Verhovayak Lapja, 1946 (29. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)

1946 / Verhovay Journal

VOL. XXIX. OCTOBER 9, 1946 NO. 19. Columbus Home Dedication a Triumph of Verhovay Fraternalism People are the same every­where, it is saidThough in­dividually men differ from one another, collectively they are al­ways alike. Cooperation and dis­sension, charity and malevolence, kindness and cruelty, honesty and fraud, gossipry and veracity, con­fidence and suspicion and all the other human tendencies and characteristics are represented in much the same proportions in every community. That this notion is all wrong has been proven to us by the good people in Columbus, O., for there we found out that com­munities, like individuals, can be different. There are cities in which the affairs of every group are viewed with deadly indifference. Noble purpose meets nothing but sus­picion. Appeals are answered with slander. Like arch-enemies the various societies and civic groups face one another with vicious hostility. Not so in Columbus where the joy of one group is shared by the others and each is assured of the cooperation • of the rest when it comes to the realizing of a new project. Verhovayans from many communities met in Columbus on Sunday, September 22nd, and were amazed to find that there American Hun­garians are brothers and sisters and not —■ like in so many cities — enemies. VERHOVAY DAY The cooperative spirit of Co­lumbus Hungarians was first re­vealed in the morning when a festive crowd gathered in the Hungarian Evangelical and Re­formed Church. Words cannot describe the happy emotions that welled up in our hearts as we read the following message of the Rev. Pastor Stephen Sziarto in the Weekly Bulletin issued for this occasion: “September 22, 1946. Verhovay Day.” “Today, on the Verhovay Day of Columbus, we éxtend our heartiest greetings to the officers and members of Verhovay’s Co­lumbus Branch who are about to dedicate their new VERHOVAY HOME. Special greetings are conveyed to the out-of-town guests and the Supreme Officers of the Association. May God bless the new Verhovay Home so that it may always serve the just and honorable cause of Hun­garians. May it strengthen the good name of Hungarians in Co­lumbus as well as in the United States, by the propagation of the noble culture of Hungary.” But the Rev. Pastor Sziarto went even further in honoring our Association by devoting his entire sermon to the ideal of Verhovay fraternalism. He spoke of the thirteen miners who founded the Verhovay, the de­velopment, the fraternal, patri­otic and humanitarian actvities of the Association and concluded by speaking of the trip of direct­or Aloysius Falussy who was sent as a messenger of the mem­bership to the Hungarian people with the assurance that they shall not be forsaken by their Amer­ican brethren. Faith without charity is dead, but the actions of the Verhovay are fruits of living faith . . . Thus the Verhovay Home of Columbus was solemnly dedicat­ed in the House of Worship. THE BANQUET. The Banquet Committee was well aware of the impossibility of seating such great number of guests as attended this me­morable event. A great circus­­tent was secured and erected in the rear of the Verhovay Home and the beautiful decorations of both the Home and the tent bore witness to the great happiness with which the members of Branch 129 prepared for their dedication ceremonies. Soon the tent was filled to capacity and after the Rev. Pastor Sziarto offered grace, dinner was served. It was an occasion of very pleasant and unusual surprises. It seems the good ladies of Branch 129 tried very best to forget all about profits to be netted from the banquet. We regret not knowing the names of the cooks, for they were acclaimed and praised by all . . . No less praise was heaped upon the fair heads of the charming hostesses, 12 members of the Amateur Club, whose exceptionally efficient, pleasant and speedy method of serving was commented upon as much as their attractive uni­forms. But they really brought the house (or rather the tent) down when they, “switching from serving to singing”, rend­ered a number of beautiful songs in perfect harmony. THE PROGRAM Following the dinner, DIRECT­OR ANDREW DOBOS conveyed the greetings of the members of Branch 129 to the assembled guests and related the story of the purchasing and remodeling of the Verhovay Home. He ap­pealed to the members of the branch for their continued sup­port and, then, introduced DIS­TRICT MANAGER JOSEPH NE­MES as the Master of Ceremo­nies. He was welcomed as an old friend, for he has visited Co­lumbus several times since as­suming the position of a District Manager, but at this occasion the people of Columbus found that he is not only a good business­man but also an excellent M.C., and it is perhaps no indiscrea­­tion if we reveal to our readers that he is a poet, too, of no mean ability. The NATIONAL ANTHEM was sung and then the Master of Ceremonies called upon the Rev. Pastor Sziarto who said: “When celebrating the dedica­tion of the new home of Branch 129, we do well to remember that the Verhovay Fraternal In­surance Association has weather­ed all the economic storms and upheavals that occured during the last sixty years. Today, the great name of Verhovay is a definite asset. Everyone knows that it will continue serving the purpose for which it was found­ed. The Verhovay always was the charitable heart of American Hungarians. Young and old serve together in shaping its destiny. I hold the Verhovay before you as an example: just as this As­sociation has always loked after the interests of all American Hungarians, so must we do if we are to prosper. The magni­ficent history of the Verhovay is a fine illustration of the gospel truth: ‘As you sow, so shall you reap’.” FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE. Andrew, Fuleki, President of the Grand Committee of Churches and Societies in Co­lumbus declared: '‘This is a great event in the public life of Columbus. The Verhovay Home will serve well not only the members of the Verhovay, but all American Hun. garians in our city. Faith, Hope and Love had made the Verhovay the greatest American Hungarian fraternal society in our land and the same qualities will make its local branch the greatest group in our city. We ask God’s bles­sing upon this great Association and its local branch . . . may they grow and develop along the lines of their noble traditions!” And because nothing makes a wish come nearer to its fulfilment than an appropriate deed, Mr. Fuleki handed a cheque to the treasurer of the Verhovay Home, as a present from the Hun­garian churches and societies in Columbus. The 12 charming hostesses then lined up in semi-circle around the speakers table and gave some ex­cellent renditions of Hungarian songs drawing endless applause from the enthusiasic audience. FRATERNALISM—THE MOTIVATING FORCE Stormy applause greeted Su­preme Auditor John Sabo upon his first appearance among Co­lumbus Verhovayans. He said: “I am very happy to be here and to extend to you my thanks and congratulations for the won­derful work you have done. It is a great privilege to convey to you my greetings as well as those of Supreme President John Bencze, Supreme Secretary Colo­­man Revesz and Supreme Treas­urer John Szalanczy. When the members of Branch 129 realized that a Home was needed, they turned to the Board of Directors of the Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Association for financial assistance. Upon the recommendation of the House (Continued on Page 2) REUNION IN YOUNGSTOWN BRANCH 108 CELEBRATES HOME-COMING OF 70 VETERANS PRESENTING THEM GIFTS TOTALLING $1,400. A Victory Banquet and Dance was held by Branch 108, Youngs­town, O., in honor of the 70 veterans of World War II, on Septem­ber 29, Sunday, at 5 P. M., at the St. Stephen’s Hall. A great and happy crowd attended rejoicing over the good fortune of Branch 108, one of the few branches of the Association which had not suffered any fatal casualties during the great war. The enthus­iastic officers of the branch did everything in their power to ex­press their gratitude and appreciation to the living heroes of the terrible conflict, and the assembled guests, including an unusual number of young people, had a wonderful time. So did the splen­did group of veterans who were as gratified by the hospitality as by the generosity of their branch and, perhaps, therein lies the secret of the success of this affair, for to the fine addresses deliv­ered on this occasion a splendid deed was added by the member­ship of Branch 108. Andrew Debroszky, President of Branch 108, delivei ed the opening address extending his greetings to the Supreme Officers of the Verhovay F. I. Association, the returned veterans of the branch and the guests who came to extend a rousing welcome to these fine-,en. The National Anthem was sung by the audience and the Rev. Father Raymond Molnár offered grace. An excellent dinner was served and then followed the program. John Kostyo, Vice-President of Branch 108, expressed in behalf of the membership of the branch, his great happiness over the home-coming of these veterans. He said: “We could never forget you. Our thoughts were with you at all times. And now that by the grace of God you have returned to us, we consider it a privi­lege to honor you for the wonderful job you had done.” Joseph Turner, director, manager of Branch 108, said: “We are deeply grateful that from among the seventy young men who serv­ed in the Armed Forces, none were lost, but all returned safely. I greet each of you veterans with the thought that your fight was not in vain. It is my hope that we shall not have to go through another such harrowing experience. This is the time to put an end to all wars and if that can be achieved, then your struggles will not have been in vain ... I have here before me seventy envelopes containing a gift of Branch 108 to each of you. I ask you to ac­cept these gifts as a token of the appreciation of the members of your branch. All of us appreciate the splendid job you did for us and I assure you that your deeds will be remembered for ever. I ask you also to be good Verhovay members. I appeal- for your interest in the affairs of the Association, because you must prepare yourself for the future when you will be required to take over the administration of the largest American Hungarian frater­nal organization in our land.” Folowing his address,Mr. Turner presented an envelope to each of the 70 veterans of Branch 108. Each envelope contained a check of $20. Thus altogether $1,400 was given to the veterans of Branch 108 by the grateful membership. District Manager Joseph Nemes, Master of Ceremonies, then introduced John Bencze Supreme President who stressed the con­trast between the joyful happiness of this celebration and the mournful sadness prevailing at the Memorial Ceremonies by which our hero dead are honored. Then he continued: “I am very pleased to note the great number of young members we have here tonight. The future success of the Verhovay is assured because we have so many young people among our membership. We are proud of them, but most of all we are proud of our soldiers. We who re­mained at home are deeply grateful to them for having kept the war away from our homes. We are glad that they were victorious, because the fate of the loser is always a terrible one. Now that the war is over, I hope that the peace will be main­tained. However, in that we shall succeed only if the freedom to which we are accustomed, is extended to all people. Insofar as the future peace is concerned, the Peace Conference has not dond very well. I believe that if we had sent to the Peace Conference the men who fought on the battlefronts, a real peace plan would have been brought forth. Our country does not want anything from the other countries, but there are many nations who are out to get all they can for themselves. Let’s do our best to pull in the proper direction; let’s raise our voices for a lasting peace. Let us do as good a job as cur soldiers did in winning the war.” Supreme Auditor John Sabo, speaking as a veteran to his com­rades, reminded them that the people on the home front have a share in our victory, too, for the soldiers on the battlefronts could not have accomplished their job had the people at home not pro­duced the food and the implements of war needed over there. “It (Continued on Page 2)

Next

/
  • Layout
  • Zoom
  • Rotation
Thumbnails
Contents