Verhovayak Lapja, 1946 (29. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)
1946 / Verhovay Journal
Page 2 REUNION IN YOUNGSTOWN (Continued from page 1) should now be our task—he said—to join hands with the folks who remained behind to work for us. We will have a hard battle on our hands trying to keep the peace which we had won. The real work is just ahead ot us. We fought to assure the Four Freedoms for all nations. Every country looks toward us for leadership. Our country is the greatest on earth because it is made up of people who came from every country in the world. Our Armed Forces with its Horvaths, Donatellis, Sabos, Jones. Goldbergs and others, made a wonderful fighting team which brought us the final victory. We have every reason to be proud of our Hungarian ancestry. Remember that jour mothers and fathers did a splendid job, too . . . 'It should be your duty to equal their accomplishments and, if possible, to surpass them.” He concluded his address with an appeal in behalf of the starving people of Hungary, relating how the first second generation chapter of the American Hungarian Relief, Inc., was organized in Pittsburgh where a great campaign is being conducted by this chapter to provide the needy people of Hungary with shoes and clothing. Urging the young people to follow the example of the Pittsburgh chapter of second generation relief-workers, he impressed upon his audience the terrible need in Hungary which demands immediate action. Supreme Secretary Coloman Revesz extended his warmest greetings to the returned veterans of Branch T08 and called the attention of the audience to the fathers and mothers of our heroic young men. He said: “I think they, too, sacrificed much and should be honored for raising such fine men and women.” Supreme Treasurer John Szalanczy appealed to the veterans to join the older folks in their efforts to alleviate the pain and suffering of our unfortunate kin in Hungary. Attorney Stephen Mat assy, legal counsel of the Association, spoke of the tasks awaiting the veterans. He said: “They did a wonderful job on the battlefieds and then they came back to see the mess in which we are now. I think that the veterans should now take a greater interest in the affairs of our government. It is their duty to help straighten us out. I was here some months ago when we presented six portraits to the next of kin of our heroic soldier dead. Did these men die in vain? Are we going to see to it that they shall not have died in vain? We are always talking about something we should do to help ourselves. You can do something if you want to. You must register and vote to express yourselves. You must put the proper men into office to get the proper kind of government. Never give up' your right to vote. This is your power by which you can help administrate the affairs of your government. These veterans know the horrors of' war. If those who are always advocating war would know something about it, I am certain there would be no more wars. Bombs, bullets and torpedoes take a terrible toll and if these war-mongers would have experienced some of these horrible experiences, talk of another world war would be nil.” Veteran Elmer Szabó spoke in behalf of the 70 veterans of Branch 108, expressing their appreciation with appealing sincerity. Dr. John Majoros paid tribute to the Master of Ceremonies, saying: “I am very grateful that we have so able a man as Mr. Nemes as our Toastmaster. He has done a splendid job and I think he has merited our thanks.” Then he spoke of the 200.000 Hungarians who are being driven from the land which has been theirs for centuries and asked that “every member of the Verhovay, and especially Branch 108, send letters and telegrams to responsible government officials demanding that pressure be brought upon the Czechoslovakian government with the aim that Hungarians in Czechoslovakia be accorded the same humane and respectful treatment as the Slovaks are getting in Hungary.” District Manager Nicholas Takacs, John Bokor, President of Branch 141, Ellwood City, Pa., extended greetings; Gustav Habodasz, President and Joseph Danish manager of Branch 21, George Gregosits, manager of Branch 364, and Stephen Mátyási, Sr., charter member of Branch 108, were introduced. The program was closed by District Manager Joseph Nemes whose performance as Master of Ceremonies was warmly commented upon by the appreciative audience. A real Hungarian dance followed lasting until the late hours. The Victory Dance and Banquet of Branch 108, Youngstown. 0.. will be long remembered as one of the rare occasions on which old and young meet in the happy fellowship of Verhovay brotherlmess. The steadily growing interest of the younger folks in the organization built by their fathers and grandfathers is the fruit of such meetings, for there our dear old folks find the ways and means for transplanting their love for our brand of fraternalism in the hearts of their young friends. As we returned from Youngstown, our hearts were at peace, for there we found renewed assurance that the future of the Verhovay will be well directed by these young men who had learned on the battlefronts how to overcome unsurmountable difficulties. With this proud assurance in our hearts we feel that the $1,400 presented by the members of Branch 108 to their beloved veterans, will prove an excellent investment, for it will be increased a thousandfold by these veterans, the future builders of a GREATER VERHOVAY. Columbus Home Dedication a Triumph of Verhovay Fraternalism Verhovay Journal ____________________________________________________________________________________October 9-1946 (Continued from Page 1) Committee of the Board the request was unanimously granted and thus the Home was purchased. Now you have one of the finest Verhovay Homes in the country and, I assure you, we are just as proud as you are that we have a Verhovay Home in the capital city of Ohio. What made it possible to purchase this home? What is it that brings about the many fine accomplishment of fraternal organizations? FRATERNALISM is the motivating force. Surely you all know that our Association is more than just a life, sick and accident insurance organization. It affords much more than mere insurance protection. The record speaks of help rendered to the needy, the old, the bereaved. The aged are cared for in old people’s homes, the young are assisted and encouraged by loans, scholarships and sport grants. It was Fraternalism that moved our Board of Directors when deciding to present the next of kin of cur fallen hereoes with the life-like portraits of their loved ones. Altogether 190 portraits will be presented, for that many had laid down their lives of the six thousand Verhovay members serving with the armed forces during the World War. However, not even the war could retard the advancement of our Association. We are at least ten years ahead of our time. The members of the Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Association are doing their utmost to help the younger members assume responsible positions. They realize that some day these younger members will be left with the responsibility of carrying on the fine work that had been accomplished so far. I appeal, therefore, to all our young people to take an active interest in the Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Association. Our fathers have created an eight million dollar ccncern which is yours. AH we ask of you is that you work for the advancement and expansion of our Association. Train yourselves now because the day is coining when you will have to administer the affairs of this outstanding fraternal organization. Let me digress just a moment or two to speak of something which is very close to my heart. We had an excellent dinner here today which I enjoyed very much. However, as I ate my dinner, I couldn’t help thinking of those unfortunate Magyar children, women and men of Hungary who have little food, even less clothing and shoes. They are without friends, yes, WITHOUT FRIENDS but for those of us in this country who are extending aid to them. I appeal to you, SECOND GENERATION FELLOWMEMBERS, to do as we have done in the ” Pittsburgh District. Organize movements under the direction of the American Hungarian Relief, Inc., and help the people of Hungary, Send shoes, clothing, food, anything, but send it AT ONCE. We are their only hope for survival. Let us not penalize the kin of our fathers and mothers, the unliappy victims of unfortunate circumstances. Let us help them all we can and—NOW! In conclusion I want to thank all of you for being so attentive. I want to thank you for inviting me to this memorable celebration and I thank our Board of Directors for making it possible for me to be here. I consider it an honor, indeed, to represent the Supreme Officers, the Home Office and the membership of the Association. I want to thank áll of you for the splendid reception which I have been afforded and I want you to know that I am taking back with me the fondest of memories and the most pleasant experiences. May God bless you.” A HUNGARIAN CITADEL Hon. Joseph Fodor, Assistant Attorney General of Ohio, a member of Branch 129, and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Columbus Verhovay Home, spoke next. “There was a lot of work” — he said — “in connection with the accomplishment of our objective: the new Verhovay Home. What has been achieved, however, is only the beginning. That we were successful so far can be attributed to the fine leadership of this branch. The membership, inspired by their enthusiasm, decided that they shall act instead of just talking. And if we are going to talk in the future, it shall only be the best, the most constructive kind of talking. This home is more than just a “Verhovay Otthon” ... it is an American Hungarian citadel. Columbus really needed a home of this kind. We intend to use it for the furthering of all noble social, civic and cultural purposes. We want to do everything possible for the second and third generation to provide them with the necessary opportunities for becoming great American Hungarians. This home is going to be the hub of all future American Hungarian activities in this district. We will let the outside world know just what we are and we will do our share in building a better world, but, at the same time, we will do our best also to help build a new, better and happier Hungary.” DIRECTOR FROM DAYTON Joseph Prince M. D., Director from Dayton, O., also one of Ver. hovay’s second generation leaders, said: '‘In the first place I extend to you the greetings of your good friend Director Kelemen. He regrets that he cannot be with you due to his illness■ However, he certainly hopes to be with you at your next affair. I bring you, also, the greetings and best wishes of the 55,000 members of the Verhovay. You have done a fine job and your work will be an example to all of us. I am glad to see that here, too, second generation members of the Association are afforded opportunities for working together with the older people. This is important because the second generation will have to take your place if the results attained by the older folks are to be retained and further developed. Right now we face a particularly grave responsibility which must be accepted by the descendants of immigrant Hungarians. The second generation folks must do all they can to help provide relief for the unfortunate people of Hungary. In fact, they must go further than the older generation, for where the old folks have failed, the younger ones must succeed!” DIRECTOR FROM ALLIANCE John Korosfoy, Director, manager of Branch 369, Alliance, O., delivered the following message. “If I were a speaker, I could express the emotions that fill my heart in this happy hour, and I could do justice to my sincere feelings for you people of Columbus. Not being an orator, I would like to develop in my own simple terms the theme of my brief address which may be a little different from the thoughts expressed by the other speakers. My theme is this: L^et’s live up to cur God-given responsibilities. This demands understanding, cooperation and willingness to work from all, for only thereby can we insure the success of our endeavours. We know our responsibilities and we must see to it that they are carried out. We must work for the common good of all. This is the purpose to which your Home is to be dedicated. A year ago I promised the people of Columbus to donate fifty dollars if they were successful in securing a home in this city. Today I came here prepared to fulfill my promise. I want to remind you, however, that you, too, made promises. You promised good will, unity, mutual respect, understanding and you pledged your efforts to the promotion of fraternal culture. Please, do your very best to keep that promise! Do your utmost to preserve the splendid spirit of cooperation now prevailing among the Hungarian societies and churches in Columbus. Let your fine example become contagious! At the same time, I appeal to you not to forget the starving, unfortunate people of Hungary. They need your help. They need it now.” DIRECTOR FROM DETROIT. Julius Macker, director from Detroit, related the story of how Columbus got its Verhovay Home and, then, continued: ‘'The name Verhovay means good will. That is the greatest attracion and propaganda weapon of our Association. What this good will means is convincingly demonstrated by the relationship of the old folks to the young people. We are teaching our second and third generation everything that we had to do to build such a great organization. We are teaching them by our example how to honor it and how to work for it and we are gaining their confidence and cooperation because they know that this Association will be their inheritance. Like the other speakers, I, too, want to say a few words about Hungary’s unfortunate people. Let us return the favor which the people of Hungary did for us in 1906. When the San Francisco earthquake destroyed that great city, the people of Hungary sent $250,000 to help those unfortunate Americans who lost their homes and possessions. Let us return this favor, let us help them NOW that the most tragic earthquake in human history destroyed their homes and all of their possesions. They must be helped now while they are still alive, for after they have died, it will be too late . . .’’ (Continued on Page 3)
