Tribute to Nick Verigin (1930 - 2015)

Nick Verigin was a close friend. We first met in the 1950s when I was editor/publisher of The Inquirer, for which he wrote 3 articles.

I visited him often, corresponded and phoned him. In 1977, I joined him on a fact-finding heritage tour of the Soviet Union, visiting the Doukhobor villages in the historic areas of the Caucasus. With him came his children Mark, Yvonne and Colleen.

In 2010 during my Tolstoy-Doukhobor speaking tour of the Kootenays, Nick was my host and contact. He drove me around and we spent lots of time together. I will miss him dearly.

In one of my presentations on Doukhobors, I brought with me a large round loaf of freshly baked bread to illustrate the symbol of bread, salt and water in meetings. As it was close to lunch, one boy raised his hand and asked if he could have a piece of bread to eat because he was hungry. I looked at Nick at the back and he smiled and nodded in approval. I said ‘Yes’ and gave the boy a piece of the bread which he then ate with pleasure.

Born at the beginning of the Big Depression years of the 1930s, as the second child of six children in the Doukhobor village of Bozhiye Milost' (God's Grace, Cowley district, southern Alberta), Nick worked on the farm when everything was done by horsepower and manpower. He was the first Doukhobor in his district to graduate from school.

By taking correspondence courses, night school and summer school in universities of Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Washington State, Nick Verigin obtained his BA and MA degrees in education. He taught four years in Alberta, 29 years in Pass Creek, BC and five years in Castlegar, for a total of 38 years. Nick was a teacher par excellence. His motto was to learn by doing. He excelled in mathematics, science and social studies. His curiosity infected many. One of his graduates is today a lawyer, another one is a professional hockey player.

From June 30 to July 28 of 1977, thirty Doukhobors from Canada went on a ‘Doukhobor History Tour of the Soviet Union’. This was one of over a dozen tours to the Soviet Union that were organized by the Doukhobors themselves, and a detailed account of the organization of this excursion reveals that various organizations and individuals contributed, the chief overall organizer of whom was a Doukhobor named Nick Verigin who was a high school principal in Pass Creek, British Columbia.(1)

As a person interested in Russian and Doukhobor history, language and culture, Nick travelled many times to Russia. He was a bridge-builder and peace maker. In his mission to learn, he wanted to see first hand the facts on the ground so as to gain a new perspective on the world. During the Cold War, he was not afraid to state that it was the Soviet Union that essentially stopped Hitler and the Nazi occupation of the world. As a teacher he shared his knowledge with his students as well as with the larger public.(1)

• In 1972, he was an 'informant' for F. Mark Mealing's PhD thesis: Our People's Way: a study in Doukhobor hymnody and folklife.
• On 3 May 2006, Nick spoke at the opening of the Doukhobor Village Museum explaining how his CCUB farm in Alberta exchanged horses and grain for BC vegetables, fruit and lumber.
• On 6 May 2006, Nick hosted me and Alexei M. Oslopov of Tbilisi, Georgia, during our Doukhobor Cultural Bridge-building Project, a road trip across Canada. Photo in 2nd row, center.
• In September 2006, I published Nick's note to correct news about former student Shawn Horcoff, Olympian and highest paid center for the Edmonton Oilers hockey team.
• In 2012, he was Director/Treasurer of the Pass Creek Community Hall Society.

Although Nick is not with us in life today, some of the wisdom that he wrote will be published soon in my eBook. In his contribution, Nick concludes with a passionate plea to humanity to become educated in nonviolent action at home and abroad:

My solution to the world’s problems is to start with ourselves. However, we have to receive a spark from somewhere. Today we see and hear mainly violence. There should be more programs, books and lectures on peace and goodness so that more people will become peace promoters.

Nick’s legacy to us is to become peace activists. ‘No to all wars! Yes to peace!’ he would say. Thank you, my friend for sharing that inner spirit of wisdom. Thank you.

As educator, Nick Verigin you have shown us the way. We miss you dearly.

Rest in peace, my dear friend. Rest in peace.

Nick Verigin, 84, of Castlegar, British Columbia died suddenly February 2nd from a heart attack. Funeral: Wednesday, 11 February 2015, 10 am., Brilliant Cultural Centre, Castlegar, BC. Burial: Pass Creek (Lugovoye) Doukhobor Cemetery.

Alex Ewashen reports: "Nick ... had a wonderful send off, many accolades, it was a well run service, 90-100 people stayed for lunch, but many went home when we went to the cemetery."

References

1. Marlin, Marguerite. "Building Global Civil Society Through Citizen Dipolomacy. A Case Study of Soviet-Canadian Doukhobor Correspondence": Terra Sebvs: Ancient History and Archaeology, Feb. 2010, page 603.
2. Tarasoff, Koozma J. Spirit Wrestlers: Doukhobor Pioneers' Strategies for Living (2002): 162-163.
3. Alberta map links to Doukhobor Genealogy Website.