Hungarian Heritage Review, 1987 (16. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1987-02-01 / 2. szám
IWk efo of ®t}t 3Honth== THE SOPRON CHRONICLE — by — SOPRON ALUMNI OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Rákóczi Foundation, Inc. 1986 204 pages $30.00 OPRON FORESTRY FACULTYof, UNIVERSITYofBRITISH COLUMBIA*® CLASS GRADUATING Vancouoer ron The SOPRON CHRONICLE is an interesting and unique saga in the everlengthening list of tales of the quest for freedom. In this case the story deals with the trials and tribulations of some 20 professors and their 200 students — the core of the Sopron School of Forestry — as they sought to reestablish their institution in Canada after leaving Hungary during 1956. The Sopron School of Forestry had its origin in the School of Forestry of Selmec, the town in upper Hungary which was one of the centers of the nation’s thriving mining industry. The Forestry School was set up in 1809 and continued as an equal, sister institute to the School of Mining. Over the course of years the Forestry School of Selmec rose to become one of Europe’s outstanding institutions devoted to the study of forestry. Between 1809 and 1867 a total of 4,260 students were enrolled there. The school continued to prosper until 1918, when, as a result of the post-World War One negotiations Selmec became part of Czechoslovakia; in March of 1919 the school was transferred to Sopron. The SOPRON CHRONICLE details the adventure of the group of faculty and students of the School of Forestry who, in 1956, emigrated to Canada. For it was here, as part of the University of British Columbia that this Hungarian transplant became known as the "Sopron Division." A large part of this account is told by Dean Kalman J. Roller, who was elected to the position of the Dean of the Forestry School at Sopron in 1954. And it was Dean Roller who headed the "Sopron Division" in Vancouver until its demise in 1961. After the close of the School. Dean Roller joined the Canadian Forestry Service, bringing his considerable talents to bear here. Dean Roller has a respected, world-wide reputation in his discipline, strengthened by the publication of over one hundred scientific reports and publications. While he was one of many participants in the Sopron saga, it was Dean Roller’s dedication and dynamism that made his the driving force in this extraordinary history. To order write to: RÁKÓCZI FOUNDATION, INC. P.O. Box 67, Station “L” Toronto, Ontario, Canada MÍ6E-4Y4 FEBRUARY 1987 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW 9
