The Eighth Tribe, 1976 (3. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1976-08-01 / 8. szám

Page 6

THE EIGHTH TRIBE

August, 1976

ZOLTÁN BARTHA

Master Tailor and Designer

Zoltán Bartha is a man of courage who believes in his God, in himself, and in what he can do. He knows the horrors of war and privation, and he hopes never to see them again. He knows people, and he delights in cultivating their friendships. He knows hard work, too, and he takes pride in doing it. Most of all, Zoltán Bartha knows the art of designing and tailoring clothes. And, as a result, he is gaining fame in and around Cleveland as the “Paris-London Custom Tailor.”

Born in Felső Újvár, Hungary, the son of a tax official, Zoltán Bartha was originally slated to become an engineer. But, when he was ten, the book of clothing designs came into his possession to decree otherwise. Immediately, the boy began toying with his own designs, creating patterns for men’s and women’s clothes. A kindly relative, recognizing the lad’s talents, encouraged him to develop them and supplied him with additional designing texts.

Zoltán’s fourteenth year witnessed the death of his father. It also saw the youngster win his first clothes-de8igning contest in Budapest, a victory that was to be repeated for nine successive years thereafter. During those years, Zoltán was apprenticed to master designers and tailors in Paris, London, Rome, Berlin and Budapest. Then, after an additional year of work and study, he passed his examinations to be certified as a master designer and tailor of both men’s and women’s fashions.

For many years, he operated shops in the city of Kolozsvár, in Transylvania. Yet, hardship kept rearing its head to threaten his career. Once, when Rumania seized Transylvania, he was forced to flee from religious and nationalistic oppression. Later, when he was conscripted into the Hungarian Army to fight for Germany q#i the Russian front, he was wounded and given up for dead. Spurned by faith in “my God and my two poor hands,” he rallied both times. Penniless, he traded his skillfully-designed products for the capital and wherewithal to resume his beloved profession.