Joseph Marmash Papers

Joseph Marmash was an active member of the Baltimore, MD Ukrainian-American community over many decades. He was born to members of the first wave of Ukrainian immigrants to the US, and his involvement with the Ukrainian-American Citizens Club and other organizations and causes began in the 1930s. This collection documents some of these activities, as well as his extensive work helping to resettle Ukrainian Displaced Persons after World War II.

Summary Information

Creator Marmash, Joseph
Title Joseph Marmash Papers
ID g.14
Dates 1931-1982
Quantity 1 Linear Feet, 2 boxes
Languages Multiple languages
Languages English and Ukrainian
Repository Ukrainian History and Education Center Archives

Biographical / Historical

Joseph Marmash was very active in the Ukrainian-American community of Baltimore, Maryland, and helped post-World War II refugees as a member of the Maryland State Committee for the Resettlement of Displaced Persons. He was born in 1911 in Maryland to a Ukrainian immigrant family. After completion of the 10th grade he began work for the Montgomery Ward mail order distribution center in Baltimore, eventually holding positions of supervisor and industrial engineer. He continued to work for Montgomery Ward through his retirement in 1976, with the exeption of a brief wartime position as a draftsman with the Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding Company (1943-1945). His activities in the Ukrainian-American community included organizing the Ukrainian Youth Club in 1932, serving as president of the Ukrainian American Citizen's Club beginning in 1936, organizing and managing a Ukrainian-American softball team in 1937, and serving as president of Branch 320 of the Ukrainian National Association (1946-1952). In 1948 he was appointed by Maryland governor William Preston Lane as a representative to the Maryland State Committee for the Resettlement of Displaced Persons, and in 1949 he helped to organize and became the first president of the Baltimore branch of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.

Scope and Contents

This collection contains extensive documentation of the activities of the Ukrainian-American Citizens Club of Baltimore, MD and other Ukrainian-American organizations with which Joseph Marmash was involved. He also kept extremely detailed records of his work on behalf of the Maryland State Committee for the Resettlement of Displaced Persons. The latter contain a large amount of correspondence with numerous Ukrainian refugees either trying to resettle or that already resettled in Maryland, as well as with their employers. A significant fraction of the correspondence deals with complaints about poor living conditions, maltreatment and/or breach of contract by their employers.

Arrangement

Arranged in seven series as follows

  1. Maryland State Committee for the Resettlement of Displaced Persons
  2. Lemko Housing Corporation
  3. American-Ukrainian Democratic Club of Maryland
  4. All-Nations Day Festival
  5. Ukrainian Education Association of Maryland
  6. General papers and correspondence
  7. Photographs

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form: Identification of item, date (if known); Joseph Marmash Papers; box number; folder number; Ukrainian History and Education Center Archives, Somerset, New Jersey.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for researcher use. Please contact the archivist (archives@ukrhec.org) for more information and to make arrangements.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright restrictions may apply.

Custodial History

Bequethed by Joseph Marmash to his daughter Diana Marmash Carico, who donated these materials to the Ukrainian History and Education Center.

Processing Information

The records of the Ukrainian American Citizen's Club which were originally part of this collection have been separated out into their own collection (ID number g.23).

Controlled Access Headings

Organizations

  • United Ukrainian American Relief Committee
  • Ukrainian Congress Committee of America

Subjects

  • Refugees
  • Maryland--Baltimore
  • Refugees--Relocation

Genres

  • Business correspondence
  • Photographs
  • Ephemera

Related Archival Materials

The records of the United Ukrainian American Relief Committee for the immediate post-war time period can be found at the Immigration History Research Center (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities).

The records of the Ukrainian American Citizen's Club of Baltimore, Maryland (of which Joseph Marmash was a long-time president) can be found at the Ukrainian Historical and Educational Center Archives (collection g.23).

Container List

Series 1.  Maryland State Committee for the Resettlement of Displaced Persons, 1948-1976, bulk 1949.  
Correspondence and records

Scope and Contents

Contains incoming and outgoing correspondence with numerous Ukrainian refugees either trying to resettle or that were already in Maryland, as well as with their employers. A significant fraction of the correspondence deals with complaints about poor living conditions, maltreatment and/or breach of contract by their employers. Many of these letters have been summarized or paraphrased by J. Marmash into English. It also includes correspondence with Governor Lane and Governor Theodore McKeldin, D. L. B. Fringer (Director of Employment Services Division, MD Department of Employment Security), Committee chair William F. Laukaitis, Dr. Walter Gallan (Executive Director, United Ukrainian American Relief Committee), and others. Also contains copies of MD State Committee meeting minutes, records of the Ukrainian Relief Committee of Baltimore, J. Marmash's notes from investigative visits with resettled DPs and their employers, correspondence related to the "I Am an American" Day Parade (May 15, 1949), and DP arrival lists (containing names, ages, occupations, and destinations).

Processing Information

Material was originally housed in two folders and appeared to have been generally arranged chronologically by the creator, though there were some serious inconsistencies. Series is now arranged in chronological order, with undated items placed in roughly the same positions relative to the surrounding material in the original arrangement.

  
1948-March 1949.
  • box 1 folder 1
April-May 1949.
  • box 1 folder 2
June-December 1949.
  • box 1 folder 3
1950-1976.
  • box 1 folder 4
Index card file, Circa 1949.

Scope and Contents

Contains 3"x5" index cards, each having information about a single resettled DP family, including their names, ages, occupations, country of origin, sponsor's name, and date of arrival.
  • box 2
Series 2.  Lemko Housing Corporation, 1978-1982.

Scope and Contents

Records and other materials related to the Lemko Housing project, a subsidized housing development intended for Slavic senior citizens. It was initially to be built in the Canton neighborhood of Baltimore, but due to controversy and heated local opposition the site was eventually changed to an address in the Fell's Point neighborhood. Joseph Marmash was heavily involved with the project until his resignation from the board in August, 1981.

  
Records, 1978 - circa 1980.

Scope and Contents

Bylaws, Letter of Intent, and other miscellaneous records.
  • box 1 folder 5
Correspondence, 1978-1981.

Scope and Contents

Incoming and outgoing correspondence with Senators Paul Sarbanes and Charles Mathias, Representatives Clarence Long, Barbara Mikulski, and other members of the Maryland Congressional delegation, copies of Department of Housing and Urban Development filings, and a letter to the editor.
  • box 1 folder 6
Newspaper clippings, 1979-1982.

Scope and Contents

Clippings primarily from the News American and the Baltimore Sun that detail the controversies around the Lemko Housing project.
  • box 1 folder 7
Ephemera, circa 1980.

Scope and Contents

Brochures and application information for other subsidized housing projects. Newsletters from the Harkins Group construction company.
  • box 1 folder 8
Series 3.  American-Ukrainian Democratic Club of Maryland, 1960-1962.

Scope and Contents

Incoming and outgoing correspondence, including letters to Democratic political candidates informing them of the Club's endorsement, letters of congratulation, thank-you letter from Edward Garmatz, correspondence with Stephen Jarema regarding a national Ukrainian-American Democratic organization, and congressional district maps.
  • box 1 folder 9
Series 4.  All-Nations Day Festival, 1949-1974 (bulk 1953-1954).

Scope and Contents

Correspondence and ephemera related to the "All-Nations Day Festival" at Gwynn Oak Park. Also includes a photograph of the event in 1949, as well as one from an unknown event in 1974.
  • box 1 folder 10
Series 5.  Ukrainian Education Association of Maryland, 1973-1981.

Scope and Contents

The Ukrainian Education Association of MD was responsible for the publication of the book "The Ukrainians of Maryland" (1977). This series contains meeting minutes and photocopied publications of the Association on various topics, as well as material related to the sale of the book to school libraries.
  • box 1 folder 11
Series 6.  General papers and correspondence  
Correspondence, 1950-1964 (bulk 1951-1952).

File Plan

Originally contained a letter to Governor T. McKlendin which has been moved to the Maryland State Committee series.

Scope and Contents

Incoming and outgoing corresponcence regarding matters related to the Ukrainian-American community, as well as correspondence in his official capacities in the Ukrainian-American Citizen's Club, the Ukrainian National Home and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA). Includes invitations to dignitaries to Ukrainian-American events (and their responses), invitations to participate in events from government officials and other organizations, correspondence with Julian Revay (UCCA), Dmytro Halychyn (UCCA and Ukrainian National Association), and what appears to be an undated draft of a speech.
  • box 1 folder 12
UCCA address list, 1979.

Scope and Contents

List of addresses and phone numbers of individuals who were either members of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, or who were on that organization's mailing list.
  • box 1 folder 13
Writings, 1978 and undated.

Scope and Contents

Biographical statement and photocopies of two essays: "The Ukrainian American Citizens Club & Ukrainian National Home" and "Ukrainian Schools in Maryland".
  • box 1 folder 14
Newspaper clippings, 1973-1981.

Processing Information

Since most contain no annotation by the creator of the collection, only the beginning of each article (as well as the newspaper name and issue number) has been photocopied onto acid-free paper.

Scope and Contents

Clippings of articles on Ukrainian-related topics in English from Ukrainian-American newspapers (The Weekly, The Way), as well as from general circulation papers like The Baltimore Sun.
  • box 1 folder 15
Ephemera, 1951-1979.

Scope and Contents

Posters, flyers, leaflets, concert program, song lyrics, and other miscellaneous material. Also includes the "Constitution of the Ukrainian Students Society of Baltimore, Maryland".
  • box 1 folder 16
Series 7.  Photographs, 1931-circa 1985, bulk 1931- 1953.
  • oversize 1
  • box 1 folder 17