William Penn Life, 1996 (31. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1996-09-01 / 9. szám
The Springdale (Pa.) Cemetery serves as the final resting place for many Hungarians who settled in the area. (Photos by Mary A. Kelly-Lovasz). Cemetery Continued from Page 1 "Itt nyugszik is 'Here lies’; meghalt is the date of death; szüíetetis the year of birth; Béke Poraira means 'Rest in Peace’; and Szatmar Megye would be the county in Hungary that was the person’s birthplace.” Family plots are usually noted by the marble posts along the corners. Usually these posts denoted the initial of the family name. Some of these gravestones have a photograph of the loved one buried there or a description of the age of the person, as "aged 65 years, 4 months and 22 days,” who died in 1899. What is so striking about this cemetery, and a source of pride for the Springdale Cemetery Association, is the cemetery’s verdant beauty. At a recent association meeting, the caretakers, most of whom have been involved since the association’s inception in 1987, discussed at length the groundskeeping maintenance. Unlike most cemeteries, this one has no employees or a perpetual care policy. Volunteers painstakingly mow the grass, quite a challenge since the cemetery lies on a hill. About midway, the property is steeply terraced and cannot be mowed by a tractor. Since the tombstones are upright and not placed evenly, the care and cutting of the grass is made even more difficult. The association’s members are in a constant quandry if one lawn mower or another is going to give out. Despite the worry, association President Henrietta Eaton sighs, "it just looks so nice.” The members nod in agreement. Also unlike most cemeteries, this one is sumptuous and filled with life. Locust, beech, linden and tall sycamores fill the landscape. Small creatures thrive here, and one sees them darting back and forth among the graves. The air, too, is filled with the hammering of woodpeckers and songs of other birds. A while back, the local high school had used a connecting field for outdoor gym classes. Groans were heard in the outfield during softball games when someone knocked a ball into the cemetery, forcing someone to scramble and search for the ball. Many graves have elaborate floral tributes to loved ones. September 1996, William Penn Life, Page 3 Lambs’ ear, impatiens, ivy sprigs, marigolds and tea roses are planted amidst lovely silken arrangements. Chrysanthemums, peony bushes and tiger lillies decorate the landscape, as do petunias, bluebells and geraniums. American flags show the burial places of veterans of many different wars. Since the Springdale Cemetery Association was incorporated nine years ago, its members— some of whom are members of Branch 296, like Sue Szalai, Marie Charles and Caroline Tady—have carefully turned this place from an abandoned cemetery into the beautiful resting place it is today. As Henrietta Eaton noted, at the time the association claimed responsibility, the members searched for relatives of the deceased, asking for small donations for its upkeep. Donations came in from Michigan, California and even Canada. And because of these donations, the association has been able to clean up the overgrowth of weeds, provide a renewed sense of pride to relatives of those buried here, and give an open invitation to rediscover the rich heritage that lies here on the former Cemetery Avenue. If you are interested in information about these graves, contact The epitath on the gravestone of Bihary Endre attests to the strong Hungarian presence in both the cemetery and the community. the Springdale Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 99, Springdale, PA 15144. Donations are welcome, most especially good working lawn mowers. Member goes on educational, spiritual mission to Cameroon (Rebecca Kennedy, a member of Branch 89 Homestead, Pa., and WPA scholarship recipient, recently returned from an educational and religious mission in Cameroon. Her trip was partially funded by a grant from the Association’s Board of Directors. What follows is an account of her experiences.) By Rebecca Kennedy Member, Branch 89 Homestead, PA One doesn’t come across the chance to see linguistics being used outside of the typical university setting every day, so, when I found out about the summer Discovery Program of Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), I jumped at the chance to see reallife field work being done. The Discovery Program is a short-term missions program designed for people aged 19 to 35 who are seriously considering missions as a career. Discovery facilitated trips to Burkina Faso, Papua New Guinea and Cameroon. I was on a team of six in Cameroon, West Africa. Our stay lasted about seven weeks. The first week-and-a-half was spent in orientation in the capital city, Yaounde, getting acclimated to being in a different country and learning specific things I should and should not do. It was in orientation where we learned that crossing your legs is considered very rude; it is as if you are saying you are better than everyone else in the area. Leg crossing is okay only for the highest of Rebecca Kennedy, Branch 89 member and scholarship recipient. state to do. We learned to flame breads and jivel (bleach) fruits and vegetables in order to kill all the diseases. And, of course, there was the memorable health talk given by a SIL nurse just so we knew in detail exactly what types of diseases, parasites and insects with which we would probably come in contact. In orientation, we also learned about SIL/Wycliffe overall, and specifically about the work they are doing in Cameroon. So, armed with our DEET mosquito repellent, malaria medication and de-worming medication, I and three of my teammates took off to the Northwest province of Cameroon, to the village of Belo for four weeks. The other two members of our team stayed in Yaounde at the main Cameroon SIL administrative offices to do computer programming work. In Belo, we taught English as a second language; learned greetings, useful words and sayings of Korn, the local language in Belo; ate some dirt, made a few new friends; learned how to cleanly kill a chicken; and observed an interesting new way of crisis resolution, that is, if someone takes your seat on the bus, just sit on them in order to persuade them to find another seat. But, I must say that the highlight of this whole experience was when I was able to sit in on a few Bible translation sessions. "This, this, is the reason I’m a linguistics major,” I said to myself. Amidst all the linguistic theories I learn during the school year, it is very easy to lose sight of my main goals: first, to love the Lord my God with all my heart; and, second, "to forward in every way possible the translation of the Word of God into all those languages of the world where it is needed.” This is also the purpose of Wycliffe Bible Translators. I hope to one day be on a language project, writing down an unwritten language, learning all of its little quirks, and, then, translating the New Testament into that language. It’s not just all about Bible translation, either. Presenting to a people their language in written form has been shown to increase their self-esteem and sense of identity and generally encourages them to improve their way of life. Continued on Page 7 Welcome To Our Fraternal Family PETER G. DOMIN Branch 129 Columbus, OH ELIZABETH T. ELEK Branch 34 Pittsburgh, PA MARK FARMER Branch 28 Youngstown, OH COREY J. WRIGHT Branch 189 Alliance, OH Wehappily present for your enjoyment more of our newest William Penn members. If you have a child or grandchild who recently joined our Association, please send us his or her photograph so that all our members can welcome your child into our fraternal family.
