Fraternity-Testvériség, 2006 (84. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2006-01-01 / 1. szám
Page 26 Fraternity- Testvériség to their remembrances and struggles during the revolution. We learned new facts about our old friends like Terry Pflum telling us that she was born in Egypt. And like Maria Wood telling us how she acquired almost triple citizenship by being bom in Hungary, being raised and educated in Austria, and living in the U.S. Terezia Takacs remembered her life and that of her husband Paul, the artist, both of whom were young students of art in Budapest during the revolution. Frank Kapitan somehow dragged a huge shell casing from a tank that fired at the Communist Party Headquarters in Budapest. He still has it as a “souvenir.” Per Bang- Jensen recalled his father's role in the aftermath of the revolution. He organized the testimonies of Hungarian refugees in the United Nations. And of course, we listened to my husband Imre's account of his days in October 1956 as an employee of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Budapest and ended up in Nagy Imre's government. Some of us were not or just barely bom in 1956. My mother hid me in the basement in Budapest when the fighting got close. I grew up in the so called “gulash communism” except it wasn't called that in Hungary. Bryan Dawson was one of those whose parents emigrated to the US from Hungary. What a heroic effort his mother made to escape! We Hungarians are not only “Sons of Gog and Magog” as Ady proclaims, but we are also descendents of the "restless" from Bank Ban's court. We have come far from home and sparked several burning lights in America and the world by way of showing our special talents to the world. The famous Hungarian scientists, composers, conductors and inventors, whose names most of us know still amaze us at what they achieved. Let's dream for a minute and imagine what would have happened to them and Hungary if they had stayed home. We Hungarians will always be independent, strong minded and faithful to our own causes. There does not seem to be any stronger tie among and between Hungarians than the 1956 Revolution. It motivates, burns and molds us together; it keeps our spirits alive, just thinking about the Revolution. Photo-collage of participants: courtesy of Bryan Dawson-Szilagyi, American Hungarian Federation Hungary has shown the world that it is willing and capable to fight for its freedom. The nation is small, but the spirit is huge. What will the next 50 years be like? Zsuzsa Toth, participant Branch 600 - Sarasota, FL Invisible St. Nicholas Brings Visible, Edible and Touchable Fun There was great excitement in the air on December 11th 2005, when students, parents and grandparents of the Wass Albert Hungarian School of Sarasota came together to hold their semimonthly study session at the home of the Gemesis, which presently also serves as a school building. Most students of this educational establishment are also members of Branch 600 of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America that funded most of the expenses of the day. This happened to be a very special occasion with a pot-luck dinner of scrumptious food, hot chocolate and a bacon roast on an outside fire pit. Everyone, especially the children, had a hard time hiding their anticipation of the old friend to come, someone their parents had been talking about for years, and who never fails to show up. Hungarian children have an edge over their American counterparts as they receive gifts from Santa not only at Christmas time but also in early December. They know this and have come to expect the long bearded fellow in a funny red suit to pass out packages of candy and small gifts around the time of his name day. This evening they had no idea that he would be so elusive. Other famous and well known guests also made their appearance that night; Helena and Elek Molnár brought their protégés, Gyozo Leblanc and Eva Toth, both well-known singers of the Budapest opera and operetta scene, and Helena’s miracle healer, Arnold Varvarinec from Slovakia. Roasting bacon on skewers is a Hungarian tradition of summertime, but here in Florida, the evening temperatures were just perfect for the occasion in December. It was a good thing because shoes from size 2 to size 12 lined the garage door making neighbors a bit suspicious of this barefooted crowd. Singing Christmas carols around the fire, eating roasted bacon with onion, green peppers and tomatoes make even a hardened soul lighten up and hope for a miracle. It did happen! All of a sudden, sounds of bells could be heard from the front yard that startled everyone to be quiet and compelled the little ones to run like they
