Magyar Egyház, 2004 (83. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2004-07-01 / 3. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 9. oldal Hungarian happy to pass on his heritage His friends call him ”Gus”, and he’s got a lot of friends, not only among the Hungarian community, but in other venues, as well. He’s a man for all seasons, a writer, a scholar - and above all - a proud Hungarian. He’s also called professor, the title he’s had in his academic career, which included a period from 1959 to 1968 when he taught Hungarian studies at Rutgers University. He’s also an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ. He’s August J. Molnár of New Brunswick, the executive officer and president of the American Hungarian Foundation since its founding year in 1955 - with the exception of two years. The foundation is a cultural and educational entity that houses the Hungarian Heritage Center, 300 Somerset St., New Brunswick. The center opened on May 21, 1969, after years of planning and fund raising. It includes a museum, a visitors’ center, a gift and craft shop, conference and research facilities and a library with more than 60,000 volumes that is affiliated with Rutgers University. Its archives document the history and contributions of Hungarians to American life since Colonial days. It was built at the site of the former Potter Needle Factory for $3 million. While raising the $3 million, Molnár and Stevan Dohanos, the late artist and president of the board, made a pregame presentation in 1965 at Rutgers Stadium when the New York Jets were meeting the Buffolo Bills. They presented athletic recognition awards to Jets quarterback Joe Namath and Pete Gogalak, kicker for the Bills. Both are Hungarians and both agreed to help with the fund drive. Later in the ‘70s, Molnár succeeded in convincing the two Hungarian owner of the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York to use the restaurant as part of a fund-raising activity. Molnár even reached out to ’’The General,” Robert Wood Johnson of Johnson & Johnson. Johnson, whom Molnár described as “growing up” with Hungarians who worked at the plant, was enthusiastic about the proposal and suggested that the architect mix some Hungarian theme in his plans. In fact, the architect, László Papp, included a courtyard in his design, which Molnár says has a Hungarian flavor. Since the Heritage Center’s opening, more than 80,000 visitors have come to the museum to see more than 40 exhibitions. Molnár got his bachelor’s degree in 1949 at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, 111. As a student there, he organized a club to honor Hungarian culture. That was the start of the American Hungarian Foundation, and Molnár has been associated with it ever since. His alma mater awarded Molnár an honorary doctor of humane letters degree on May 30 for his work. In 1959, Molnár and the organization moved to New Brunswick, where Molnár joined the faculty of Rutgers and developed the program that became the Institute of Hungarian Studies. Under Molnar’s leadership, the foundation initiated and funded academic programs of Hungarian studies, research and fellowships at numerous colleges and universities. Monar’s father, also named August, was a builder and emigrated from Hungary to the United States in 1910. Molnár, who was bom in Cleveland in 1927, remembers, “Our Hungarianness was a part of us growing up. We spoke Hungarian in the home.” Molnár recalls his father saying, “You’ve got to continue with the language, and learn others as well.” And he has. Molnár has studied German, Finnish, Estonian, Greek and Hebrew. Molnar’s writing includes a book published by the Rutgers University Press in 1964 comprising the scholarly articles of Joseph Remenyi. Molnár edited the book with an introduction and bibliography. He was associate editor of American Hungarian Dialect Notes and chairman of the editorial committee for the 1978 book, “The New Jersey Ethnic Experience,” for which he wrote the chapter “Hungarian Pioneers and Immigrants in New Jersey Since Colonial Days,” of which the following excerpt: “In the months following October 1956, when Hungary fought to free itself from Russian and Communist domination, New Brunswick, through Camp Kilmer and the Hungarian Escapee Program, became totally involved in helping kin and stranger alike from Hungary. Literally hundreds of volunteers from New Brunswick and throughout the state served in the Camp Kilmer operation of resettling 30,000 Hungarian escapees who arrived during 1956-57. Of this total, about 1,000 settled in New Brunswick. “Hungarian families continue to have a major stake in New Brunswick and in other New Jersey towns and cities where they settled. Their labor helped build local communities; Hungarian pioneers and their families gave New Brunswick some 30 physicians and surgeons, as well as other professionals.” Molnár participates and lectures at national and international conferences, and his research and travel have taken him to Hungary, Austria and Western Europe. His wife of 43 years, the former Priscilla B. Arvay of Toledo, died in 1995. She had been an elementary school teacher in the Old Bridge school district. August J. Molnár at the Hungarian Heritage Center, New Brunswick, NJ (Continue on page 10)
