The Eighth Hungarian Tribe, 1984 (11. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1984-06-01 / 6. szám

HUNGARIAN BUSINESS PEOPLE

LÁSZLÓ POKORNY:

The Foreign Car Repair Expert

NEW BRUNSWICK - If you own and drive either a Toyota, Datsun, Honda, or a Volkswagen that is in need of servicing or repairs, you don’t have to waste a lot of valuable time trying to track down a mechanic who can go to work on your car without delay and get the job done at reasonable cost. All you have to do is to get in touch with the NMD Foreign Car Repair at 165 Little Albany Street, New Brunswick (201-828-8288) and your troubles are over. That’s because this foreign car repair service is owned and operated by a European-trained, factorytrained specialist. What’s more, he is a Hungarian!

László Pokorny, the proprietor of the NMD Foreign Car Repair, is a Certified Technician, who began learning hs demanding trade in Pecs, Hungary, at the age of only 14. How he got to Pecs, to begin with, is a story in itself. For he was not born in Hungary, but in an Austrian refugee camp in 1945.

Laszlo’s lather was a high-ranking officer in the Hungarian Army during World War II and, when he saw that further loss of life and destruction was useless towards the final days of the conflict, Lt. Colonel Pokorny sought refuge with his family in the Allied-zone in Austria. It was there that his son, László, was born. But, as the future foreign car repair expert approached his teens, he yearned to return to Hungary, where his grandmother and other relatives still lived. Young László Pokorny finally managed it and lived, attended mechanic’s trade school, and worked in Pecs and Miskolc. Meanwhile, his parents left Austria for the United States and it wasn’t until December of 1969 that László followed them and then settled down in New Brunswick. By 1974, he was in business for himself and, during the past 10 years, has established an enviable reputation area-wide for his expertise as a foreign car repair specialist.

JUNE, 1984

STEFAN LUKACS:

The “Little Ole Violin Maker

PERTH AMBOY When Stefan Lukacs was only 11 years old in his native village in Hungary (now Klokocov, Czechoslovakia), he crafted his first violin and then learned how to play it from a local tinsmith. That was 65 years ago and, thinking back to the start of his love affair with the violin, he said: “I took some pussywillow wood and chiseled out the body, nailed on a board, and drilled holes for the pegs. Then, I put on two strings and was playing my violin. But I was only a boy then and I didn’t know what I was doing.” Evidently, Stefan Lukacs knew what he was doing because, at the age of 76 today, he is still going strong not only as a violin player, but also as a “fixer upper” of violins in need of repair. He also says now that, before he dies, he wants to “make a lot of violins”. In fact, his basementworkshop at 544 Florida Grove Road here, in Perth Amboy, is already chock-full of them.

Stefan Lukacs enjoys talking about the “old days” and about his interesting experiences. One experience he enjoys recalling is the time a top professional violinist brought him a newly purchased, $2,000 violin for repair and borrowed a much cheaper one from him to use during the interim. By the time the musician came back to pick up his own instrument, he no longer wanted to keep it. So he bought the one he borrowed from Stefan and has been happy with it ever since. So, if you have a violin in need of repair, or

if you want to get a good one for yourself or for a member of your family - and at reasonable cost - it would pay you to call Stefan Lukacs at 201-442-7138.

BUDAPEST INN:

A Hungarian Tavern With A Unique Twist

PERTH AMBOY - The Budapest Inn at 848 Amboy Avenue here is a Hungarian-owned, neighborhood tavern that is patronized by Hungarians from throughout Central Jersey. It has, in fact, become the meeting place for them because of its friendly atmosphere, good good, and good talk. But there is also something else which attracts more and more customers to this place. It is the pool-playing capabilities of its

Ibi wields a mean cue-stick.

owner, Ibi Frühstück, who gets a big kick out of being challenged by her customers and then beating them at their own game. She also sponsors a pool team and, when needed, she steps in with her clever pool-stick to help them win. But this isn’t all of the

Rozsa Sándor does her thing with a smile.

story. Ibi has a cracker-jack bartender, whose name reminds Hungarians of the “Robin Hood of Hungary” - Rozsa Sándor. Now, get this: the name of ibi’s bartender is also Rozsa Sándor who, by the way. happens to be a woman!

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