Ukrainians arrived in Chicagoland in four distinct waves: 1900-1914, 1923-1939, 1948-1956, and 1990-2006. At the beginning of the 20th century, immigrants from Ukraine came to Chicago seeking work, and in 1905, a Ukrainian American religio-cultural community, now officially named Ukrainian Village, was formally established. Barely conscious of their ethnonational identity, Ukraine's early immigrants called themselves Rusyns (Ruthenians). Thanks to the socio-educational efforts of Eastern-rite Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox priests, some Rusyns began calling themselves Ukrainians, developing a distinct national identity in concert with their brethren in Ukraine.

Ukrainians arrived in Chicagoland in four distinct waves: 1900-1914, 1923-1939, 1948-1956, and 1990-2006. At the beginning of the 20th century, immigrants from Ukraine came to Chicago seeking work, and in 1905, a Ukrainian American religio-cultural community, now officially named Ukrainian Village, was formally established. Barely conscious of their ethnonational identity, Ukraine's early immigrants called themselves Rusyns (Ruthenians). Thanks to the socio-educational efforts of Eastern-rite Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox priests, some Rusyns began calling themselves Ukrainians, developing a distinct national identity in concert with their brethren in Ukraine.

Lesia and I is a progress report of the fifty-year marriage of Myron and Lesia Kuropas which produced two sons and six grandchildren, as well as a memoir of a Ukrainian-American whose varied career included working as a school principal in Chicago’s inner-city, a regional director of a federal agency in Chicago, a presidential special assistant in the White House, a legislative assistant in the U.S. Senate, and an adjunct professor at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. Dr. Kuropas reviews the major events in his fascinating life, his travels throughout the world, and his successes and failures in both his personal and professional life. Provided as background are historical sketches of the episodes that had a profound impact on Myron and Lesia’s life as well as the lives of their parents.