Verhovayak Lapja, 1946 (29. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)
1946 / Verhovay Journal
VOL. XXIX. 31 NO. 11. JUNE 12, 1946 MAGNIFICENT SUPERB UNFORGETTABLE! Six Hundred FraternaSists Carried Away By Unmatched Enthusiasm at Verhevay’s Sixtieth Anniversary Organized in 1886, only 18 ( years after the rounding of the first fraternal society in the United States, the Verhovay is one among the oldest fraternals in our country and a pioneer in her own right. She has made a distinct contribution to American fraternalism and was the first organization of its kind to introduce the principles of fraternal protection and fellowship to the immigrant Hungarians. Their response to the appeal of fraternalism proved from the very beginning that Hungarians have a natural understanding for the humanitarian philosophy and democratic principles which are the basic elements and essential features of all fraternal societies. The sixty-year-old history of the Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Association abounds in great events, outstanding achievments and memorable occasions that had been long remembered by fellow members and outsiders alike because of tlieir farreaching effects on both the advancement of the Association and the development of fraternalism among the rank and file of the membership. The Sixtieth Anniversary Celebrations, however, will go down in Verhovay history as the greatest and most memorable days that ever inspired the members of our organization. Magnificent . . . «uperb . . . unforgettable . . . these words are just pale reflections of the deep impressions made by the events of May 31st and June 1st, the greatest days of Verhovay’s sixty years old history. Any impartial observer would have admitted that a climax had been attained; for us, however, who couldn’t be impartial, these days meant even more. We are absolutely certain that no let-down will follow the anniversary celebrations. There was in the air a glorious certainty of even greater things to come . . . Those who attended the celebrations were carried away by the enthusiastic determination to make the Verhovay an even greater organization than she ever was . . . The Sixtieth Anniversary Banquet seemed to open the door to new visions and the creative spirit seemed to prevail over the commemorative mood of the occasion on which six hundred fraternalists celebrated the prospects of the Verhovay just as much as her past achievments. Indeed, tribute was paid to the great Verhovayans of the past who had founded, built and developed the Association. Everyone appreciated the magnificence of their invaluable contributions to the progress of the Verhovay. But the pride in all that had been achieved was more than matched by the determination to make the future count even more. No one lost sight of what the Verhovay has been and became during the sixty years of her existence, yet everyThe Church, The City, And The Verhovay (Courtesy of Pittsburgh Press) Three great leaders meet in the lobby of the Verhovay Building. The Rt. Rev. Msgr. Elmer Eordogh, highest dignitary of the American Hungarian Roman Catholic Church offered the prayer, the Hon. David L. Lawrence, Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh, spoke in behalf of the community, and Supreme President John Bcncze delivered the Hungarian address at the dedication ceremonies held on May 31st, Friday, at 4 P. M. one looked into the future rather than the past and therein lies the secret of the unparalleled success of this occasion. _The Verhovay Building, hallowed by the blessed memory of 188 Verhovay heroes, stands as the symbol of a GREATER VERHOVAY whose members have dedicated themselves to a fraternal program of unsurpassed magnitude. THURSDAY, MAY 30 Memorial Day was a busy day for the Home Office. Final arrangements were attended to, greetings and congratulations by wires and special delivery letters v/ere delivered continually and the Home Office force was quite busy at the desks as the inevitable loss of working time during the following two days had to be made up somehow. Hotel Fort Pitt was kept busy with registering the guests who arrived every hour frem all parts of the country. Hotels William Penn, Pittsburgher, Keystone, had their share of guests, too. The members of the Board of Directors and the Auditing Committee put in an early appearance, for many urgent matters made it imperative that a special Board meeting be held. A prccesion óf visitors went through the Verhovay Building during the day and by nightfall the arrival of hundreds of guests was reported. Three or four Home Office employees manned the registration desk at Hotel Fort Pitt and handed the envelopes with the programmes and tickets to the guests as they arrived. The California delegation was among the first to arrive and mere than thirty representatives of the American Hungarian Press and National Fraternal magazines were welcomed before the day was over. Th§ directors concluded their meeting in the evening and then the entire Home Office moved to headquarters to be at the disposal of the guests of the Verhovay . . . Thanks to the excellent arrangements there was no confusion at any time. Every arrival was instantly taken care of and, thus, everybody felt at home immediately. An excellent spirit prevailed during the evening of this day and a real holiday mood charged the atmosphere with expectation and happiness. FRIDAY, MAY 31 Breakfast was served from 8 to 9:30 in the morning in the Gold Room of Hotel Fort Pitt. The shining eyes of four hundred guests who had arrived ■ by that time, the exclamations of recognitions by old friends meeting again and the general friendliness added to the beauty cf that sunny day which was just perfect for the dedication ceremonies. At 10 o’clock the guests moved to the English Room for the 60th Anniversary Assembly. The members of the District Managers’ staff acted as ushers and assisted the guests to their seats in the comfortably air-ccnditioned assembly hall. ASSEMBLY The assembly was called to order by Supreme President John Bencze, “My Country” was sung by the audience and then the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Elmer Eordogh of Toledo, 0., offered a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving and intervention in behalf of the Verhovay, the guests of the Anniversary celebrations and the membership of the Association. Mr. Bencze extended a hearty welcome to all attending the assembly and, then, proceeded to the introductions. Supreme Secretary Coloman Revesz, Supreme Treasurer John Szalanczy, Supreme Auditor John Sabo Jr.,—just returned from military service—Deputy Auditor Emma Phillips Lawrence, Vice-Presidents Joseph Szalay and Albert B. Ary, directors Andrew Dobos, Aloysius Falussy, John P. Kelemen, John Korosfoy, Julius Macker, Richard Phillips, Dr. Joseph Prince, Joseph Turner, Charles Smith, Louis Vizi, legal counsel Stephen Matassy and chief medical adviser Dr. Gomory introduced with a few well-chosen and charming remarks by the Supreme President, were given enthusiastic reception by the audience. A moving tribute was paid by the Supreme President to the late" Frank Brogley,' member of the Board of Directors and a silent prayer was offered for him by the members of the Assembly. Ernest Kunstadt, chairman and Mrs. Jolán Lucas, secretary of the Auditing Committee were given a warm reception. Alexander Nyirati, third member of the Committee was prevented from attending the assembly and arrived with Mrs. Nyirati only the following day. The introduction of the District Managers and Local Organizers followed. Great ovations greeted District Managers Frank J. Cher of District I., N. Y., Victor Austerlitz, District II., Allentown, Pa., Louis Cincel, District III., Homestead, Pa., John Fiilöp, District IV., Pittsburgh, Pa., Joseph Nemes, District V., Youngstown, O., Michael Simo, District VI., Alliance- Cleveland, O., Nicholas Takacs, District VII., Detroit, Mich., George Toth, District VIII., South Bend, Ind.-Chicago, 111., and Alexander Gyulay, District IX., Los Angeles, Cal. The warm reception accorded to these men was a clear indication of their popularity and a sincere demonstration of the appreciation of their great contributions to the success of the Sixtieth Anniversary Membership Contest. Similar sentiments were expressed by the applause given to Assistant District Manager Joseph Toma, New York, N. Y., and local organizers Joseph Cibolya, Scranton, Pa., Joseph M. Tóth, Cleveland, O., Stephen Lukacs, Detroit, Mich., and Frank VVukovits, South Bend, Ind., firstprize winner of the national contest. Then the 100 contest-winners, guests of honor of the Association were given a rousing ovation as they were introduced by the Supreme President. Editors of fraternal magazines and Hungarian dayiies and weeklies attended the celebrations at the invitation of the Board of Directors, as guests of the Association. The assembled guests expressed their appreciation of the favorable publicity given by the press to our association by warmly applauding Zoltán Gombos, editor of the Cleveland “Szabadság” Paul Nadanyi, editor, and Izsó Szekely, director of the “Amerikai Magyar Népszava,” both Hungarian daily newspapers, Mr. A. S. Hamilton, editor of the Fraternal Monitor, Rochester, N. Y., Mrs. Irene Bird, editor of the Fraternal Field, Cider Rapids, Iowa, and the following editors and representatives of Hungarian weekly newspapers: Paul Acs, Newark, N. J., Ferdinand Karl, Passaic, N. J., Bela Bacskay, Bethlehem, Pa., the Rev. Father Stephen Chernitsky, Bridgeport. Conn., Joseph Szeli, Buffalo, N. Yr., the Rev. Gabriel Petre, Buffalo, N. Y., (Continued on Page 2)
