Fraternity-Testvériség, 2002 (80. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2002-10-01 / 4. szám
Page 12 TESTVÉRISÉG Pastor of the Calvin United Church and lived with his family there for many years. He was present with his family to enjoy the Festival and told me this sense of family and community is an everpresent aspect of the Birmingham neighborhood and helps the neighborhood to continue to serve as a touchstone for Hungarian-Americans from both within and outside the neighborhood. I was pleasantly surprised when our dear friend, Mary Bacho, who with her late husband Albert, has been a longtime dedicated worker for the HRFA, showed up at the Festival with several members of her family. Mary had provided several photographs and items of memorabilia from years past to exhibit, and it was a great experience to look through them and listen to Mary reminisce about the “old days.” When making travel arrangements to attend the Festival, I consulted Rev. Bertalan, and he advised me to stay through Sunday evening. As usual, his counsel was right on the money. I had the pleasure of enjoying a dynamic performance by the Homewreckers, one of the best rock ’n roll / R&B bar bands in existence, at the Calvin United Church parking lot. As the band went through its playlist, I felt as if every song was being played by my request. People of all generations were singing and dancing, and it was a terrific way to end a truly wonderful day. Fratemalism and Hungarian culture and identity remain alive and vibrant in our country, and the experience of the Birmingham Ethnic Festival is one of the best testaments to that statement. All of our HRFA members should feel proud with the knowledge that our Society’s contributions are an essential part of the maintenance of these key virtues, in Toledo and throughout our nation. I urge you to take every opportunity to partake in and support these events, and to pass along these virtues to your children and grandchildren. I want to thank all of the individuals and organizations named herein, and the many more whom it is impossible to list, for their hospitality and friendship. It is due to them that, on my drive back to the Detroit airport Monday morning, I was hoping that next August I can say to myself: “Oh, man, I’m going to Toledo!” r THE BIRMINGHAM NEIGHBORHOOD "N The Birmingham ethnic neighborhood in East Toledo was created at the turn of the 20th century by the local steel mills. These mills recruited Hungarians to come as workers, both from Hungary and in the United States, particularly from the Pennsylvania steel mills. At its peak in the 1920’s, the neighborhood populace boasted several thousand Hungarian-Americans. However, the influx of new Hungarian immigrants was severely curtailed by post - World War I legislation, which severely restricted immigration from Eastern Europe. A resurgence of Hungarian pride and culture was brought by Hungarian refugees in 1956, many of whom made their initial homes in Birmingham. Although many of these “ ‘56ers” eventually relocated to surrounding suburbs (particularly Oregon, Ohio) as they became established in America, they still maintained their ties to the neighborhood through the churches, local merchants and various fraternal organizations. On December 1, 2002, a wonderful book entitled Hungarian Toledo is being published by the Urban Affairs Center of the University of Toledo. It documents the history and cultural traditions of the Birmingham neighborhood. As part of our mandate to promote Hungarian cultural activities, the HRFA is pleased to announce that we are a co-sponsor of this publication. While in Toledo, I had the opportunity to meet the book’s co-authors, Dr. John Ahem (who founded the Birmingham Cultural Center in 1984) and Dr. Thomas Barden, who are both affiliated with the University of Toledo. Their enthusiasm for the project was infectious, and in seeking the HRFA’s support for this endeavor, they were gracious enough to provide me with a draft of the book for review. The book combines the thoroughness and attention to detail of a serious scholarly work but has the readability of an oral history, and it is divided into chapters which make it easy to digest. Whether you are from the Toledo area or not, this book is an excellent documentation of the Hungarian experience in America as lived in one community. It is obvious from a review of the draft that this book was truly a labor of love for the authors, and I can highly recommend it to anyone who wants to look back at the “good old days” - or tell their children and grandchildren about them. Copies of Hungarian Toledo will be available for purchase through the HRFA upon publication. More information will be available in the next issue of Fraternity. William Béla Puskás, Jr. Secretary-Treasurer/CFO
