The Eighth Hungarian Tribe, 1984 (11. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1984-10-01 / 10-11. szám
NEWS FROM HUNGARY (EDITOR’S NOTE: Here is a reprint of an article by István Gabor Benedek which appeared in the most recent issue of Hungarian Travel Magazine. The big surprise in it is that MARK SPITZ, the great American swimming champion, is of Hungarian ancestry! That phenomenal US swimmer Mark Spitz became perhaps the most popular sportsman in the world after the Munich Olympic Games. His life story and the tale of those 7 gold medals and 23 world records were told in the press all over the world. Fans also learned he is of Hungarian origin; his great-grandparents emigrated to the USA from somewhere along the Danube at the end of the last century. Even when he left the competition pool for ever he was not forgotten. He is a member of the American Olympic Committee and takes part in the voluntary work done by US swimmers. In Europe - where he’s lately been spending quite a lot of time - he’s engaged in business, or more precisely, in publicity and business. He’s full of ideas and his results show he’s aided by conscious preparation for his new role and by intuition, coincidence and luck. These led to him making Hungary’s acquaintance, in person, at the end of October 1983. What inspired the trip was a deceptively simple game. Let him tell the story: “I happened to be in Cologne, when one afternoon I acquired a small toy. No larger than my palm. It has two circular plastic troughs that intersect and hold coloured marbles. The task is to arrange them in colour order.” Mark Spitz, like most of us, likes a game. And true sportsman that he is, he accepted the challenge. When he realized he'd been shoving the marbles around for hours, the businessman took over. “Who manufactures this?” And not knowing the name of the toy, he got no further. “The Hungarians,” said his friend and associate, West German Gunther Harz. Mark Spitz is a man of action. He found out there were Hungarian businessmen at Anuga, Cologne’s great food exhibition. A few telephone calls later he was seated October-November, 1984 in the conference room of the Generalimpex Hungarian Foreign Trading Company. That was on Wednesday. On Friday night he landed at Budapest-Ferihegy. His room was reserved at the Forum, and he was received by Dr. László Sipos, Generalimpex’s deputy manager director, and Endre Pap, chairman of FIM, the Fine Mechanical and Electronic Instrument Cooperative. Negotiations continued next day at Generalimpex, and a contract was concluded to the satisfaction of both parties. The coop undertook to deliver Mark Spitz’s company 200,000 “magic circles” - now baptized the Hungarian Ring - in time for Christmas 1983. In 1984 a million will be delivered, a contract worth almost DM 5 million. The signing up was followed by a short sightseeing tour: Buda Castle, the view over Budapest from Gellert Hill, and some quaint old corners of downtown Pest. “I’ll be back,” promised Spitz, “and not just on business. I want to spend more time in this attractive, carefree city.” Of course, business won’t be neglected either. He intends to buy more logical toys, canned foods and other food industry products. And of course, he also wants to sell here, starting with special packaging material used in the brewing industry. István Gabor Benedek The Lamp Museum at Zsámbék, not far from Budapest displays nearly 600 different lights dating from the last two centuries. They include glass floating lights of the 1700s, night lamps from the mid- 19th century, slim copper desk lamps, fin de siede lamps of handpainted milk-glass, a French Empire candlestick of the 1800s, a lamp made of pewter decorated with a dragon, scarcely any younger are ceramic lamps from Znaim, Baroque alabaster lamps, Art Nouveau majolica lamps, a more than 100- year-old Dutch kerosene lamp, and a lamp built into a 300-year-old Chinese vase, to mention just a few. CLUB DIRECTORY American-Hungarian Citizens Club of Rahway 807 Old Raritan Road Clark, New Jersey 07066 Tel: 201-388-8866 Hungarian Charitable Association 431 Maple Avenue Linden. New Jersey 07036 Tel: 201-486-7439 Hungarian-American Athletic Club 198 Somerset Street New Brunswick. New Jersey 08901 Tel: 201-246-9615 Hungarian-American Citizens Club of Woödbridge (Hungarian Manor) 95 Port Reading Avenue Woodbridge, New Jersey 07095 Tel: 201-364-9623 American-Hungarian Democratic Citizens Club 1051 South Clinton Avenue Trenton. New Jersey 08608 Tel: 609-695-9675 Philadelphia and Vicinity Hungarian Sports Club 1610 Walnut Street Lansdale, PA 19446 Tel.: 215-855-1022 Hungarian Citizens League of Garfield 21 New Schley Street Garfield, New Jersey 07026 Tel: 201-772-9654 American-Hungarian Cultural & Social Club P.O. Box 13 Whiting, New Jersey 08759 Tel: 201-350-3478 WCTC - 1450 AM - New Brunswick, N.J. Sunday afternoon 12:15 to 1:30. Kara’s Hungarian Melody Time. ***** WJDM - 1530 AM - Elizabeth, N.J. Sunday mornings 8:45 to 9:15. Nándor Erdei’s “Hungarian Rhapsody.” Page 13
