Bethlen Naptár, 1956 (Ligonier)
The Hungarian Reformed Orphans" Home
160 BETHLEN NAPTÁR York State in the vicinity o£ Niagara Falls, near the Reformed Church of Buffalo. OPPONENTS OF THE PLAN The proposed plan for the set-up had its opponents. Among them were the late Rev. JULIUS M. HANKO, editor of the Reformátusok Lapja, who felt that the President and Supreme Council of the Federation should assume sole responsibility for the management of the orphans’ home since the Reformed Churches were split into three denominations, and would not support a common project. The late Rev. STEPHEN VIRÁG wrote that the founding of an orphanage was untimely and that each denomination could take care of its own orphans. He felt that the set-up as worked out by the Orphanage Committee, was nothing more than a “castle in the air.” REALIZATION OF THE ORPHANS’ HOME POSTPONED At a meeting in South Bend, Ind., in 1908, because of opposition, the delegates resolved to postpone the establishment of the orphans’ home. The Supreme Council was instructed to hold the set-up plans till the orphanage fund grew to be $10,000.00. The fund-raising continued, but the response was slow, even though upon the proposition of the late Dr. JULIUS MELEGH, pastor of the McKeesport congregation, a number of churches made substantial endowments. NEW DEVELOPMENTS - 1919 At a meeting in Buffalo in 1919, as a result of the enthusiasm of Dr. Kalassay, who reported $6,574.20 in cash and $9,500.00 in pledges in the orphanage fund, the delegates accepted the plans for the set-up of the orphanage and resolved that each member of the Federation would pay 5 cents per month toward the support of the proposed institution. Thus a new chapter was opened in the history of the orphans’ home. NEAR THE GOAL Following the meeting in Buffalo, ALEXANDER KOVER, President, and a delegated committee went to Ligonier, Pa. in December to examine a house and adjoining property that were for sale and seemed appropriate for the institution. A DREAM REALIZED - 1921 The first Magyar Reformed Congress convened in Pittsburgh in January, 1921, at which time the question of the orphanage was presented to the delegates. The Congress appointed a fact-finding committee to visit the Ligonier property in question. The property was found appropriate for the purpose intended. The committee proposed that it be purchased. In February, 1921, the Supreme Council passed the motion to buy the property: a house and two acres of adjoining land for the sum of $28,750.00. Thereafter, all Hungarians, irrespective of denominational or religious affiliations, took an active interest in the support of the charitable work so that the HUNGARIAN REFORMED ORPHANS’ HOME WAS FINALLY DEDICATED ON JULY 4, 1921, the 25th anniversary of the Federation. The Supreme Council elected the following staff at its meeting in Cleveland: Superintendent, Dr. Alexander Kalassay; his assistant, Mrs.
