Bethlen Naptár, 1954 (Ligonier)
Snapshots of life in the Bethlen Home
226 BETHLEN NAPTÁR SIXTH PICTURE: ADMINISTRATION It meant the beginning of a new life when much-needed office help was given the superintendent. Clerical work has increased greatly in the last few years, due in part, to many reports and statistics required by the Welfare Department of Pennsylvania touching on sanitation, safety, the educational program and care of guests, old and young, in all institutions. This task has been added to our already voluminous work of housekeeping, daily correspondence, promotional work, and administration. The case history of each child is now kept on file on official state blanks. These are examined periodically by the authorities. Also annually the State Welfare calls for statistics on the enrollment, the general welfare of those under our care, as well as our financial status, on which information depends their renewing or rejecting our state license for solicitation for another year. A new application blank has been devised for the aged people. On these are found the individual case histories also, which are recorded and filed in a manner similar to the children’s case histories. The Bethlen Home with its four large buildings, 91 rooms, its chapel and farm, is classed as a large American institution where there are on the average of 90 to 100 people to account for. Care, food, clothing, medical aid and insurance for all those under our care (guests as well as employees), must be adequately provided, all funds for these purposes secured and allocated and every cent accounted for in our financial records. A new system of bookkeeping had to be devised in reference to the withholding tax and social security deductions of our employees. All this has meant more responsibility in administration and more clerical work, which can no longer be carried on without paid clerical help. I thank God that He has given me strength and endurance to carry on the administration of our home, to travel thousands of miles in promotional work, and to edit the Bethlen Almanac annually. In this work I was assisted by my wife, by my co-worker, the overseer, and by Dr. George Uzonyi, my office help, whose work has not only proved useful and successful, but indispensable to the adequate administration of our institution. SEVENTH PICTURE: THE FARM, OUR LIFE LINE Our farm once again played a very important part in the life of our home. Let me present to you an overall picture of our life line: Foods produced on our farm helped greatly in reducing our cash expenditures for food items. 120 acres of land were cultivated, the remaining was used as pasture. Our crops did not prove enough to feed all our stock, however. As a result we had to buy more dairy and poultry feed. Receipts from the farm products we sold during the year paid for this extra feed almost entirely. We spent $5,268.95 for stock feed
