Itt-Ott, 2001 (34. évfolyam, 1/135-2/136. szám)
2001 / 1. (135.) szám
mortalizes a great hero. The statue is also a memorial to the pioneers of this great state of Iowa. Very few Hungarians made it to here, to the county named after this great Hungarian. But quite a few of the followers of Kossuth settled in the south of your state, in Decatur County and established a settlement they named New Buda, after the historic capital city of Hungary. In 1915 a book was published on the history of Decatur county, with a chapter "About New Buda and the Hungarians". It starts with a fair summary of Kossuth's life. "The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was one of many ferments of the kind that affected all of Europe at that time. Before this there were ties binding Austria and Hungary into one political family, and the revolution was Hungary's hunger for freedom. The two figures that stand out in the limelight of that time were Louis Kossuth, the provisional president of the Hungarian Republic, and Görgey, the man of genius in the field of war. Kossuth was the orator, in some respect, without rival in all history. In a state prison, with but meager material, he familiarized himself in the use of our English speech, to such extent that he held English and American audiences spellbound. So great a judge as Ralph Waldo Emerson declared that a part of his Birmingham speech reached the highest rung of oratory. His American tour was an ovation, and, brilliant as it was, failed to satisfy the fiery Magyars. He wanted armed intervention in the affairs of Hungary and felt piqued that there was no prospect of armies forthcoming. He was irreconcilable to the last, found an asylum at Turin and never returned to the home of his youth." The settlement, with its center called Kossuth Square, on the banks of the River Thomson, near today's Davis City, did not last long. The settlers were highly educated, but not in the art of farming. Their idea was to attract many Hungarian exiles and to create a "Little Hungary", a venter to keep the language and the spirit so as to be able to help the cause of the freedom of Hungary from there. It was not a realistic scheme and only a handful of Hungarians remained there. Those who did, became successful and respected citizens and some of their descendants are still to be found in the town of Leon. There is no trace of New Buda and the Hungarian settlers of the 1850s in Iowa today. But let this statue be a reminder of the heroic struggle of Hungary in 1848/49, of its great leader, of his impact on contemporary Americans, which induced them to name this county after him. Also let this be a memorial to all Hungarians who escaped from tyranny or from poverty to the United States in the succeeding decades. A few made it to Iowa, where they contributed to the success story of America. Today there are close to two million Americans who claim at least a partial Hungarian origin. In addition to them millions of Hungarians looked up to the United States for inspiration and support in their drive for freedom and independence in the last two centuries. That was a particularly strong feeling in 1956, during our Revolution against Soviet domination, and also at the end of the 1980s, when Hungary, together with Poland, initiated the spectacular political changes that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and of almost all the Communist dominoes. Governor Kossuth, Kossuth Apánk, as we call you in Hungary! You dreamed about an independent Hungary allied to the United States of America. Your program, your will has been realized. □□□ ÁRPÁDHONI (LOUISIANA) HAGYOMÁNYNAK ÖREGEK ÜNNEPLÉSE Papp László (New Canaan, CT) Bika Julianna (New Orleans, LA) Thank you for preserving your Hungarian heritage! Ezzel az angol nyelvű felirattal várták a környék 75 éven felüli magyarjait a Louisiana állambeli Árpádhon Kulturális Egyesület tagjai. Az 1896-ban alakult Árpádhon magyar településre északi államokból: ohiói és pennsylvaniai favágók, bányászok jöttek a Charles Brakenridge fűrésztelepre dolgozni, annak reményében, hogy a kivágott fák helyére eperföldeket telepíthetnek. Brakenridge szállást és jó hitel lehetőséget ígért. Bruskay Gyula, Zboray Tivadar és Mocsáry Adám volt az első három telepes, akik buzdították északi társaikat is az olcsó déli föld megszerzésének lehetőségével. Hiszen zsigereikben élt a föld szeretete és a magyarok kaptak az alkalmon, amely megszabadította őket a ITT-OTT 34. évf. (2001), 1. (135.) SZÁM 43
