William Penn Life, 2016 (51. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2016-11-01 / 11. szám
mH I Tibor s Take within the house's décor. (Sonny Tollas, his sister Sissy and her daughter Christine can attest that my parents' house is part museum, part flea market with a heavy emphasis on Magyar-themed items.) This particular wall hanging features the verse: "Bogan nevet kit édes anya szeret." Loosely translated, it means: "Happily one laughs when they are loved by their mother." The cloth is protected in a picture frame and measures about 32 by 18 inches in size and is sewn with only grey colored thread. Over the years, I never really thought about the family history or origin of my parents' falvédő. It was part of my childhood, similar in nature to family photographs or Christmas ornaments. Last year, my parents presented to my sister Liz and her husband Nick a framed falvédő as a housewarming gift. This rendering depicts a girl in a Magyar styled kitchen as she ponders a cooking dilemma. The inscription says: "Beszélni könnyebb mint tenni, főzni nehezebb mint enni." Translated: "It is easier to talk than to do, cooking is more difficult than eating." Appropriately, that wall hanging resides in the kitchen of my sister's house in Geauga County, Ohio. The falvédő Monika and I received from my parents reads: "Fecském hova szállsz fecském merre jársz/ A szép tavasszal vissza várlak/Addig is szívembe zárlak." Loosely translated, the proverb states: "My bird (swallow) where do you fly and where are you going? With the nice springtime I await your return, until then I hold you in my heart." The ornately decorated falvédő finally arrived at our home recently when my parents paid a visit. After hanging the falvédő on the foyer wall, I began to ponder it and the other family wall hangings. The night before my parents were to return to Ohio, I wrote down on the notepad adjacent to my nightstand a few questions concerning the three embroideries before entering another nocturnal slumber. The next morning, the four of us sat at the kitchen table for our last breakfast before embarking west via Amtrak. With a Batyi-Udvary band CD playing a subtle mix of traditional songs in the background, we enjoyed a final cup of strong Hungarian-styled coffee accompanied by a few slices of Farkas Pastry Shop dobos törte as I began asking my parents about these old pieces of family history. I learned that there were actually four such falvédő. Three were from my great-grandparents Cseh and one from my great-grandparents Szaiber (nee: Silvers). In the 1970s and early 1980s, each hung prominently in their respective homes. After they passed away, my father, being a sentimental packrat of sorts, kept the cloths from being either discarded or sold. When I was born in 1991, he put the first one up in our house that featured the mother. He kept the others safely wrapped and protected from the environment until each of the three Cseh children would marry. Currently, there is one falvédő still wrapped and protected from the harsh effects of sun and moisture. That particular cloth will be given to my brother and his future bride when he marries. The falvédő cloths came from different sources. One of the wall hangings came from Hungary, while two were made by my great-grandmothers. The fourth was created by a Mrs. Horvath. Mrs. Horvath and my great-grandmother Cseh were childhood friends in Csőt, Hungary. Eventually both settled in Campbell, Ohio, and lived just a few blocks from each other. My apa recalls that, when he was a youngster, Mrs. Horvath made the best rétes (strudel) he has ever tasted. My father cannot recall who made which of the falvédő cloths, but he knows all three ladies were masters at the many facets of sewing. These genuine examples of folkart were painstakingly crafted with many hours of love and labor going into the creation of each. Now that I know the story behind the falvédő cloths, I appreciate fully the meaning to these family heirlooms. I hope my children and coming generations of the Cseh family will embrace and nurture these wonderful links to our past. Do you or your family have a falvédő cloth? I would love to hear the story behind your wall hanging. Please send me your story along with a kép (picture) of your unique falvédő to my email at SilverKingl937@gmail.com. Happy Thanksgiving and happy name day to all of those ladies named Elizabeth! Éljen az Amerikai-Magyar, Tibor II Tibor Check, Jr., is a member of Branch 28 and an attorney working in Washington, D.C. Let's hear your take If you have any questions or comments about me or my column, please email me at: silverkingl937@ gmail.com, or drop me a letter in care of the William Penn Association, 709 Brighton Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15233. WILLIAM PENN LIFE 0 November 2016 0 7
