Verhovayak Lapja, 1944 (27. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)
1944 / Verhovay Journal
VOL. XXVII. SEPTEMBER 28, 1944 NO. 39. The Board of Directors of tlie V.F.I.A., met on Sept. 18th, Monday morning in the Board-room of the new Verhovay Building in Pittsburgh, Pa., for its fall session. The meeting was opened by Supreme President, Mr. John Bencze and attended by the Supreme Officers, the members of the Board of Directors. The opening session was also attended by the members of the Auditing Committee, Mr. Joseph Bumbulucz, chairman, Mr. Ernest Kunstadt and Mrs. Jolán Lucas, members of the committee. The Board of Directors stood in silent prayer in honor of the 80 Verhovay soldiers who have lost their lives in the service of their country. It was a deeply moving moment when those attending rose, humbly praising the memory of the great host of young men who have gone before us. It was obvious, however, that the Board of Directors would not be satisfied with thus expressing its gratitude towards those soldiers who have paid the supreme sacrifice. From the very beginning of the first day one could feel that there was tension in the hearts of all of the directors. One could sense their desire to do something more than just conduct the regular routine of business. The number of our heroic dead... their heroic selfsacrifice, inspired every member of the Board of Directors to do something unusual, something noble for the preservation of the memory of the 80 heroic dead Verhovayans. The members of the Board came to this meeting with the sense of a great obligation. It was as if the spirits of the heroic dead of our Association had called upon them to answer their self-sacrifice by an action of sacrifice that would help lessen the sorrow of the mothers and fathers and wives of our soldiers who died for Old Glory. The question in their minds was only: what could be done? They waited and asked for a proposal, a plan which, if plausible, would find them ready for action. The Supreme Officers, however, were not unprepared to meet the desire of the members of the board. For months they have been considering various possibilities, knowing that the membership of the Verhovay expects the Association to remember its heroic dead in a way that would appropriately express the humble gratitude of every Verhovayan towards the heroic dead of this organization as well as towards those who have lost in them their sons and husbands and fathers. As soon as the various committees of the Board of Directors concluded their tasks, the plan conceived by the Supreme Officers of our organization was presented to the Board of Directors. * * * It is a simple plan, noble and pure. A plan that could be conceived only by minds which have been filled by the appreciation of the great sacrifice made by our soldiers, living and dead. A plan that is entirely void of business appearances. A plan that was conceived in brotherly love and born of the desire to sacrifice. A plan that is worthy to the cause. A plan which, if adopted, would represent the highest peak of fraternalism ever achieved by any fraternal organization. The plan submitted to the Board of Directors proposed that the Verhovay have a portrait made of each and every heroic dead member of the organization by a nationally known artist, and that the portrait be framed and presented to the families of our heroic dead. In order to lend this proposal the appropriate appeal, the Supreme Officers had a portrait made of the first Verhovay soldier who lost his life in the service of his country: EDWARD HORVATH, a former member of Branch 83 of New York, N. Y., who was killed in action at New Foundland, on February 18th, 1942. We present to the readers a picture made of this portrait. At the time the plan was submitted to the Board of Directors, the portrait was ready. After the proposal was explained, the picture was presented to the Board of Directors. It was an awesome moment. The picture, a true work of pure art, made tremendous impression. Somehow the members of the Board felt as if Edward Horvath himself would have stepped into their midst. The pastel-picture, with its beautiful colors, a master-piece of portraying, brought tears into the eyes of the admiring directors, and immediately convinced them as to the unparalleled beauty of the proposed plan, and made them approve it by unanimous consent, without a moments hesitation. On Sept. 19th, Tuesday, the Board of Directors voted by unanimous consent to have a portrait made of each and every member of the Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Association who has lost his life in the service of his country and that the portrait be presented to the next of kin as a gift of the Verhovay F. I. Association and a token of the gratitude of the membership of the organization towards those who from amongst our midst went to defend our nation against the enemy. Up to this date our organization has lost more than 80 of its members since the beginning of the war. A portrait shall be made of every one of them and also of those who will lose their lives in the future, in the service of our country. The artist who has made the picture of Edward Horvath was entrusted with the drawing of the entire series of portraits. It is therefore fitting that wre introduce to our readers the artist who will make the portrait of every Verhovayan heroic dead. * * * HUGH M. POE Mr. Poe is a professor at the ‘‘Pittsburgh Art Institute.” He has many nationally known portraits and battlescenes to his credit. He was the artist who portrayed the heroic dead students of the Culver Military Academy in Indiana. At present he works on a series of portraits of military and political leaders, for the Roberts Jewelry Company. Already more than forty of these portraits are exhibited in the windows of the larger banks and department stores throughout Pittsburgh. 43 portraits of industrial leaders by Mr. Poe have been published in the Bulletin Index. Many of his works have been acclaimed at ex-Board of Directors Honors Memory of Our Heroic Dead
