Fraternity-Testvériség, 1962 (40. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1962-08-01 / 8. szám
FRATERNITY 3 "AMERICA'S FIRST HERO AND FOUNDER OF THESE UNITED STATES" Thus is Captain John Smith characterized by the Commonwealth of Virginia in its travel pamphlets describing Jamestown. The first English settlement in the New World is said to have had a few Hungarian pioneers, too, but more research will have to be made to throw light on this subject. Capt. Smith's adventures, however, are know to everyone throughout the English-speaking world. In the Old Church, where the first Lord's Supper was served and the first Legislative Assembly of the New World met, a large tablet relates Capt. Smith's exploits in Hungarian Transylvania, where he learned the art of statesmanship and was knighted for bravery by Prince Báthori. The American Hungarian Federation received permission from the respective authorities to point out Capt. Smith's connections with Hungarian history at Jamestown Festival Park, which is visited by over a million tourists yearly and where the legend would be read by many more people than in Old Church. Sculptor Joseph Vudy of Pittsburgh donated a superb rendition of the Hungarian Coat-of-Arms, while his artist colleage, Endre Baracski Tamáska, offered handsome versions in bronze of both the shield of Transylvania and the emblem of nobility received by Capt. Smith from Báthori just 360 years ago. Dedicating Address in Jamestown, Va. — June 3, 1962 Captain John Smith, who had distinguished himself as a military leader in Transylvania, Hungary, stepped on the shores of the New World in 1607, here in Jamestown, Virginia. Captain Smith has become a legend in our country. His fabulous dealings with the Indians carried on a remarkable kind of diplomacy has made him one of the great men of history in the early and formative years of our nation. He is honored and remembered for among his many accomplishments as the first Governor of the State of Virginia. We, Americans of Hungarian extraction, are proud that courageous Hungary had a small share in the formation and character building of Captain John Smith, a great man, an historical figure that he was. We present this plaque to the State of Virginia on behalf of the American Hungarian Federation as a symbol and a reminder that people of many countries of the world have made, through those who came here, vast contributions to formulating the best, the greatest and the freest nation of the world. ALEXANDER J. VINCZE President, Bridgeport and Vicinity Branch American Hungarian Federation
