Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 2014 (26. évfolyam, 1-39. szám)
2014-03-28 / 13. szám
Passaic’s fiscal pinch forces American- Hungarian Museum from its home In a city that has been a historic gateway to immigrants, the American-Hungarian Museum in Passaic is about to close its doors, squeezed out of the Reid Memorial Library by a modern-day budget crunch. The museum, which has occupied most of the second floor of the library since the early 1980s, has until March 31 to pack up and move out. Strapped for cash, the Passaic Library Board of Trustees recently signed an agreement to lease space to the Passaic Board of Education. “The library right now is running in the red,” said library trustee Walter Porto. “So we were obligated to be creative.” Porta estimated this year’s deficit at _ „ , ,, , $98,000. To help close the gap, the library Emese Kerkav’ curator’ and her husband Laszl° at the in late January agreed to lease second-floor Amer,can Hungarian Museum that has been kicked out space at the Reid library and the basement of the Re,d L,brarv after 30 -vears at the Julius Forstmann Library across town on Gregory Avenue to the Passaic Board of Education for $71,000 a year. “We needed the money, and they needed the space,” Porto said. The sudden eviction caught the American-Hungarian Museum by surprise and left little time to find another location. Museum director Kalman Magyar said the collection of folk constumes, carved eggs, ornaments and lace is being packed up and sent into storage. “We don’t like it, but that is life,” Magyar said. “The city has been very good to us over the years.” Established in 1981, the American-Hungarian Museum paid the library $1 a year for rent, a cozy arrangement that was as much a tribute to the generations of Hungarian immigrants who came to Passaic in the 20th century. Fleeing oppression and tyranny in the homeland, Hungarians flooded the neighborhood along the Passaic River known as Lower Dundee, bumping up against other Eastern European groups, including Poles, Russians and Ukrainians. Passaic city historian Mark Auerbach said the immigrants were lured by the promise of jobs in the city’s factories and mills. “The mills needed skilled labor,” Auerbach said. “So the mills used to send agents over to Europe to recruit workers. They came because Passaic had employment, and it had the community.” Those mills are mostly gone now, and so is much of the Hungarian population, with many of those who remain living in Clifton and Garfield. The neighborhood around the Reid Library is now mainly Mexican. Magyar said the lease deal caught the museum somewhat by surprise. Volunteers have spent the past several weeks clearing out the display cases and taking various paintings and relics from the wall. Among the oddball items is a wild boar pelt — with its short, curled tusks — and an ornately decorated shepherd’s coat that looks to be 100 years old. “Everything is now in boxes and headed for storage,” Magyar said. The boxes hold bits and pieces of the cultural history of Hungarian people, dating to the collapse of the Roman Empire and including a goulash of ethnic influences. Centuries of conquest and conflict between Hungarians, Russians, Germans and Slavs has meant shifting alliances and borders. One volunteer, Lazio Kerkay of Garfield, was packing boxes on a recent afternoon. He stopped to look at an old map of Hungary. Kerkay noted that at one time or another, Croatia, Serbia, Czechoslovakia and Romania were all part of Hungary.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Now, we’re the only country that is ‘surrounded by itself,’ ” Kerkay said of life without the lost lands. The museum also tells the story of the Hungarian struggle for freedom and against Communism. Among the artifacts being stuffed into boxes are photographs and written accounts of the uprising against the Soviets in 1956 known as the Hungarian Revolution. One of the artifacts is a large leather coat, a drab and rather non-descript piece of clothing that would be no one’s idea of a fashion statement. But it said much more, and Kerkay knew what it meant. “It belonged to man named Julius Bikkal,” Kerkay explained. “He was a freedom fighter. And this is the coat that he was wearing when he escaped from Hungary into Austria.” Porto said the Board of Education will use the space at Reid library for offices and the basement at Forstmann Library for storage. A room on the second floor of the Reid Library that contains the city of Passaic’s historical archives will not be affected, Porto said. BY RICHARD COWEN northjersey.com John Dewes awarded Hungarian golden cross The director of global security at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River National Laboratory has been awarded the Golden Cross of Merit of the Republic of Hungary. The honor was bestowed on Director John Dewes and Igor Bolshinsky of Idaho National Laboratory by Hungarian President János Áder for their efforts to reduce the threat of terrorism by eliminating highly enriched uranium from the country of Hungary. It is that country’s highest civilian award. aikenstandard. com DUNA Travel 8530 Holloway Dr. #102 W. Hollywood, CA 90069 Spa, Hotel foglalások, Kocsi bérlés Kedvezményes repülőjegy árak Hajóutak bárhová á világon Hívják ZSUZSÁT TEL: (310) 652-5294 FAX: (310) 652-5287 1-888-532-0168 Ernst von Dohnányi’s piano and books going home- The Consul General of Hungary, Karoly Dan, visited Tallahassee as part of his nation’s effort to collect memorabilia of Hungarian native Dolmányi to display in one of the country’s national museums. Dohnányi, a world-famous pianist and composer in the first half of the 20th century, spent his last 11 years in Tallahassee, where he taught at Florida State University. The downtown home in which he lived is occupied by his grandson, Sean McGlynn, and his family. The house is still furnished with tons of Dohnányi’s belongings, from historic drawings and photos to personal letters, art, books and musical equipment, including the piano on which he finished his famous Second Symphony. Hungarian officials, who became aware of the treasure trove 15 years ago, contacted McGlynn last year to see if he would donate some of his grandfather’s memorabilia to Hungary. McGlynn, who had already given many books and papers to FSU, agreed. Two weeks ago, a pair of Dohnányi scholars from Hungary spent two days in Tallahassee cataloging the memorabilia. Tuesday, Dan, who is stationed in New York, visited Tallahassee to meet McGlynn and view some of the artifacts. The plan calls for creating a “Dohnányi room” at Hungary’s Institute for Musical History, a national museum and research center. The institute already features rooms in tribute to composers Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály, two of Dohnányi’s contemporaries, as well as to 19th century Hungarian composer, Franz Liszt. “For us, Dohnányi is one of the most important composers of the 20th century,” said Dan, who carries the title of ambassador. “We are trying to compile as much of his legacy as we can. He is still well known (in Hungary), his compositions are still played; he also was a legendary performer of his age.” Dohnányi, born in 1877, became an acclaimed performer and composer before World War I. He served as director of the national music academy, composed numerous symphonies, is the subject of more than a dozen biographies — including one by each of his three wives — and his music continues to be popular around the world. In 1949, Dohnányi moved with his third wife to Tallahassee to teach at FSU. They became American citizens in 1955 and he died in 1960. A music recital hall at FSU is named for him. In 1990, Hungary awarded him its highest civilian honor, the Kossuth Prize. In 2002, FSU held a symposium in his memory, which drew musicians from around the world. McGlynn, a water quality specialist, has plenty of Dohnányi material. The shelves of his home are lined with books collected by Dohnányi, including music books with his notes: “He was a textbook scribbler,” McGlynn said. McGlynn has his grandfather’s metronome and piano. He has a bust of one of his grandfather’s out-sized hands. McGlynn plans to have his family claim any items they wish. After that, he is willing to donate almost any of the materials to the Hungarian museum,. “I think he needs a place (in a museum),” McGlynn said. “These things are not particularly valuable except for the fact there were his.” Hungarian officials are still prioritizing the items they want and there is no timetable for creating the Dohnányi display in Hungary. But Dan said it should happen soon. Hungarian officials did ask to exhume Dohnányi’s body and transfer it to a grave in Budapest. But McGlynn has nixed that idea. Dohnányi and his wife are buried in Tallahassee’s Roselawn Cemetery. tallahassee.com Hungarian Far-Right Group Protests Against Fashion Designer A group of far-right extremists occupied the exhibition opening of a Hungarian fashion designer on Friday, Kettős Mérce blog reported. The designer in question Koby’s new fashion line was first withdrawn from a Hungarian sports brand shop in January 2014, after nationalist criticism rose against the t-shirt designs featuring some of Hungary’s historical figures such as Lajos Kossuth, a leader of the Hungarian revolution of 1848. Photos of Koby’s line of t-shirts can be found in a recent Funzine.hu article. The public debate about Hungary’s far-right groups and the far-right party Jobbik has become more tense as the 2014 elections approach, set for April 6. globalvoicesonline.org Bucharest Bans Hungarian Extremists Romania announced it has banned Hungary’s Gabor Vona, leader of the extremist Hungarian party Jobbik, from entering the country. Several other Hungarians will also be banned when a full list of names is issued this week. The decision follows a call by the President of Romania, Traian Basescu, for the Romanian parliament to act after Hungarians participated in a demonstration in Romania on March 10 that called for independence for Székely Land. This region was once Hungarian territory but became part of Romania in accordance with the 1920 Treaty of Trianon. The Hungarian Foreign Ministry issued a press release to state news agency MTI saying it will investigate the legality of the bans. The ministry said their legitimacy will be examined both in the context of Romanian law and of European Union fundamental rights and freedoms. Activists have been pushing a “United Hungary” campaign, which rejects the Treaty of Trianon that divided Hungary. Romania’s action today makes clear that it will not stand for such activity within its borders. xpatloop.com AMERICAN «* Hungarian Journal arm t 'it txnirwk -Március 28, 2014 |
