Verhovayak Lapja, 1940. július-december (23. évfolyam, 27-52. szám)
1940-07-25 / 30. szám
Page 6 July 25, 1940 Verhovayak Lapja My Travels Abroad with the Verhovay On the morning of July 27th we were awakened at the early hour of six in preparation for our departure from Budapest for a period of a few days. Our tour of the historical and famous cities of Hungary was beginning. Carrying enough luggage for the trip, we made ourselves comfortable in the huge bus, and in the morning hours made our way toward Debrecen. We traveled over state highways which were well kept and traveled frequently. Passing through the City of Szolnok, we paused for refreshing drinks and light lunches. As a weekly fair (heti vásár) was in progress, we wandered past the various vendors selling their farm products in the greatest competition I have ever seen. Fruits of all sorts were offered us at ridiculous prices, and being Americans and not being able to resist a bargain, we made our way back to the bus loaded down with a variety of grapes, peaches, plums, apples and melons. Needless to say, we had our fill of the finest fruits of Hungary. Arriving at Debrecen around 12:30, we were welcomed by Joseph Nagy, Secretary of the World Congress for Hungarians, a representative of the city council and the manager of the tourist bureau. We were continually besieged by newspaper men who were really inquisitive in every sense of the word. We established headquarters at the “Golden Bull Hotel,” (Arany Bika Szálloda), and after having eaten a hearty meal in the main dining room of that hotel, we proceeded to see the ancient city of Debrecen. A city of only 126,000 people, it is one of the largest cities in the world in area. In the center of the city stands the famous Calvinist Church with its two gigantic towers visible for a great distance. The church having a seating capacity of 6000, served as a meeting place of the Parliament in 1842. The chair in which Louis Kossuth, the eminent statesman of Hungary, once sat is preserved in its original state. In the Déri Museum the famous painting “Ecce Homo,” by Munkácsy, attracted our attention, as did the other paintings by famous artists depicting the home life of the peasants. The "Great Forest” (Nagy By Alexander J. Goydan Erdő) added to the attractiveness of the city, as in the immediate vicinity are located the famous thermal baths, and the buildings of one of the greatest universities in Hungary (more about the university later), Debrecen University. Gay colored flags of many foreign countries were displayed at the entrance of the main building in preparation for the summer courses which would begin in a few days, and which would be attended by students from many foreign countries. In the evening at a large formal dinner, Supreme Treasurer Michael J. Varga thanked the officials of Debrecen for tendering us such a hospitable welcome and reception. Dancing followed the dinner, and amidst the strains of gay gypsy violins, we returned to our rooms, thoroughly convinced that every day we spent in Hungary was a day that we would relive over and over again. The morning of the second day of our stay in Debrecen, July 28th, was spent placing a wreath on the statue of Louis Kossuth. Singing the national anthems of both countries, The United States and Hungary, we left the statue feeling we had paid tribute to one of the greatest statesmen that ever lived. Assistant Mayor Joseph Zöld welcomed us to the city offices of Debrecen and bade us welcome to the facilities of his city. Continuing with our tour, we made our way by bus to the famous Hortobágy where we witnessed the miracle of the plains by seeing a mirage (délibáb). Cowboys on their huge mounts and great cloaks performed, showing us many feats of riding and daring skill. This was not enough for us, however, as many of us just had to be near when the watering time came for the livestock, which consisted of horses and cattle. Watering the animals from huge wells was a sight that was educational and interesting to see. For dinner we ate at the famous “Hortobágyi Csárda,” made famous by the Prince of Wales during his stay in Hungary. In 1937 while making a tour the Prince stayed at the Csárda for three days, liking it and enjoying the environment so well. Concluding our meal, we danced until we finally ended up our way to the bus amidst Fair Announces Hungarian-Americans on American Common Wall of Honor Joseph Pulitzer, Eugene Ormandy, Emil Lengyel and Bela Schick are among the Americans of Hungarian descent chosen for the American Common Wall of Honor at the New York World’s Fair, according to a joint announcement made recently by Harvey W. Anderson, Director of the American Common and Edward J. Condon, assistant to the President of Sears, Roebuck and Co., donors of the Common to the Fair. This Wall, which surrounds the Common, carries the names of great foreign-born Americans of 59 nationality groups. The considerations in the choice of the pfersons to be honored were: contribution to America in an important field, foreign birth and subsequent American citizenship. Joseph Pulitzer was selected because of his contribution in the field of Journalism; Eugene Ormandy, Music; Emil Lengyel, literature; and Bela Schick, Science. Other Hungarian-Americans chosen include: Leopold Auer, Music; Charles Louis Fleischmann, Business; Fabian Franklin, Mathematics; Alexander Kohut, Religion; Willy Pogány, Art; Fritz Reiner, Music; Sigmund Romberg; Music; Anton Seidl, Music; Zoltán Sepeshy, Art; and Isidor Wasservogel, Law. A large staff studied the names and records of over 50,000 persons in order to arrive at the 650 final selections. Every conceivable source of data was checked to determine country of birth, nationality of parents, American citizenship, and contribution to this country. _ In the months during which this search went on, the listing was first narrowed to 5,000—then to 1,500. This latter preliminary selection, in which many foreignlanguage newspapers throughout the country aided through polling their readers, was then passed on to boards of colleges, professional the cheery good-bye of the waitresses and the owner of that famous Csárda. As our schedule stated we had to be in Ungvár by nightfall, we continued, stopping at Nyíregyháza for a short time; thence to Kisvárda where I first laid eyes on many of my relatives, met again my grandfather and aunt. As the group was continuing onward to Ungvár, I decided to stay overnight at Kisvárda, and rejoin the group in the morning. Julius Szalay of Detroit also decided to stay to see the sights of a small city. Mrs. Julia Perhacs of Hollidays Cove, West Virginia, decided to stay, as her mother and sisters also lived in this city. With a warning by Andrew Fay-Fisher to catch positively the morning' train to Ungvár, the bus departed. That evening was well spent., although I must have answered a million questions. I talked so much that I had made my relatives forget that the time was 11:30 p. m., and way past their usual retiring time. societies, research directors, heads of foundations; national magazines and newspapers. While there were many persons whose names might well have been included, limitations of space necessitated choosing only those of greatest prominence. This study, dedicated to the search for the builders of America, developed many interesting sidelights. It was found, for instance, that men of many nationality groups helped build our national capital city of Washington. Among these were Pierre L’Enfant, a Frenchman; James Hóban and George Hadfield, natives of Ireland; John Haviland, an Englishman. The Dome of the Capitol has murals by Constantine Brumidi, an Italian-Greek. Among the names chosen for the Artists’ Wall are Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Ireland; Duncan Phyfe, Scotland; Joseph Keppler, Austria and Thomas Nast (the Caricaturist of whom Lincoln once said, “He is the best recruiting sergeant I have”), Germany. In Business and Industry we find such names as William S. Knudsen, of General Motors Corporation and a member of the American Common National Committee, who was born in Denmark; Igor Sikorsky, Russia; Alexander Graham Bell, Scotland; and Torkild Reiber, Norway. In education, there are John Harvard, a native of England; Booker T. Washington, the great negro educator; Angelo Patri of Italy and Thomas Hunter of Ireland. The Government roll includes Albert Gallatin, a Swiss; Alexander Hamilton, Scotland; Haym Salomon, Portugal; Carl Schurz and Henry Morganthau, Sr., both from Germany. In the Humanities, there are Felix Adler, Germany; Jacob Riis, Denmark; Sophie Irene Loeb, Russia; Samuel Gompers, England. The selections from the important field of Journalism contain such names as James Gordon Bennett, Scotland; Joseph Pulitzer, Hungary; Henry M. Stanley, Wales; Edward Bok, the Netherlands. A few of the names on the Lawpanel are Felix Frankfurter, Austria; Judah Benjamin, Portugal; Ferdinand Pecora, Italy; George Sutherland, England; and Samuel S. Leibowitz, Roumania. The field of Music is particularly rich in Americans of foreign birth. Choosing at random, we find John McCormack, Ireland; Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Austria; Paul Robenson, Negro; Sergie Rachmaninoff, Russia; Percy Grainger, Australia; Alma Gluck, Roumania; and Lucrezia Bori of Spain. In Literature there is a similar spread: Hendrik Willem Van Loon, Netherlands; Lin Yutang, China; Louis Adamic, Yugo Slavia; Maurice -Hindus, Russia; Thomas Mann, Germany. The Pioneers section, which includes both the explorers and settlers of this country contains such names as Jacques Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Canada. America’s religious life has been enriched by such immigrants as John Witherspoon, Scotland;- John Cardinal"Farley, Ireland; David de Sola Pool, Portugal; and Isaac M. Wise, Bohemia. In sports, the names of Joe Louis, Negro; Knute Rockne, Norway; and Robert Fitzsimmons, England are among those chosen. The names of those who brought WOODS IN SUMMER How friendly are the summer woods, With waving leaves and cool, green shade! Beneath their branches any child May find a fairy paiace made. For there are ferns and fragrant flowers, And little winds that sing their song To join the birds and humming bees In chorus all the sweet day long. All winter long they call to me, From storied page or singing rhyme; All winter long I dream of them, The friendly woods of summer-time! —Selected. Amei-ica’s science to its high level occupy several panels. Somé of the names are: Hideyo Noguchi, Japan; Wm. Osier, England; Charles P. Steinmetz, Germany; Albert A. Michelson, Poland; Albert EHnstein, Germany; Johu Ericcson, Sweden; Ales Hrdlicka, Czecho-Slovakia; Dr. Leo H. Baekeland, Belgium; George Washington Craver, Negro. In the world of the theatre, the same diversity exists: Frank Capra, Italy; Claudette Colbert, France; Edward G. Robinson, Roumania; Jean Ilersliolt, Denmark; Paul Muni, Austria; Charles Chaplin, England: Walter Huston, Canada. Many of the visitors at the American Common ask why the name of Sibelius was omitted. The answer to this and many other questions of this type is that the persons referred to are usually not citizens of this country. "Our research staff says this was the most exeiting job it has ever done”, said Harvey Anderson, under whose direction the work was done. “We were often astounded by our discoveries. We would come upon a name of a person who seemed as American as ham and eggs, and, on research, find that he or she was born in some small village in a foreign country.” Mr. Condon commented upon the great diversity of names and nationalities on the board. “When you come to the American Common at the New York World’s Fair, you will see, through this Wall of Honor, the greatness of America emerging from the work of these outstanding immigrants. You will realize how importantly they and the millions of their brothers and sisters added to this country’s strength, power and prosperity,” he said. Intended for use on icy streets, an Illinois inventor’s bicycle has two front wheels to lessen the danger of skidding.
