William Penn Life, 1990 (25. évfolyam, 2-10. szám)
1990-10-01 / 10. szám
October 1990, William Penn Life, Page 3 Cemetery the diocese, which owns the land, help with the upkeep? What happened to the maintenance fund which was established when old St. Emory’s church was sold? Is there anyone willing to help? While the first three questions are the subject of sharp disagreement, the last question has been answered with a resounding "yes.” After the story of the Toths’ struggle to restore the cemetery gained public exposure, the William Penn Association acted quickly to lend whatever support it could. "I don’t think I really believed how bad the conditions at St. Emory’s cemetery were until 1 actually went there and saw it for myself,” said National President E.E.Vargo. "It was deplorable.” Shocked by what they had seen, President Vargo and other national and branch officers of the Association began trying to arrange meetings to resolve the issues and contributed funds for some basic and badly needed care. "We have a great interest in seeing this historic site preserved and maintained,” President Vargo said. "This is a place where many of our Hungarian ancestors are buried. Many of those were miners, just like the ones who founded our Association over 100 years ago. "Plus, our Association (when it was still known as the Verhovay Aid Association) erected a monument there to the miners killed in Welcome To Our Fraternal Family LACIÉ M. KONDROSKY MARGARET L. LOVÁSZ Branch 226 McKeesport, PA Branch 352 Coraopolis, PA JEFFREY RODGERS BARBARA K. SWITKA Branch 34 Pittsburgh, PA Branch 28 Youngstown, OH We happily present for your enjoyment more of our newest William Penn members. If you have a child age 5 or under who recently joined our Association, send us his or her photo so that all our members can welcome your child into our fraternal family. From Page 1 the Darr Mine explosion. Obviously, our ties to the cemetery are strong and we will continue to work towards the complete success of this effort,” he said. Bolstered by the help of the William Penn and other individuals, Ann Toth has boldly expanded the audience of her appeal for help. She has spoken with state and local government officials. She presented Ladislaus Cardinal Paskai, Primate of Hungary, with a packet of information on the cemetery during his visit to Pittsburgh a year ago. Last month she was preparing a packet of information to send to the Hungarian Embassy. "There is still so much that needs to be done,” she said. One of the first areas she would, like to see cleared up is the'area around the Verhovay monument, an area she called "the Hungarian focal point” of the cemetery. "There are about four trees around the monument... any of which could fall over and cause some terrible damage,” she said. Much work also needs to be done in the infant section of the graveyard. "Everything in the infant section is gone. The wooden crosses have deteriorated over the years.” As a memorial to the children, Ms. Toth would like to see a tree located near the infant section carved into a monument. Toward that end she has been tyring to locate the Hungarian-born sculptor Peter "Wolf” Toth, who has carved at least one giant Indian sculpture in each of the 50 states. "It would be interesting to see what he would do with this subject,” she said. (See related story below.) In the meantime, she continues to work closely with the Chestnut Hill Cemetery Maintenance Trust Fund, an organization devoted to establishing perpetual care for the entire cemetery. Individuals interested in helping to set up a perpetual care fund for St. Emory’s cemetery should make their checks payable to "Chestnut Hill Cemetery Maintenance Trust Fund” and note on the check that it is for the "St. Emory’s Section.” Mail to: Ann Toth, Box 96, Bobtown, PA 15315. Hungarian-born sculptor carves collection of 'giants’ across U.S. By Daniel Russell Hopwood From Americana Magazine Wielding a five-pound mallet and chisel, Peter "Wolf” Toth has spent the past 17 years on the road plying his unusual craft in all 50 states. During that time, the self-taught artist and itinerant tree carver has created a striking series of enormous Indian sculptures— the "Whispering Giants”—which he donates to communities in exchange for a permanent pedestal and statuemaintenance guarantee. Standing more than 20 feet high and weighing some 50,000 pounds, the pieces are Toth’s personal reminder of the injustices suffered by Native Americans. The Wisconsin Chippewa were so grateful for his sensitivity that they dubbed him Wolf, the name he favors. Toth inherited his interest in the craft from his father, who whittled toys for his children when the family lived in Hungary. After the Hungarian uprising and Communist takeover in 1956, the Toths were forced to flee, eventually settling in Akron, Ohio. While he was in school there, young Toth learned about the American Indians; parallels between the Indians’ history and his own moved him profoundly. "We too were robbed of our land and our home,” he says today. "I know how it feels to be a refugee in your own country.” After his junior year in college, Toth quit his job at an Akron machine shop, bought a van he christened the Ghost Ship, and set out to explore his adopted home. One of his final stops was the Wind and Sea Beach near La Jolla, Calif. "While I was watching a sunset, a protruding cliff caught my attention,” he recalls. "In it I saw a shadowy image of a face. That image haunted me for days.” He decided to get some carving tools and release the face he had seen. Eventually it became an Indian. He returned to Akron with the urge to carve another Indian. Because stone was not available, he struck an agreement with city officials: In exchange for a tree on city property, he would donate his Indian sculpture to the public. When a passerby told Toth that the sculpture "spoke to her” about the suffering of the Indians, he decided that "if my art could speak to her, it could speak to others,” he recalls. "I had always felt that the Indian was a victim of abuse, prejudice, and injustice. At that point I realized that I had to contribute something to the Indian cause.” His mission was to give a giant wooden sculpture to every state. The mouths would be slightly open as if they were whispering about the nobility and suffering of the American Indian. "The project was a chance to give to America, the greatest country in the world,” he says. Since 1973 he has crisscrossed the country, his schedule determined by the changing seasons: southern states in winter and northern in summer (although one winter he worked in belowzero weather in Bethany Beach, Del., and in the summer of 1980 he endured a blistering heat wave in Lincoln, Neb.) Now he travels with his wife, Kathy, whom he met while working in Illinois. They drive a pickup truck pulling a small trailer. Toth selects his sculpture sites after researching the area’s Indian history. He chose the western Kentucky city of Paducah, for example, because it is named for Paduke, a legendary Chickasaw chief. He studies the natives’ history and painstakingly carves accurate facial features. Because he sprays the 20-to-30-foot monuments with a preservative, they should last a hundred years. He accepts no payment for his work: "The sculptures are my gifts to each state,” he explains. The Toths scrape by on the meager income generated by sales of smaller sculptures and wood carvings and of Peter’s book, Indian Giver, published by Tribal Press. In May 1988 he fulfilled his ambition when he completed a statue in Hawaii, his 50th state. And a totally new phase of his life began when Kathy became pregnant with their first child. As soon as the baby is able to join them in their nomadic life, Toth plans to continue his mission by carving a Canadian trail. In fact, he has already completed one monument in North Bay, Ont. He guesses that the trail will keep him busy until the year 2000. "Then,” he says, "I’ve got my eye on Mexico.” If you have any information concerning the current whereabouts of Peter "Wolf” Toth, please contact Ann Toth, Box 96, Bobtown, PA 15315, phone (412) 839-7344. Articles and photographs for the November issue of the William Penn Life are due in our office by October 19,1990
