The Eighth Hungarian Tribe, 1982 (9. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1982-05-01 / 5. szám
May, 1982 THE EIGHTH HUNGARIAN TRIBE Page 3 THE EDITOR’S CORNER . . . We are sending out Notification of Renewals to our readers. In case your payment crosses our letter, please disregard. Your payment might be past due, due now, or due in the next few months. We encourage you to join The Hungarian Eighth Tribe Foundation if you can spare an extra $15.00. (Membership roster on back page.) Because some of the churches choose to send in their subscriptions, we feci that it is not right for some church to get a free copy, while the other one pays for it, so all churches are getting renewal notices. If you have any suggestions or recommendations for the planned Conference on August 20, 21 and 22, or you would like to make a presentation on any subject concerning American Hungarian or Hungarian History. Please let us know.. Motel rates are $31.00 for Single; $34.00 for double occupancy. Registration fee will be decided later on. The Executive President and the Legal Advisor to the Foundation are presently working on the By- Laws for the Foundation, which will be presented at the August Conference for acceptance. The mail brings us many letters, some favorable, some critical, some full of suggestions and recommendations both for the magazine and the Hungarian Cultural and Educational Institute. Regretfully the editor has no time to answer them all personally, for which we apologize, every letter is appreciated. We try to bring some of the letters in each issue. Through letters, phone calls (sometimes long-long distance), and by person, people pour out their disappointmens and frustrations they are experiencing; sometimes the editor feels like a father or grandfather when a member of the family complains about an other member, and feels very helpless. They have all the recommendations about what the magazine should print. But surprisingly, real interest is in the proposed Hungarian Cultural and Educational Institute. Here we have voices from the newer generations, some only half-Hungarians, through mother or father, grandparents or even great-grandparents. Generation written off by our churches and the Hungarian community. They are trying to learn something about their family background. Some have already visited Hungary, or are planning to take a trip to the land of their forefathers to get to know it better. In 1978, when the idea for a Hungarian Cultural Institue emerged, those of us who discussed this project were only thinking about saving the church records, or the societies that were ceasing to exist; the paintings, writings, the sculptures done by American Hungarians. Now a new kind of request has emerged which we never thought of, not even at the last conference in August 1981. A new kind of people are emerging, who are greatly interested in their family background (which is probably due to the film ‘Roots’, which was shown again on television) and these people now interested in Hungary as the 1,000 year old Kingdom where their ancestors came from. That part may now be under occupied rule, but to them it is still Hungary. Since they cannot see the land in person, they would like to see the customs, descriptions of how the people used to live. They would like to have a place to go to, take a trip that would be worth-while to bring their families, to learn something about their ancestry. This might shock a lot of people, in these days, when we are talking about giving-up our Hungarian churches, and turning them into just another American Church, with no reference to the Hungarian religious heritage. The task is much greater than anyone thought. To accomplish this project we need the combined effort of all Hungarian Churches, Societies, small or large, the Fraternal Federations, the American Hungarian Federation, and the many hundred-thousands of American Hungarians. The cost would be tremendous to put up an Institute like the one mentioned above. For the Jewish, Irish, Italian, Polish or some other nationalities it would be no problem at all, but for us, American Hungarians it is a great challenge. The spark has been lit, now it is up to the people to continue and finish the work that has been started. The Eighth Tribe magazine’s importance has been acknowledged in many circles, but no magazine has a future without sufficient funds, which can only come from the subscribers. We ask our readers to get as many subscribers as they can. — CHECK OUR DISCOUNT BOOK SALE —
