Bethlen Naptár, 1958 (Ligonier)
Highlights in Hungarian Life…
240 BETHLEN NAPTÁR HISTORY OF CANADIAN HUNGARIANS AND REFORMED CHURCH LIFE THERE Most Hungarians entered Canada after the beginning of this century. The largest previous migration took place near the end of the 19th century. The first gr°uP arrived from the U. S. A. and entered Saskatchewan as homesteaders. Under the most miserable conditions they began life in the new land. Soon afterward colonization societies were formed with the aid of the Canadian government. These also settled largely in the Western provinces. By the First World War there were nearly 30,000 Hungarians in Canada. In time old settlers and newcomers selected the eastern provinces. The miserable consequences of the First War in Hungary led thousands to emigrate and by 1940 there were about 60,000 Hungarians in Canada. The third category includes the so called DP’s, who left after the Second War and the subsequent Russian occupation of Hungary. The fourth large group entered Canada as a result of the October revolution of 1956. Canada then admitted 34,000 Hungarians, making the total number more the 110,000. The first organizations entered into by the Hungarians were religious in nature. It took long years to successfully organize churches and societies able to be self-supporting. In accordance with its proportion to the total population, the Canadian Hungarian people are first among the nationality groups. It is politically unorganized because of many factors. Many attempts were made to organize but without any serious results. Complete lack of confidence makes any such efforts hopeless. This lack of organization has kept Hungarians in Canada from ever uniting and as a result severely limited their influence in local and national issues. The Canadian Hungarian Federation has appeared in various forms in times past and has never been able to succeed in achieving any form of unity. Much good work was accomplished by patriotic societies and church groups, but once again the lack of unity precluded any large scale of success. There are churches of the major faiths practically everywhere that Hungarians are resident in large numbers. Reformed Church work began in the early 1900’s in Western Canada. The ordinary people looked to the Church with yearning souls. Their first pastor, Rev. John Kovach, went to Canada from Pittsburgh in 1901 and began his labor at Otthon in Saskatchewan. He organized many congregations but his unexpected death put an end to the work for many years. The first pastor at Bekevar, the Canadian Debrecen, was Rev. Kalman Kovacsy who was suceeded by Rev. John Kovács from Debrecen. Our people entered two major Canadian denomiantions, the United Church and the Presbyterian Church and carry on their work with the aid of these denominational bodies. In Western Canada the following ministers served in Presbyterian work: Bela Bucsin, John Apostol, Frank Kovács, Charles Kovács, Dr. Jenő Molnár and Andrew
