As a child, Stacey Zembrzycki listened to her baba's stories about Sudbury's small but polarized Ukrainian community and about what it was like growing up ethnic during the Depression. According to Baba discloses with honesty and respect what happened when Stacey tried to capture the community's experiences through oral history research. Baba looms large in the narrative, wrestling authority in the interview process away from her granddaughter and then eventually coming to share it. Together, the two women lay the groundwork not only for an insightful and deeply personal social history of Sudbury's Ukrainian community but also for truly collaborative oral history research and writing.

Independent-minded, Corneliu Baba (1906-1997) developed a personal realism that was very different from the stereotypes of Socialist Realism. His themes, some of which are close to the official party lines, show profound originality. He was influenced by expressionism, which became the main characteristic of his painting. His work also reveals other sources of inspiration. The mystery that suffuses his work is similar to that of Byzantine icons. The intense light and shadow of the Flemish masters adds contrast to his dark warm colors. Baba's life mirrors this unsettled century, but his paintings remain timeless. His reputation which is well established from the Danube to the Yang-Tse-Kiang, has yet to be fully appreciated in the Western World.

On the authors personal contact and experience with the Hindu spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba, b. 1926.