William Penn Life, 2012 (47. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2012-07-01 / 7. szám
Tibor s Take politicians. I was also working with young professionals representing Hungary at a NATO simulation. During my trip to Chicago, I met two Hungarians. The first was the Honorary Consul to Hungary for Chicago, Kaarina Koskenalusta. She was a wonderful woman and was very kind. She was very glad to see young American-Hungarians still engaging in the culture and the heritage of Hungary. My other Hungarian acquaintance was Dr. Peter Rada from Corvinus University. Dr. Rada and I had a long conversation over lunch about a variety of topics, but one remains in my memory most vividly. Perhaps motivated by academic curiosity, he asked: "So, does Hungary ever make it in the news over here?" I told him, regrettably, that if one was to turn on the six o'clock news, Hungary would never be mentioned, at all. I told him that local newspapers (Cleveland's Plain Dealer or the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) may run a small snippet pertaining to Hungary pulled from one of the major news syndicates, but other than that, one would need to turn to specific media outlets for any sort of analysis. Dissapointing, I know, because such a reality means one thing: Americans and American-Hungarians are probably grossly uninformed about issues facing our ancestral homeland. I can only hope that my conversations with Dr. Rada undermined his previous conceptions of American youth. This month, I am crossing the Atlantic for the first time in my life. I will be attending the NATO Youth Summit in Brussels, Belgium. My university is one of only two educational institutions from the U.S. chosen to go. While I will definitely feel as though I am a fish out of water, I relish the opportunity to meet new people, some of whom I hope will be Hungarian. Surprisingly, flights from Brussels to Budapest are very inexpensive. Perhaps time and money will permit me to visit Budapest while I am in Europe. One can hope, right? Éljen a Magyar! Tibor II Tibor Check Jr. is a member of Branch 28 Youngstown, Ohio, and a student at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He serves as a host of the “Souvenirs of Hungary” weekly radio show broadcast on WKTL-90.7 FM in Struthers, Ohio. Let's hear your take Let me know how you enjoy my thoughts and views on growing up Hungarian Style. If you have any questions or comments about me or my column, please email me at: silverkingl937@yahoo.com, or drop me a letter in care of the William Penn Association, 709 Brighton Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15233. Did you know they're Hungarian? A few weeks ago, my édes anyám and I were organizing and culling my collection of boyhood books and toys. I noticed a group of Little Golden Books that were rubber banded together. As I opened each one of them, I began to take an exciting trip down memory lane. They were my favorites. I bet for many of you they were a wonderful part of your childhood as well. Do recall such wonderfully illustrated tales as Tootle the Train, Scuffy the Tugboat and The Little Red Caboose? Each edition told a delightful story, even if one did not know how to read. The inanimate characters in each book were portrayed with human-like characteristics. As I gazed at the books and thought about my childhood, I noticed the illustrator was a man named Tibor Gergely. After some internet research, I found out that he was born in Budapest in 1900. His father died when he was only nine years old. His mother had to work long hours in a factory to support the family. He always loved to draw and was quite mischievous. He once was expelled from school for drawing an amusing caricature of Emperor Franz Joseph on the chalkboard. Other than a short semester of art instruction, Gergely was self taught. He married the well-known Hungarian poet Anna Lesznai. Although she was 15 years his senior, she was his early financial backer. In 1921, he moved to Vienna, where he established himself as a fine illustrator of German and Hungarian publications and books. In the early I930’s, Tibor moved back to Hungary and spent several years with Anna in the town of Kortvelyes. There he began to work in oil painting. His acclaimed artwork earned him a membership into a loosely organized amalgam of artists, poets and musicians who called themselves “The Sunday Circle.” (Balazs, Lukacs and Bartók were members of this group as well.) When Hitler began to assimilate Poland, Czechoslovakia and Austria, Gergely realized that it was only a matter of time before Hungary would become part of Nazi domination and thus would end intellectual freedom for the eclectic community. So in 1939, Tibor came to New York and immediately began to illustrate for the Simon and Schuster publishing house. When the idea for Little Golden Books was conceived, Gergely, became the marquee illustrator and remained there for decades. He also was the chief artist for such periodicals as The Free World. Gergely continued to add his artwork to countless books and magazines. He died in New York City on January 13, 1978. Needless to say, I kept my Little Golden Books that were illustrated by Tibor Gergely. O William Penn Life 0 July 2012 0 7
