William Penn Life, 2011 (46. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2011-04-01 / 4. szám
Recollections of people, places and events from our Association's 125 years of Fraternalism, as told by our members 118861 WR Zsuzsanna Szász Gal She loved her heritage, country & Association by Carol Orendy My grandmother, Zsuzsanna Szász Gal, was born in Orosháza, Hungary, on Oct. 27,1891, and emigrated to Illinois with her parents. She married my grandfather, Louis Varosy, in 1910, and they had two children-my uncle Louis Városi and my mother Lenke (Lillian) Varosy—both born in Elgin, Illinois. Later the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. Grandma was a dynamic woman. She had her hair cut into a "bob" while it was the norm for women to have long hair. She kept it hidden under a scarf for days and days until she had the nerve to tell her husband. She took driving lessons while in her 60's, although as far as I know, she never passed her driving test. Widowed at age 28, she opened a candy store in Cleveland to support herself and her two young children. She later married Imre Gal. They lived in the Hungarian area of Cleveland, along Buckeye Road. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on April 7,1971. Less than a month later, on May 3, Grandma died from complications of a hip fracture. Zsuzsanna-"Zsuzsika" to her friends-was very active in the Verhovay lodge located on Buckeye Road. She was manager of former Branch 361 for many years. Our family of four girls often helped out at various branch events, serving Hungarian home style dinners. Among my many memories of Grandma were making strudel and noodles for soup from scratch, stretching the dough across her huge, round dining room table. Grandma was an inveterate crocheter, the crochet needle always busy in her hands even as she carried on conversations with us. She taught each of us granddaughters the basic crochet stitches-enough to make round purses, to which she added zippers in order to make them usable. Grandma bowled in the Verhovay bowling league for many years and was always at the lodge when there were Verhovay events to help organize. I remember one such event in particular, when the emcee said that anyone who didn't sing along with "My Country 'Tis of Thee" would be brought up on stage to sing it alone. So, there was my grandmother in the audience, singing as proudly as she could: "...Land where my fathers died, Land of the peaches pie...." She may have gotten the words wrong, but she certainly had a "pilgrim's pride" in her new homeland—plus, she didn't want to end up having to sing alone on the stage! My grandmother was a perfect example of the immigrant who wanted to belong to America. She always said that she felt she was a real American when she began dreaming in English. Mrs. Zsuzsanna Gal is listed in the 1963 edition of "Hungarians in America," a biographical directory of professionals of Hungarian origin in the Americas. She is listed as an "insurance executive" because she sold so many life insurance policies for Verhovay. Carol Orendy is a member of Branch 525 Los Angles. O Be a part of our celebration This year is a special year in the long, rich history of William Penn Association. In 201 I, we are celebrating our Association’s 125th anniversary. There will be special events throughout the year marking this milestone, all leading up to the grand 125th Anniversary Gala in Pittsburgh in September. As part of our year of celebration, William Penn Life will feature stories on the background and history of WPA, and we invite you to be a part of the story. We are recalling the people and events that led from our roots in Hungary, to our beginnings in Hazleton, Pa., to the extending of our Fraternal Spirit across the United States. For many of you, it was your parents, grandparents or greatgrandparents who helped build and support William Penn Association. Help us to tell their story and ours by submitting articles or anecdotes about lives that have been touched by William Penn Association. Please contact John E. Lovász with any items or stories. John can be reached at I -800-848-7366, ext. 135, or jlovasz@williampennassociation.org. Your story will help our readers to understand what WPA means to our members and will honor the memory of your loved ones. William Penn Life 0 April 2011 0 3
