We pronounce our name Hla-doon with the accent on the second syllable. Also, both the H and the L are pronounced together (it just takes practice).
I believe that I have been in contact previously with Richard from NY state and sent him the following history of our branch of the Hladun family, but I thought I would post it for other people's use. It was written by my father, Paul Hladun, in Canora SK.
History:
Expressed to us by those who came to Canada, it would seem that there were many Hladuns in the village of Wysla in the Ukraine. Wysla was a village near the city of Tarnopol but its precise location can not be spotted on the maps which we have.
Ancestry has been traced to Joseph Hladun who as a youth moved from the village or town of Wysla to the village of Yabluniw (also near Tarnopol) in the province Hoosatin (Austria, Russia, Poland). He apparently tended to horses for some lord or priest somewhat like a vet. He settled in Yabluniw. He had a son, Nickolas, and two daughters, Nellie and Paraska.
Nickolas married Annie Schab and they had six children: Stephen, George, John, Dmetro, Mary, and Peter. His other marriages produced a daughter, Yawdoxa, and a son, Michael. He passed away in the Ukraine in 1937.
Stephen Hladun (1889-1944) was the first of the family to come to Canada. At the age of 15 he came to Canada with his uncle Anton Schab to his brother's place (Dmetro Schab). Later he married Paraskevia Diduch and they had eight children: Peter, Anton, Nellie, Peter, Paul, Ann, Katherine, and Michael. Anton and Ann are still living.
George Hladun (1890-1974) emigrated to Canada in 1907. He married Annie Sadiwnyk in 1920 and they had 12 children: Mary, Wasyl, Cassie, Ronald, Ernest, Fred, Walter, Alfred, Paul, Melvin, Harry, and David. All of his family are living.
John Hladun (1895-1967) came to Canada in 1913. He married Sadie (Oksana) Monich and they had three sons: Nick, Paul, and Steve. Nick and Paul are living in Canora, Saskatchewan. Steve has passed on.
Peter Hladun (1902-1992) emigrated to Canada in 1927. He remained single all his life.
The rest of Nickolas Hladun's family remained in the Ukraine. Word has been received that they have passed on with the probable exception of Nickolas' son Michael. There should be some descendants of those who remained in the Ukraine in the Tarnopol and Yabluniw area.