William Penn Life, 1992 (27. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1992-08-01 / 8. szám
Page 2, William Penn Life, August 1992 William Penn LIFE Official Publication of the William Penn Association Published Monthly Office of Publication: 709 Brighton Road Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Phone: 412/231-2979 Third Class U.S. Postage Paid Pittsburgh, PA Permit No. 2724 E. E. Vargo Editor-in-chief George S. Charles, Jr. Frances A. Furedy Associate Editors John E. Lovász Managing Editor NATIONAL OFFICERS E. E. Vargo National President George S. Charles, Jr. National V.P./Secretary Frances A. Furedy National V.P./Treasurer Robert A. Kapinus Assistant Treasurer BOARD OF DIRECTORS Joseph P. Arvay Chairman Michael J. Hrabar Vice Chairman Roger G. Nagy Vice Chairman Anthony C. Beke Charles S. Fabian Louis A. Fodor Elmer A. Furedy Michael R. Kara William J. Kovach Michael F. Tomcsak Elmer W. Toth Frank J. Wukovits, Jr. Frank J. Radvany Secretary of the Board AUDITING COMMITTEE Charles J. Furedy Robert A. Ivancso Co-Chairmen Margaret H. Boso Secretary Dennis A. Chobody Joseph Hamari Ernest J. Mozer, Sr. CONSULTANTS Bruce & Bruce Company Actuary Horovitz, Rudoy &. Roteman C.P.A. Rothman Gordon Foreman &. Groudine, P.C. General Counsel Dr. Julius Kesseru Medical Director Unsolicited articles, letters, manuscripts, pictures and other material submitted to the WILLIAM PENN LIFE are forwarded at the owner's risk, and the WILLIAM PENN LIFE expressly denies any responsibility for their safekeeping or return. The WILLIAM PENN LIFE reserves the right to edit, revise or reject any article submitted for publication. Postmaster: If undelivered, please send form 3579 to: William Penn Association 709 Brighton Road Pittsburgh, PA 15233 New Brunswick -----------------------------------------------------From Page 1 Dr. August J. Molnár (right), president of the American Hungarian Foundation, accepts a proclamation from James McGreevey, mayor of Woodbridge, N.J., during New Brunswick’s Hungarian Festival June 6. The event features everything from dancers and musicians and wandering circus-style performers, to arts and crafts and political-action booths, to food and pastry tables and a large, open-air beer hall. "As you can see, we’re really like a family here,” said Joseph P. Arvay, chairman of the board of the William Penn Association, the largest Hungarian fraternal organization in the country. "Like all families, we’re happy for the chance to get together,” he said. "It’s a pleasure seeing all the generations here. It makes me feel happy and hopeful.” Even though the festival is meant to be a celebration of tradition, it is also regarded by local Hungarian-Americans as an event that binds their native country to their new homeland. The festival also offers the many Hungarian-Americans living throughout the country the chance to meet each other. This year’s festival drew an estimated 5,000 visitors, including such dignitaries as the Hungarian Ambassador, Paul Tar, and the Consul General of Hungary, Dr. Janos Foder. The construction in 1989 of the multi-million dollar Hungarian Heritage Center in the still largely-Hungarian Fifth Ward has reinforced New Brunswick’s image as the focal point of Hungarian culture in America. It is also partly responsible for the slow but steady influx of young Hungarians to both the city and its neighboring communities. For many years before the construction of the Heritage Center, the Hungarian-American Athletic Club served as the undisputed social and cultural center for Hungarian-Americans in the New York region. Founded in 1913 as a result of the unlikely success of the Young Hungarians’ baseball team, the club operated from the basement of St. Ladislaus Church, as well as a number of obscure places, until 1921, when it relocated to its present site near the intersection of Somerset and Scott streets. Until recent years, the club was known throughout the metropolitan area primarily for its sponsorship of youth and adult soccer programs, as well as its fencing teams, which produced a number of national-class competitors. Over the last decade, the soccer teams have included at least as many British and Irish and Middle Eastern players as Hungarian-Americans, a fact that the older members of the club accept wistfully as a result of a perceptible decline in the city’s Hungarian population. That the fencing and traditional Hungarian dancing programs still thrive—as do other programs for such diverse activities as bowling, karate and golf—remains the club’s primary source of pride. On the day of the annual festival, a large American flag fluttered in the breeze beside the St. Ladislaus Church school, which is believed to be the only grammar school in the country where the Hungarian language is still taught. Several blocks west, yet well within earshot of the merriment, an elderly woman, a native of Budapest who has lived in New Brunswick since even before the Hungarian uprising of 1956, attended to what was left of last year’s tulip garden, one of the many dozens of flower and vegetable gardens that adorn the quiet, tree-lined streets of the Hungarian neighborhoods. Nearby, two young men who had just returned from the festival, were discussing soccer, moving smoothly between English and Hungarian as they speculated on the outcome of an impending "international” between a recently lackluster Hungarian national team and another European foe. "Hungary, definitely, by two nil,” one of the men said, confidently, predicting a 2-0 victory. He added, almost reflexively, "Hajra Magyarok!”—"Go Hungarians!” Correction To clarify two stories which appeared in our July 1992 issue: the Hungarian Ethnic Group of Western Pennsylvania sponsors the Miss Magyar of the Tri-State Area pageant, and the William Penn Association Magyar Folk Dancers of McKeesport, Pa., sponsor the Miss Magyar of Western Pennsylvania pageant. The perfect place for branch activities - anytime of year Penn Scenic View ROCKWOOD, PENNSYLVANIA • IDEAL FOR BRANCH PICNICS, PARTIES & RETREATS • • 150 acres in the beautiful Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania • • Accommodations for groups of 2 to 80 people • • Cabins & lodges featuring full utilities & kitchen facilities • To plan your branch or family gathering at Penn Scenic View CALL 1-412-462-4300 Penn Scenic View is owned and operated by the William Penn Association
