Magyar News, 1992. szeptember-1993. augusztus (3. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1993-04-01 / 8. szám
EVERY GENERATION MAKES A NEW MOVE The Lesko Funeral Home Serves the Hungarian Community The characteristics of the Westend of Bridgeport drastically changed when they cut through it with the Interstate Highway. Slowly factories and warehouses took over. Some of the small businesses still lingered around but eventually gave up because it was no longer a residential area. One of the last Hungarian businesses to make a move from Bridgeport to Fairfield is the Lesko Funeral Home. The move is only a few miles. Compared to the original move that John Lesko made in 1880, it is really insignificant. In that year John Lesko traveled thousands of miles to fulfill something that wasn’t even a dream nor an idea. He left the village Hejcze, Abauj Megye, where he was bom in 1864. Hejcze isasmallplace on the eastern slopes of the Hemad valley. It has no industry, the upper part of the mountain side is covered with vineyards, the lower part is cultivated agricultural land. There are three things that are worth mentioning about it. First of all, running down through the village is a deep and wide gorge. At a rainstorm the water rushes through as if the world is coming to an end. The second thing to be mentioned is the church sitting on a vantage point overlooking the Hemad valley towards Vilmány. A high, fortified wall envelopes the church garden. This gives a feeling of a fortress. It is protecting one of the oldest Hungarian church sites in history. The third outstanding part of Hejcze is a huge wine cellar that in modem time is called the Bishop’s Cellar. John Lesko’s father, Andrew, had a 10 hectar vineyard on a favorable side of the mountain. He made sacramental wines for churches in many Hungarian settlements. This was the place that John Lesko left to come to America. You might ask what brought along this change. Well he heard about the opportunities in America and at the age of 16 he was ready to conquer the world. John arrived in the U.S. and started out in New York. Soon he ended up in Bluefield, West Virginia, in a coal mine. Being very ambitious he worked hard with a goal to make $100.00 a week. To achieve this, he stayed down in the mine and had his fellow workers bring him food and clean clothes. Then he studied English and Civics, invested his money in boarding houses. He also became the County Sheriff. All this happened in a few years. Being established, he wrote to his good friend James Lengen to come and join him in America. James came with his sister Mary who became a domestic in Norwalk. James went with John to Bluefield. This journey was a long one because John wanted to look around in other areas, have a little adventure. He did not tell James about it, but they went up to Canada, traveled West, then cut across to arrive to the mining town. James only found out that the actual distance is relatively short when two years later they both went to Norwalk to a Hungarian grape harvest ball. Reacquainted with James’ sister Mary, John took a daring step and told Mary that he would be back for Christmas and he wanted to marry her. Well he was back for her. They got on the train heading to Bluefield. John said they wiould be married there. In Dover, New Jersey the train stopped for maintenance and supplies. It was a long wait and probably the young lady lost momentum and wasn’t sure of what was waiting for her in the mining town. So as a good headed Hungarian woman, she put her foot down. As a result, they got married right there on Page 6 The Lesko family in the early years of the funeral home. Seated are John Lesko and his wife Mary Lengen Lesko. Standing are John S., Elizabeth, Helen and William. The horse-drawn hearse from 1909. In the foreground we see the founder John Lesko, behind the hearse is John S. the son.
