Magyar News, 2002. szeptember-2003. augusztus (13. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2003-04-01 / 8. szám
Tyr 1 ne KASSAY DARN Dnlvli A little Hungarian history goes with it By Bob Kranyik Tongue Twisters The Kassay barn just before being demolished Just off Black Rock Turnpike above Jennings Road in Fairfield, Connecticut one can find a unique collection of ethnic street names - Andrássy, Apponyi, Baross, Hunyadi, Rákóczi and Renchy. These tongue-twisters will challenge most readers, American or foreign. But to the fifteen million or so people in the world who speak that 5,000 year old Magyar language, these names are "duck soup"! Thanks to his Hungarian grandparents, this writer happens to be one of the fifteen million. The significance of these street names is twofold. First, they call to mind Hungarian national heroes and local leaders. Most certainly, any knowledgeable Hungarian will recognize then names of Count Gyula Andrássy, once head of the Hungarian government and its foreign minister; Count Albert Apponyi, a champion of historical Hungary and delegate to the League of Nations; János Hunyadi, soldier, statesman, and leader, and Mátyás Hunyadi, otherwise known as Matthias Rex, King of Hungary; and Prince György Rákóczi, Prince and soldier. However, only those who know the history of the Bridgeport area Hungarian community might recognize Baross and Renchy, local leaders of tbe community. Second, these names identify a small enclave in the New England town of Fairfield as a place settled by Hungarian immigrants - a place where Magyar was spoken as often as English. Having left their native land and emigrated to the United States, the families of this enclave purchased pieces of property as soon as they could afford the price, and constructed houses and bams. To this day, many of the residents of the area have names which attest to the fact that this is an Hungarian settlement - Chizmazia, Demshak, Farkas, Kassay, Kish, Koolis, Kuhn, Nagy, and Onder. Hungarians all, and known personally to this writer. Just off Baross Street in that maze of Hungarian Street names stands an old gray bam. The bam barely stands, leaning into the North Wind, with peeling paint, missing timbers, and missing patches of roofing. Soon it will be demolished to make room for a house. One of the young people planning to build that house is the granddaughter of an Hungarian immigrant couple who lived in that bam during the Great Depression with six of their children. Their name is Kassay, so we are talking about the "Kassay" bam. This is the story of that " Kassay" Bam and those people. It is a story of courage, commitment, struggle, and selfreliance. It is part of a little-known episode of the history of Fairfield. But, more than that, it is typical of thousands of similar stories of our forefathers from the banks of the Duna and Tisza. And it is a tribute to all of those who made the trip The amazing collection ofphotos cover the entire wall, it shows the extensive family lwpf83>5S Page 3
