Fraternity-Testvériség, 2002 (80. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2002-10-01 / 4. szám
Page 10 TESTVÉRISÉG 28th Annual Birmingham Ethnic Festival, East Toledo, Ohio August 17-18,2002 by William Béla Puskás, Jr. “Oh man, I’m going to Toledo.” This was my initial reaction when I discovered that I would be the person going to Toledo, Ohio, to represent the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America as a cosponsor of the 28th Annual Birmingham Ethnic Festival being held in East Toledo on August 17-18, 2002. This duty came upon me somewhat by default since Chairman of the Board George Dózsa would be vacationing in Hungary and President - CEO Rev. Stefan M. Török would have just returned from vacationing in Hungary at the time of the Festival. My reaction was not intended as any slap to the good city and people of Toledo. However, I had spent my first weekend in August attending the Maria Poes Fraternal Day in Matawan, New Jersey, and my second weekend in August helping the Home Office staff put the finishing touches on our society’s regular report to the various insurance departments for the second quarter of the year. Frankly, I was looking forward to a weekend of doing nothing but lazing by the pool and watching a ball game or two. When Ira Gershwin penned the lyric “Summertime, and the livin’ is easy,” he surely didn’t have life at the HRFA in mind! Being a New Jersey boy, bom and raised in the shadow of New York City, the prevalent opinion among us was that, “When you leave the New York area, you ain’t goin’ nowhere.” I had been to Toledo in the Fall of 2000 for the HRFA Convention and it seemed nice enough, but outside of a couple of brief evening excursions for dinner, I spent virtually the entire week inside the hotel and had no opportunity to reconsider my opinion. Like many of us, my knowledge of Toledo came vicariously through the character of Corporal Max Klinger (played by Jamie Farr) on the M*A*S*H television series. This knowledge could be summed up in two phrases: (1) the Toledo Mud Hens baseball team and (2) Tony Packo’s Hungarian hot dogs. Seeking to expand upon this core of knowledge, I turned to my 2002 World Almanac, from which I was able to glean the following: Toledo’s population is 313,619 and the city covers an area of 80.6 square miles (both much larger than I had thought!). It has a per capita income of $27,097 and an unemployment rate of 5.7%. Historically, Toledo was the site of Fort Industry (1794) and the battles of Fort Meigs and Fort Timbers (1812). The city also figured in the “Toledo War” (1835-36) between Ohio and Michigan over borders (this made sense, given the city ’s location at the northwestemmost comer of Ohio flush with Lake Erie and Michigan’s southern border). Toledo is serviced by 5 major airways, 4 railroads, 53 major freight lines and 7 interstate bus lines, not to mention 7 TV and 22 radio stations. It is also home to 7 major hospital complexes and 6 universities and colleges. These are all interesting facts, but I doubted they would prove of much use to me on my trip. So with an air of resignation, I boarded my flight to Detroit (about 50 miles from Toledo) on Saturday to wave the fraternal colors for the HRFA. When I got to town, I found that I had a little time on my hands. I always enjoy eating and experiencing new restaurants when I am in a new town. Accordingly, the choice as to what to do with this free time was easy - lunch at Tony Packo’s Cafe! It was easy to find Packo’s, which is located at the comer of Front and Consaul Streets in the Birmingham ethnic neighborhood on the eastern side of the Maumee River which runs through Toledo. I knew it was a good omen as I walked in through the side entrance and saw a stained glass panel of the Hungarian seal on the entry door. As I went in, I felt as though I had stepped through a time warp into one of the family-run tavem-restaurants from the 1940’s and 1950’s, as I remember from when I was a kid in New Bmnswick, New Jersey. The restaurant was bright and clean, well-maintained with wood paneling and checkered tablecloths (of course, the TV was bigger and in color, and they didn’t have Rheingold or Schaefer beer on tap). After agonizing over the menu selections, I finally decided on one of the sampler platters. When it arrived, I feasted upon one of their famous Hungarian hot dogs (smoked sausage with their special meat sauce, mustard and onions) and some creamy cucumber salad. However, the piece de resistance was Packo’s “Chili Mac” - Packo’s chili topped with cheese and onions and served over nokedli (known as galuska to some of you and as dumplings to Americans). Now I know what Klinger was raving about! The great food was matched with friendly and courteous service. After conversing with my waiter and telling him of the reason for my presence, he presented me with a Tony Packo’s 70th Anniversary glass - free (I knew I L. to r.: Rev. Imre A. Bertalan, Executive Director of the Bethlen Home; Lou Kozma, Manager of HRFA Br. 21; and William B. Puskas, Jr., HRFA Secretary-T reasurer/CF O.
