Fraternity-Testvériség, 2010 (88. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2010-01-01 / 1. szám
Spring 2010 KOSSUTH Settled in 1840 as New Hope I founder of°5ue° Mountain College A sKirmish occurred here ^*na tH. Ctv.l War Alcof" j CIvH War. Aicorn Kossuth, Ohio and Kossuth, Mississippi Kossuth, Pennsylvania is the only village with a post office, so if you want a Kossuth postal code on your mail, send it in a bundle to the Kossuth postmaster with additional money for postage and ask that it be re-mailed for you. Kossuth is located 60 miles north of Pittsburgh in Clarion County (population 41,800). It is in Ashland Township (population 1,081). Kossuth has a small park honoring veterans, two retail stores— Hirsch's Meats and Shreffler's Snack Shack-plus an adjacent Faith Nazarene Church. Kossuth, Ohio is in Auglaize County (population 46,600) between Dayton and Toledo. The trustees of Salem Township (population 580) meet monthly in Kossuth. Two anchors of the community have 100 year histories—the Kossuth Zion United Methodist Church and the Sandkuhl Clay Works, a maker of clay products. The church has a large portrait of Kossuth donated by Hungarian visitors. Located on the once busy Miami Erie Canal, the town has a colorful history, but today it is a peaceful place with a well-kept cemetery, a township building, a small park that honors veterans, and a retail store for farmers. Kossuth, Mississippi is the liveliest of the five Kossuth villages—located in northeast Mississippi, 85 miles from Memphis, near the borders of Tennessee and Alabama. It is one of four places in Alcorn County (population 35,000) to be officially designated as a town. Kossuth is seven miles south of the county seat of Corinth (population 14,000). 1,500 school children from the county attend one of the three schools in the town all named for Kossuth—an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. An attractive football stadium was built for the "Aggies"—the high school team. As you enter the town, there is a welcome sign that says: Kossuth-Schools, Scouts, Churches: Methodist, Baptist, Church of Christ. Fire Dept, Historical Society, Community Club. Though the town has only 170 residents, it has several retail stores including a restaurant. At the main intersection is a bronze plaque that states: "Settled in 1840 as New Hope. Name changed to Kossuth to honor Hungarian patriot Lajos Kossuth." Across the street is a boutique called Blackberry Village owned by Judy Ginn. She also owns the Kossuth Historical Museum next door. It's not hard to determine why this town's name was changed to Kossuth in 1853. Mississippi Senator Henry Foote was one of Lajos Kossuth's most ardent supporters in early America. In the U. S. Senate, he proposed that a U. S. ship be sent overseas to bring Kossuth to America. Senator Foote later became Governor Foote, and he hosted Lajos Kossuth’s visit to the Statehouse in Jackson, Mississippi in 1852. The only Kossuth County in America is in Iowa, west of the Mississippi River on the Minnesota border, 140 miles south of Minneapolis. With 17,000 residents, Kossuth County has the smallest population of all the counties having a Kossuth location, but in terms of geography, it is Iowa's largest county in area. Algona is the county seat with 6,300 residents. Algona boasts a fine school system—both public and parochial. The percentage of students who go on to higher education is far above the national and state average. The city has 12 churches. Kossuth Regional Medical Center is in Algona. Places of interest in Algona include the Kossuth County Historical Museum and the POW Museum which holds artifacts from the thousands of German prisoners who were housed at Camp Algona during WWII. The huge Nativity Scene the prisoners built attracts visitors from around the world when it is on display in December at the Kossuth County Fairgrounds. On the third floor of the Kossuth County Courthouse in Algona, you will find a picture of Lajos Kossuth. Below, you will find the Kossuth Coat of Arms, made in Hungary and donated in 1935 by the young people of Hungary. The Kossuth County leadership decided to have a Kossuth County sculptor build a bronze statue of Kossuth to place in front of the Courthouse to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the county's founding in 1851. They developed an elaborate fundraising scheme to finance it. Bricks were placed in front of the statue with the names of benefactors listed on the bricks. Help also came from the Iowa Arts Council and the Minnesota Hungarians in Minneapolis. The Kossuth statue was unveiled in dedication ceremonies in July of 2001 on State Street in Algona. It became the first Kossuth statue west of the Mississippi River. Kossuth County's 150th anniversary celebration attracted the Governor of Iowa and the Hungarian Ambassador, Géza Jeszenszky. There are also two Kossuth townships I have located on a map, but have yet to visit. Kossuth Township in Maine is northeast of Bangor between highways 1 and 6. It is in northern Washington County which borders on the Atlantic Ocean and Canada. Kossuth Township, Wisconsin is in an urban area. The map of Manitowoc County shows Kossuth Township and identifies it as the "town of Kossuth." (However, no state map I have seen shows "a town of Kossuth.") The Township has 2,000 residents with two small villages: Francis Creek and Kellnersville. It is immediately north of the city of Manitowoc, which is between Milwaukee and Green Bay, on the shores of Lake Michigan.
