Magyar News, 2000. szeptember-2001. augusztus (11. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2001-07-01 / 11-12. szám
r by Justin Margitay-Balogh Maráczi has been a name synonymous with a "hotdog with the works and a coke" since 1931 in the greater Bridgeport area. The term "the works" is rumored to have originated from the Maráczi hotdog stands and that is exactly what attributed to their success, work. The Maráczi Family has always prided themselves on hard work, good business sense, and a great attitude, and it showed throughout their three hotdog stands that spanned over thirty years. Behind this entrepreneurial endeavor is a now 100-year-old Hungarian immigrant, Mary Maráczi. In April, I had the privilege and the pleasure to interview Mrs. Maráczi and her son Béla with my father, Joseph Balogh. Mrs. Maráczi is currently residing at Lord Chamberlain Nursing Fascility in Stratford, CT. During the interview the room became filled with incredible smells and visions that were invited by her incredible stories. All of us were taken back to a place that was filled with Old World values, struggle, laughter, and love. There is such a quality of beauty, faith, and love in Mrs. Maráczi that transcended her current condition to a youthful exuberance. After a couple of minutes to get comfortable, we were all friends and shared an incredible experience, stories from Mrs. Maráczi's life. Mary Ducsay had her first interaction with America at two weeks old when her father left for America to try and build a better life for his family. He returned a year later to Hungary with enough money to put a down payment on a house for his wife and daughter. When Mary was four, her father returned to America to make a living in order to pay for the newly purchased house while Mary and her mother decided to stay in Hungary. Mary stayed in Hungary till she was twelve years old when her mother decided to move to America, where Mary's father was still working. While in Hungary, Mary completed the extent of her education and got her first experience with the food service industry. Besides the usual chores and cooking around the house, her teachers enlisted Mary to do the cooking at school. By the age of ten she was responsible for feeding the younger students, so she did not gain a formal education but one that would come in handy later on in life. The family settled in Bridgeport's West End on Morris Street near the water. Not long after this Mary's mother passed at thirty-seven years old during the flu epidemic of 1916. This left Mary in charge of all the responsibilities of the house for her father and her uncle. Mary's spare time was spent at St. Stephen's church, even though she was baptized Greek Catholic. The majority of her friends were members at St. Stephen's. She became a member of the Rosary Society, the Children of Mary and a diligent churchgoer. She also attended dances and events at the Rákóczi Hall with her friends from church. Through all of the trappings of youth, Mary was very concerned about her name and handled herself in a respectful Christian manner. She did not really go out with the fellows and by so doing tried to "keep herself off of other’s tongues" because she was an only child and did not have anybody to sick up for her. Mary continued to keep the house for her father and uncle until she was 19 when she mentioned to her father that maybe he Left: Mary Maráczi at age 100. Below: Mary at age 14: Wedding Béla; Family together, Mary and Béla with the two children, Bob and Bill.
