Magyar News, 1992. szeptember-1993. augusztus (3. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1993-04-01 / 8. szám

LEAVING MARKS FOR 100 YEARS

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Lexington Avenue where the little white church of 120 seating capacity was built for $1,650.00 and was formally dedicated on March 29, 1896. What a happy occasion this was for the Hungarian colony of Norwalk! The parishioners gladly provided furnishings for the church.

Following the erection and dedication of the little church, parishioners voted to purchase the H. Quittner property and the building near the church as a home for the Rev. Dokus and his family. This purchase took place in 1896. With the continued influx of Hungarian immigrants and the consequent growth of the parish, it became evident that additional quarters were needed for Sunday School sessions and social activities. Thus the pastor’s house was moved to the rear of the church building for these purposes, and for the pastor a new home was built. Everything was progression beautifully, but one important item was still missing. There was no steeple and church bell which were so characteristic of a church in the old country. This lack was not a lack for many months, however, as the choir, which was organized in November, 1899, soon raised the necessary money. The formal dedication of these items took place on Pentecost Sunday, 1901.

With the completion of the church building, steadily increasing parish-roster, and a new home for the pastor’s family, it would seem that the parishioners had an opportunity to rest for a while. But this was not the case! W ith the continued arrival of Hungarian immigrants and under the dedicated leadership of a beloved pastor, the membership increased to the point where the need for larger quarters became apparent.

In view of this “population explosion” the consistory decided on May 15, 1906 that the Sunday School addition would have to be moved farther back to allow for the enlargement of the main church room. This plan was, however, never accepted, because the majority of the congregation was convinced that sooner or later a larger new church would be necessary, and consequently plans to this effect were instituted. At the May 26, 1907 meeting of the consistory, several sites were recommended for the new church, the site finally selected was the one “across the street,” purchased of the Novak-Olean interest.

The corner-stone dedication could take place on August 21,1910, while the dedication of the six-pointed star for the steeple took place on November 20,1910. May 14, 1911 was the memorable day when the dedication of the imposing new edifice took place, marking another milestone in the advancement of the church. Guest clergymen from near and far participated in the dedication of the “very pretty structure” with a seating capacity of 700. Furnishings and incidental gifts were again presented by many families of the congregation as well as organizations of the church (i.e., the

Rev. Gabriel Dokus

balcony was donated by the Senior Choir).

Soon after the church was dedicated, work was started on the new parsonage. The work started in the spring of 1913 and was completed on November 2,1913 with appropriate dedication services. Again the Senior Choir came to the aid of the church donating money.

In 1914, Mrs. Antal Nagy who donated the gold star for the steeple presented the big bell for the new church in memory of her husband, the dedication taking place on June 21, 1914. The small bell, another gift of the choir, had already been removed to the new steeple from the old church which was sold, with the other buildings, to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hevesey in 1912.

Despite the completion of the church and the blessings of the bells, there was still another need: an up-to-date organ. Various social events were sponsored to earn sufficient money for this project and in 1919 the congregation purchased a new pipe organ form the Estey Organ Co. of Brattleboro, VT. The dedication took place on August 8, 1920.

The same year the basement of the church was furnished with a new floor by the Ladies’ Aid, Choir and Young People’s Hungarian Association. Thus the new church was really completed.

From 1929 to 1930, Rev. Charles Bogár served as assistant pastor. When he left to assume a pastorate in Pocahontas, West Virginia, The Rev. William Toth was elected to succeed him. After 38 years of dedicated service, Rev. Gabriel Dokus retired form active service at the age of 71. During his ministry he inspired six of our young men to enter full-time Christian Ministry: Gabriel Dokus, Jr., Samuel Horvath, Louis Novak, Stephen Kalabany, Alexander Dokus, and William Horvath. Upon Dokus’ retirement, Rev. William Toth was elected as the new full-time pastor.

In 1934, when the Rev. Toth served as president of the Norwalk Ministerial Association, the congregation celebrated its 40th Anniversary and provided new furnishings in the chancel. The Rev. Gabriel Dokus was still living, although gravely ill, when the burning of the final mortgage on the church property took place on May 15, 1936. His son, Stephen Dokus who was the president of the consistory, presided at the joyful occasion.

Rev. Dr. William Toth faithfully served the congregation until 1942 when he accepted the invitation of the Salem Reformed Church in Harrisburg, PA.

Our third pastor was Rev. Charles Papp who served us from 1942-1947. During his tenure the church celebrated its Golden Anniversary and land near the Church property was bought in the hopes of building a social center.

When Rev. Charles Papp resigned to take a position in Toledo, Ohio, he was succeeded by our fourth pastor, Rev. Andrew E. Harto and he assumed his duties in October of 1947. Under his leadership attempts were made to build a social center. Mr. Thomas Yoczik served as Chairman of the Community House Building Committee, but after three years of hard work and insufficient funds, Mr. Yoczik resigned in 1951 and the dream of a social center remained unfulfilled. A bright spot of those three years was in 1949 when the ordination in our Church of our seventh ministerial son, Rev. Theodore Horvath, grandson of Rev. Gabriel Dokus took place.

After the failure of building a new Community House, the partial renovation of the church basement was undertaken in 1954: devoted men of the congregation enlarged the kitchen, built a chapel and two Sunday School rooms for educational purposes, saving thousands of dollars.

In addition to acquiring Dokus Hall during his years of service, Rev. Harto assisted us in celebrating our 55th and 60th anniversaries. His greatest thrill was being able to service the refugees of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. More than 50 of them became church members in 1957.

In July 1959, Rev. Harto resigned and accepted a call to the Toledo church.

On November 1,1959, Rev. John Butosi was unanimously elected as the fifth pastor of our church. He assumed his duties on January 1,1960.1n 1963, we celebrated our 70th Anniversary with combined services, a banquet in Dokus Hall, and a wreath laying at the graveside of the Rev. Gabriel Dokus. Three anniversaries were celebrated in 1964: 45th Anniversary of the Ladies’ Aid, 65th Anniversary of the Senior Choir, and the 15th Anniversary of Boy Scout Troop 4. Also in that year Mr. Louis Wargo was ordained in our church eighth ministerial son of the congregation. He had previously served us from 1961 to 1963 as our first Minister-in-Training from Yale Divinity School.

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