Verhovayak Lapja, 1943. július-december (26. évfolyam, 26-53. szám)
1943-08-26 / 35. szám
August 26, 1943 Page 6 Verhovayak Lapfc A Report on the War Effort What Americans of Hungarian Origin Are Doing By Stephen Huzianyi It is inevitable that most of the activities which contribute to the successful termination of this war will never be publicized in the full, because the range and variety of • the departments in which we serve are too greatly diversified to permit of a detailed description and summary. It is our purpose here to do what justice we can to our boys as well as those of us on the production line through an analysis and exposition of our efforts on both home and battle sectors of this, the most widespread and far-flung of conflicts in our world history. While many thousands of our people, our brothers, our husbands, our sweethearts are battling all over the globe, right here in our country there are undoubtedly several hundred firms whose efforts are all directed toward an early and successful conclusion to the war. Recognition is deserved on the fighting fronts — and at home, and moreover, is necessary — so that we may gauge more thoroughly our contributions to the U. S. A. Such will be the aim of this and future articles, in which I intend to give brief, revealing biographies of our fighting men. Here’s a lad who grew up in a little West Virginian town. John Nagy was born on September 8, 1921, in Me Donald, W. Va. He went to the Mt. Hope Elementary School and then attended Mt. Hope High School, and liked history especially. His favorite sports were hunting, swimming, baseball and football. Besides, he was a Coin and stamp collector. He worked at the coal mine in Prudence, W. Va., with his father, until his call on February, 1942, when he left for the armed forces, John reported to Parris Island, S. , C., and later to Quantico, Va. He studied aeronautics here. Also he received various medals for his marksmanship with automatic firearms. Then he leceived orders and went to the Virgin Islands. Here he served as machine gunner on a plane and in this line of duty he gave his life for his country. P. F. C. John Nagy was one of the first American boys of Hungarian origin (the third Verhovay member) who made the supreme sacrifice. His parents, both of Apalyi, Hungary, cherish his memory as they continue with their work. His mother, Emma, tends to the The Ferret Sei P. F. C. JOHN NAGY (UMS-3) U. S. M. C. Air Station St. Thomas. ★ STULL AT WHITMORE LAKE, You know, relaxing at the lake shore these trying times of war and food shortages, certainly sweeps the cobwebs from ane’s mind. Especially so, after the i n v i g o r ating articles I’ve been reading _n response to Mrs. Jolan Lucas my sincere ©pinions regarding Verhovay life. I’m amazed at the large number of readers who actually are proving that what is written by Ye Olde Ferret means something besides the “spieling off” of a female’s energies! Letters from all over the country greet me each day — Illinois, Maryland, Ohio, Michigan and even Pennsy! Reading the minutes of the various English speaking districts is also adding to my being all keyed up over the coming Convention. District 32 (John Sabo’s district) had some very good ideas; for instance the one which I’ve been hoping to see in effect for several years, and which in my wandering way I was unable to propose — i. e. that of “appointing or electing a capable individual to supervise the promotion of social and sports activities to promote fraternalism”. I’ve always felt that if we were merely to sell insurance, all well and good, but since we have designated ourselves as a FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS, let’s make it fraternal. Social and sports activities have done more to enlarge the membership than the contests held for trips to Europe — they have succeeded in letting every little member feel a part of Verhovay life. Whereas, your contests have merely seen fit to allow a few lucky winners to have a free trip — and to date, very few of your European winners have done any more to bring Verhovay closer to the hearts of the members. (Just for the record, let me say here, that if after the war we have any more such contests, why not “See America First” — Florida, California, The Grand Canyon, any number of the United States beauty spots can equal the thrill of visiting a war-torn Europe). So much for that — I highly approve of this proposal, and I’ll be willing to bet I’m not alone in desiring to see Sports and social activities put on a nation-wide basis. Then another proposal by this same district — that ©f aífaírs of the home while his dad, Sam, works in the coal mine. They know that they will not receive letters from their son; he will never come home to them. May they take some comfort in oui words when we say that P. F. C. John Nagy gave his all so that we may continue to enjoy the blessings of freedom and happiness. May God grant eternal peace to his soul! * * * Corporal JAMES E. FODOR This young lad is from 322nd Fighter Control Squadron the west side of Chicago; Bradley Field. 22 year-old James E. Fodor, who lived with his folks at 4342 W. Carroll Avenue. After he was inducted in November, 1942, James spent more than 5 months at army schools. He was taken to Ft. Sheridan, then did considerable travelling by going to Miami Beach, Florida; Madison, Wisconsin; and to Bradley Field where he is now stationed. Corporal Fodor now is a radio mechanic. He’s already graduated from two radio schools, one at Truox Field, Madison, Wisconsin, and the other at Tomah, Wisconsin. And he is still hard at learning the things necessary to. the winning of the war. Before going into the armed services, Corporal Fodor worked with drill presses, screw machines and did soldering jobs at Sloan Valve Company, a Chicagg war plant. He was financial secretary for the American Magyar Youth Organization, member of the West Side Young Peoples Club; he played softball on the AMYO team — and liked to attend almost all the dances on the west side. He attended Austin High (specializing in biology), and graduated from there in February, 1939. « His mother, a Chicagoan, tends to duties at home, while his dad, James Joseph, works as a polisher and grinder. Jimmie, along with other west side boys, is missed and misses his neighborhood, but we can only hope that he and his buddies will soon return to the environment of homes and friends that they loved. You too can help in this effort, simply by sending in your name so that we can communicate with you about including the biography of your son, sweetheart, husband, brother, relative, or friend serving in the armed forces. STEPHEN HUZIANYI, Wrightwood Arms Apartments 3259 Wrightwood Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. electing Junior Officers for the Supreme Secretary’s, Treasurer’s and Auditor’s Department — is very good. In this way, the junior officers can be trained properly by those officers, who, up to date, have performed their offices in a highly satisfactory manner. I like the proposal that the National Auditing Committee be composed of three members; two second-generation members, and only those members be appointed to the auditing committee “who can qualify with proper educational qualifications”. That, my dear readers, is so important it isn’t even funny. Being on. the auditing committee of an organization as great as Verhovay, is not a matter of honor (as in the past), but a matter of knowing and understanding what actually becomes of our surplus funds. The auditing committee must be well-versed in bookkeeping, auditing, stocks and bonds — all sorts of little tricks which the average layman cannot understand. So let’s see that the qualifications of the auditing committee in the future are based on their education in these matters. Noticed in the minutes of District 31, that “all branch secretaries be placed under the jurisdiction of the Home Office, whose compensations shall be governed and paid by the Home Office, according to the membership of the branch”. This is wonderful, because at the district meeting, I found a large number of secretaries were grossly underpaid, and some receive no compensation at all. Being a secretary has its trials and tribulations — it’s not all as much fun as the majority of members seem to think. There is lots of hard work connected with the position — collecting dues, seeing that all branch members are satisfied, securing new members and making them feel part of us, chasing around after little things which could be taken care of by other members, but if it isn’t done right, who gets a “kick in the pants?” — yep, the secretary! Not only that, but a good secretary tries to keep peace in the branch — if Brother John doesn’t like the way Brother Steve combs his hair, the “Sekatary” has to either try to convince Brother Steve to change his hair style, or try to sell Brother John on the uninportance of Steve’s hair. You’d be surprised at the little things that can tangle up the smooth running of a branch. It takes the patience of a Sphinx to keep all the little cliques happy, and if not overly congenial, at least an attempt should be made to keep them all on speaking terms. And if that isn t hard work, try it somt year! Regarding a proposal by District 32 to the effect that more emphasis should be placed on the keeping of old members — seems to me I wrote an article to that effect not so long ago« Looks as if the matter is considered of some importance by the younger generation. Why write up new members if no attempt is being made to keep the older members happy?, There’s a job which is as important as selling new policies and a much harder job as I’ve been finding out. Here’s where keeping sports and social activities on a broader plane would have startling effects. Try it, you “higher ups”! f One proposal I read from an English speaking branch (of district) of which I do not approve, is to cut the publication of the Hungarian issues to twice a month and the English issue to once a month. A note to the effect was made that there is not a sufficient amount ol branch news to warrant the bi-monthly issue of the English edition. Well, well, coming from an English speaking branch that certainly throws us in a bad position. Seems to me we fought good and hard to have a bimonthly English issue. A great many younger members have been thoroughly educated in Fraternal and non-fraternal subjects the last two years or so. I propose a weekly issue, and more comments and branch news from more branches. Else how are we going to broaden our views regarding branch meetings and social activities? Read an article in the May issue of the “Fraternal Monitor’ which" proves that fraternal societies are gaining in strength. How do you suppose this is coming about? By, promoting a spirit of “brotherly , love” which is the basis of all good fraternal organizations. And how can we promote this feeling? — by letting the little guys read what we all are doing to help spread some of this good sportsmanship, and fraternalism which is enjoyed by, certain branches. ( , Received a letter from National Delegate Ernest Kunstadt of branch 164 in Chicago — he not only believes as I do in women’s rights, but goes a step further and “advocates EQUALITY for WOMEN and MEN, for OLD and YOUNG.” Mr. Kunstadt remarks that “we must not forget that first of all, we are a FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION.” Seems to me that a great many members have just been awakened to the fact that each one of them has an “undeniable right to express themselves”. If we are going to remain FRATERNAL, let’s see that aU the little guys are given the opportunity to loosen up, and unbottle the gobs of good ideas which have, up to now, been kept back because of lack of co-operation from a few selfish leaders. With more stress laid on fraternalism, a great deal can be accomplished in building Verhovay to the size of the larger fraternal groups —i Woodmen of the World, Knights of Columbus, Maccabees, etc, etc. Just one more item with respect to “the Brotherhood of Man” which fraternal groups are called by the “Fraternal Monitor” — the underlying “principle upon
