architect is also a member of the association’s board. He said when the topic of the sign came up, the board looked at him to design it.

“It was a challenge trying to create a rainbow of a size that wasn’t too big and kind of out of the way from the monument,” Hladun said. He used five colours in the design instead of seven, in order to limit the size.

After Adamko’s bid to construct the sign was successful, the process to erect the sign behind the monument stalled in city council – for a decade. The council of the day rejected the proposal, and then it languished at City Hall.

The sign was built with funds from the association, and with nowhere to go, found a home for a decade in Adamko’s field.

Members of the association approached Coun. Don Cody, who Hladun described as the main “instigator” to resume the process to have the sign installed.

In 2014, the council of present day reversed course and approved the sign’s installation. But the side facing the cemetery was painted spruce green to blend in with the foliage, instead of rainbow colours. Council didn’t want the rainbow colours on the side of the sign facing the cemetery.

The sign turned out quite well, Hladun said. “And it was also big enough to catch the eyes of the tourists passing on the highway just nearby here.”

Now, all that is left to do is landscaping work around the sign.

The sign and the monument are located in front of the Ukrainian section of the cemetery, he pointed out. The granite monument was created and located at the southeast corner of the cemetery in 2000. It is inscribed with words dedicated to the pioneers, in both Ukrainian and English.

For the association’s vice-president, Patricia Holuk, the sign’s installation and dedication were a long time coming.

“What it means to me is, like the rainbow is a symbol of God’s promise to us. After a rainstorm, we have a beautiful rainbow, to say ‘this is my promise to you, the rain is over now, I’ve given you this rainbow.’”

The symbolism, however coincidental, of the dedication taking place on a rainy day was not lost on Holuk.

“What better symbol to have?”

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames