William Penn, 1961 (44. évfolyam, 3-16. szám)
1961-08-16 / 10. szám
VOL. XLIV. AUGUST 16, 1961 51 NUMBER 10. LET’S ALL PROMOTE THE WILLIAM PENN DURING THIS Any member who still does not know that 1961 is an extraordinary year in the history of the William Penn Fraternal Association deserves to be compared to that famous character of Washington Irving’s Sketch Book, Rip Van Winkle, who slept for twenty years, only such a member is worse because he is not sleeping but without interest in the affairs of his Association. This is the 75th Anniversary of our society, founded February 21, 1886 in Hazleton, Pennsylvania and largest of all the many Hungarian American organizations. Our is a fraternal benefit society which has demonstrated for many years that business can be pursued and operated on humanitarian principles. Since this is such a great year for the William Penn Fraternal Association, we are throughout 1961 doing things in commemoration of our Diamond Anniversary. On the national scale we held a very successful combined William Penn 75th Anniversary and Bowling Tournament-Fellowship Days in May, having the event in Pittsburgh and its area because our national headquarters are here. Locally, almost all the branches have held or plan to hold fraternal meetings and affairs which totally or in part will recall the founding of our Association by thirteen coal miners good and true — and fraternal too! We are not only promoting various appropriate actions pertaining to our 75th Anniversary but we are talking about it and writing about it, and outsiders have picked up the cue, so to OFFICIAL NOTICE The membership of the William Penn Fraternal Association is hereby notified that the next regular semiannual meeting of the Board of Directors will be held the week beginning Monday, October 2, 1961. All official communications and business pertaining to this Board Meeting should be addressed to the SECRETARY, with the notation, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, on the lower left corner of envelope, and are acceptable until date of September 22. —JULIUS MACKER President AUGUST The city dwellers all complain When August comes and brings no rain. The pavements burn upon their feet; Temper and temperature compete. They mop their brows, they slow their pace, And wish they were some other place. But farmers do not mind the heat; They know it ripens corn and wheat. They love to see the sun rise red, Remembering what their fathers said: “An August month that’s dry and warm Will never do the harvest harm.” Michael Lewis SPECIAL YEAR speak, in further publicizing the significance of the year 1961 in so far as the William Penn is concerned. All these are good, worthwhile and have their immediate values. However, big social and fraternal gatherings, whether branch or national, and complete and partial histories of the Association, are positively not enough to assure that 1961, the 75th Anniversary of the William Penn Fraternal Association, will be used fully and wisely to contribute those benefits which will be of lasting value to the Association and become a vital part of its future. All our sentimental thoughts and actions must be translated into practical realities. It is paramount that every mature William Penn member take an individual and personal interest in the William Penn Fraternal Association during 1961, to become quite aware that this fine organization is actually his organization and not somebody else’s, to realize that its prosperity is his gain now and in the future, and to give it the kind of attention and interest that he would to anything else near and dear to him. The William Penn is not remote from you, dear Member, but IS you! Just what should every good William Penn member do during this 75th Anniversary twelvemonth beside recall the age of the Association in divers ways? Every conscientious member should be one who cares and this is easily possible by becoming an unsung promoter, a kind of salesman out of love for the Association. In other words, every member ought to do his individual bit to let his acquaintances and friends know something about the William Penn and, in this manner, help bring new members into the Association, also by inviting such prospective members to social and fraternal functions of the branches. It is true that we have a Field Force of trained men whose profession it is, among other duties, to augment the membership of our society. This fact, however, is no reason why every mature William Penn member should not become a veritable propagandist for the Association which is literallv his property. No member should wrongly follow a hands-off attitude and let the Field Force Men do it alone. If any of us can interest an outsider to join us, then this ought to be done even without the thought of direct reward for such good effort. This is REAL fraternalism. There is a possibility that we have long dreamed of, a potential that if realized, even though not fully but in large measure, could make 1961, our 75th Anniversary, a year of tremendous impact for us at the William Penn. Think of how very much our membership would swell this year if every William Penn family decided wisely to insure all their members with us and thus become 100% William Penn families! While we can relAictantly accept a member’s apology that he would not find it to his liking to act the part of a crusader for securing members for the William Penn Fraternal Association, we certainly fail to identify logic and good sense on the part of the head of a family whose house is divided against itself as regards insurance. What explanation is there for a family part William Penn-insured and partly insured with others, when the William Penn has every modern plan to fit every need for every member of the family? Yes, this is a great sentimental year for the William Penn Fraternal Association, but let’s go beyond sentiment by becoming practical — each and every one of us. Let us individually show our William Penn mettle by promoting our beloved society before those outside the family — but FIRST let us take care of matters within, that is, begin immediately to make our own families 100% William Penn. IT IS WITHIN OUR GRASP TO DO VERY MUCH IN A PRACTICAL WAY TO MAKE 1961, OUR 75TH ANNIVERSARY, A SUCCESS INTO THE FUTURE RATHER THAN A LOOKING BACK TO THE PAST.
