Bethlen Naptár, 1958 (Ligonier)
Highlights in Hungarian Life…
230 BETHLEN NAPTÁR Lincoln Brick and the late Thomas Madarassy, our former controller. Fifty years ago they were instrumental in securing our National Charter from Congress. The ceremonies were held in the beautiful new South Bend Church as well as the cemeteries, and were followed by a very well attended banquet. Our new Secretary, the Rev. Joseph Kecskemethy, was introduced to the Hungarians of Washington, D. C. during the Easter Holiday worship service when our hall was completely filled with people of the vicinity. On other occasions services were conducted by the Rev. Stephen Sziarto and the Rev. Michael Hogye, both residents of the National Capital. Our regular meetings for Districts were held at Cleveland, Ohio, on April 28; at Buffalo, New York on May 12; at South Norwalk, Connecticut, on June 2; and at Pittsburgh, Pa. on June 16th for our representatives. It is noteworthy that these meetings evinced such great interest and enthusiasm that we felt their continued growth was certain and we look forward to wonderful reports in our annual survey. We realized that the events of the Hungarian revolution of October had consequences which called for certain moral obligations to be assumed by us. We acted quickly to carry these out. The members of our Official Board and all our fellow workers aided the refugees wherever possible. They assumed voluntary and unpaid positions with the American Hungarian Federation as well as the Coordinated Hungarian Relief. We worked hard to finally obtain a building for the Federation in Washington. Its new headquarters was named for Colonel Michael Kovats, who fought in the Revolutionary War in America and died on the battlefield. Through our relief work thousands of needy folk in impoverished Hungary received clothing, food and drugs. Naturally we aided as many of the refugees to reach freedom as we could. The Board of Managers of our Bethlen Home elected the Very Rev. Alexander Daroczy to succeed the Rev. Joseph Kecskemethy who was elected to serve as Secretary. Because of this the First Vice Presidency became vacant. The Board elected one of its members, Géza Veszprémi, to this honor and elected the Rev. Arpad George, pastor from Chicago, to serve as a member. The reorganized Board held its first meeting in Washington from March 25 to 30 and passed many progressive resolutions. It is the responsibility of the new Superintendent to report about the Home’s progress. The Board of Managers, whose members include the President and Treasurer of the Federation as well as the Reverends Mathias Daroczy, Ferenc Nagy and Stephen Szőke who are delegated by the denominations, as well as the Superintendent and Overseer* of the Old Peoples’ Home, met regularly and completed its assignments thoroughly and plans the expansion of our Home’s sphere of activity. It is also worth mentioning to note that our official publication “Fraternity” has appeared in new format, in two languages. It has been received with gladness by its readers. The steady stream of visitors to our Headquarters building attests to its impact on the readership.
