The Eighth Hungarian Tribe, 1987 (14. évfolyam, 1-8. szám)

1987-05-01 / 5-6. szám

Arpádhon - (Part ii)

The story of a rural Hungarian community in the United States.

The place -- The Mall of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. Time — August 25 to 29. 1976. The occasion — The Smithsonian Bicentennial Folk Life Festival.

The lilting strains of Hungarian Folk Music sets four men and four women, dressed in national costumes, to dancing the lively and multi-stepped csárdás and polkas of old Hungary. From what exotic place did these dancers and musicians come? — From Albany, Louisianna.

All the dancers are of Hungarian descent, with the exception of Betty Kovach, who is married to Jimmy Kovach. They dance together. Géza Kovách and Mrs. Helen Nyéki are partners. Géza's daughter, Mrs. Annie Arceneaux, dances with Mickey Duczer. Mrs. Nyeki's daughter. Mrs. Sue Nyéki Martin, dances with John Huszár. Band members are: Mrs. Steve Resetir, violin; Andy Oláh, pianist; his nephew, Bobby Oláh, drums; Joe Kopsco and Mrs. Arabelle Fendlason, saxaphones. Except for Mrs. Fendlason, all are of Hungarian descent.

All these people are connected with the Hungarian Settlement: Arpádhon. In 1896, a small group of Magyars were establishing themselves in the eastern part of Livingston Parish, Louisianna. The three original settlers were Julius Bruskay, Tivadar Zboray and Adam Mocsary and their families. The Hungarian settlers changed the name "Maxwell" to "Arpádhon", after Prince Árpád, who united the seven Magyar tribes into a single nation and led them, after many thousands of years of wandering through Asia and East Europe, to the valleys of the Carpathian Mountains and of the rivers of Duna and Tisza about 900 A.D.

Arpádhon extended north to the old Baton Rouge Highway, east to the Natalbany River, south to the East Livingston School, and west to the Bourgois farm. For half a century, the small settlement situated 40 miles east of Baton Rouge was well known for its strawberry and vegetable farms.

The original settlers put ads in northern Hungarian newspapers and wrote to relatives and friends, thereby encouraging more Magyars to join them. So successful were their endeavors that by 1908 approximately 40 Hungarian families were in the area. Today, sprinkled among the Anglo-Saxon and French names in the telephone books, you will find the names: Kovách. Bartus, Mocsary, Erdey, Gajdos, Kropog, Prokop, and other Hungarian names. About 125 Hungarian families live here now, but only a handful still make their livings farming. To most, Interstate Highway 1-12, is the link to their jobs in Hammond, Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

At the beginning, the men worked for the Brackenridge Lumber Company. The Lumber Company's plan was to sell the land, after the timber was cut, to the workers for $10 per acre. Soon the village began to fill with Magyars. The fathers came first and. after a year's work at a little over a dollar a day, sent for their families. Soon the bare land turned into a prosperous farmland.

The Magyars were religious people who wanted to have their own house of worship. They felt uncomfortable at the American churches, whether they were Catholics or Reformed (Calvinists). Funds were collected from as far away as Chicago. Mrs. Catherine Dick, who moved to Arpádhon with her husband in 1912, told a story of an incident in Chicago concerning these collections. Mrs. Dick, while attending a Hungarian picnic, lost her purse, which contained $300. The people attending quickly took up a collection and replaced her money. A child later found her purse. However, when Mrs. Dick wanted to return the donated money, everyone insisted she should keep it. Mrs. Dick contributed the $300 , plus $25 of her own money to Mr. Bruskay and Mr. Zboray. who were there collecting money for a Catholic Church to be built in Arpádhon. Twenty acres of land were donated for the church site by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Juhász (they purchased the land for $6 per acre). The next step was to agree to the type of building and who would build it. Frank Kiss, a northern contractor, was hired for the job. The lumber was donated by the Brackenridge Lumber Company. Helping Mr. Kiss were all available men in the Community, who, of course, worked free of charge.

The church was named St. Margaret, a descendant of St. Stephen. Hungary's first Christian King. She later married and became Queen of Scotland. The church building was for one purpose: a place of worship. For other needs a multipurpose building was erected, to serve as meeting place, recreation area and school.

To cope with the difficulties of establishing a Community in an unsettled country, the newcomers soon learned to work together. In 1908, a family of eight was completely wiped out by yellow fever. Having no relatives left to look after their burial, the local people had to see they were properly interred. Through offerings of money and scrap lumber for coffins, a humble funeral was provided. This incident convinced the community that there should be a better system of taking care of the deceased. Under the leadership of Mr. Géza Velejthy, the Hungarian Burial Insurance was organized in 1912. A fee collected from each member is given to the family of the deceased. By 1910, there was a Hungarian Reformed Church; O.K. Club, a private social organization; and the First Hungarian Farmers Association. In the years following, the people were so dependent on the strawberry crop, that school vacation began the last of March, with the ripening of the first strawberries. School began again just after the Fourth of July, when the labor of the older children was no longer needed.

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