Magyar News, 1994. szeptember-1995. augusztus (5. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1994-11-01 / 3. szám
Bridgeport, November 1994 FAITHFUL HUNGARIAN EFFORTS by Joseph F. Balogh THIRTY-SIX THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE DAYS The end of the previous century was a very busy time for Bridgeport and the surrounding area. The influx of immigrants would probably have burdened the community if it hadn’t been for the expanding industry. Many avenues opened up for a person who entered this country. At the same time the newcomers faced problems of unbelievable size. Though they were able to find work, they were still in a strange environment. They did not speak the language and they didn’t know how the government and the community worked. Support systems were scarce and many were taken advantage of. They were longing for a way, besides their bedside prayers, to ask for hope and in response to feel that there might be hope. These immigrants concluded that the church is the answer. Let us take alook at the statistics. Bridgeport in 1890 had a population of 49,000. Ten years later it reached 71,000, and by 1910 it was over 100,000. The large number of immigrants contributed to this— naturally a large number of Hungarian immigrants. Among them my ancestors and my wife’s ancestors. Without analyzing the number of “greenhorn” Hungarians, we could imagine the size of the Hungarian community if we take into consideration that in 1900 there were three Hungarian The first Chief Elder, Andrew Papp and his family Newspapers in Bridgeport. It was here that “Hunky Town” was the second largest Hungarian community in the United States. It probably would have grown bigger had the immigration from East Europe not been limited in 1921. It was only in the last decade of the past century that our Hungarian community mustered enough power to start organizing their own churches. The religious life first grasped for the existing establishments. The Irish already built beautiful Catholic churches. The Roman Catholics were able to attend the masses that were conducted in Latin, here as in Europe. This was satisfying to a point, but was lacking in the Hungarian Hymns and the social surroundings. The Protestants’ problem was different. Their worshipping’s focal-point is the sermon. Therefore it is important to have it, in this case, in the Hungarian language. The local German Protestant Churches were of utmost help accommodating the Hungarian Protestants, and for temporary services tried to recruit ministers who at least spoke broken Hungarian. As we know, the Norwalk congregation took the first step. They asked a village teacher from Hungary, whom they knew, to come and help them organize the church. This teacher was later ordained. He was Reverend Dokus. Reverend Gabriel Dokus also had a great role in the first years of the Bridgeport church. On November 24,1894, at the First Reformed Church on Congress Street, where Reverend Gasper Brunner was the pastor, the Hungarian Protestant congregation held its first meeting. Andrew Papp, Sr., became the first Chief Elder of the First Magyar Reformed Church. On December 7,1894, the congregation was officially enrolled as a member of the Reformed Church in the United States. Most members of the congregation decided to remain a member because they felt an obligation to be loyal for all the help that this organization gave the newly formed Hungarian Church. The first two years went by with the help of Reverend Dokus conducting the services. At the end of the second year the congregation elected Reverend Alexander Kalassay. By this time a church building was erected and the dedication took place Continued on page 2 The First United Church of Christ, The Church, the parsonage and in the background the hall buildings.
