Verhovayak Lapja, 1949 (32. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1949 / Verhovay Journal
August 17, 1949 Verhovay Journal PAGE 5 Prospects By The Thousands Ready To Sign Applications (Continued from page 4) 'Hundreds Attend Burial Services For Ernest Kunstadt in Chicago — National President John Bencze speaks for Verhovay membership at funeral of Branch 164’s popular manager. — branches with large groups of highly active young people. They work together and play together. They pursue social and sports activities, assume the responsibilities of various branch offices, and do a grand job. Apparently, they do have a use for the Verhovay . . . It is not entirely insignificant either that the American Verhovay Journal today has almost exactly the same number of subscribers as the Hungarian paper. The number of subscribers to our American edition has tripled during the last six years which can’t very well be interpreted as a sign of the American born young folks not having any use for the Verhovay . . . To be sure, there are some people of Hungarian origin who wouldn’t be seen with a Hungarian group. But for each one of these Mayflower pretenders there are twenty-five free of such childish obsessions. And these twenty-five certainly are willing to listen as is proved by the numerous active groups of Verhovay’s Americanborn membership. Consequently, if one finds that the young people approached by him have generally “no use for the Verhovay”,, he ought to consider the possibility of his approach rather than the young people being at fault. It is very possible, if not certain, that his presentation of the various features of Verhovay protection, the fraternal program of the Association, and its inestimable advantages for young people, is not sufficiently attractive, not enough convincing and, perhaps, not even sincere. His method, his personality, or both, may be at fault, rubbing the young people the wrong way and, thereby, producing the “can’t be bothered” attitude on their part. This is the main reason why perhaps as many as half of the children of Verhovay parents are not members of the Association. And as long ás we have so many non-members right in the midst of the Verhovay families, we have no cause to worry about the lack of prospects, because all these young people are still willing to listen to an intelligent presentation of what we have to offer. MEMBERS ARE BEST PROSPECTS Then, too, a great number of Verhovay’s more than 60,- 000 members must be considered as prospects for additional insurance protection. The average size of the American fraternal life insurance policy is somewhat over $1,000, while the average Verhovay life insurance certificate is for only $740, which means that a large proportion of Verhovay’s members hold $500 insurance certificates. But under present conditions, $500 will not even cover burial expenses, let alone provide additional means for the survivors for the period of adjustment following death in the family. It is impossible not to be able to convince the holder of a $500 insurance certificate that he needs more insurance and it stands to reason that he will gladly apply for this additional insurance protection to the Verhovay for which he already has shown some preference when he consented to make his first application. Actually, the same is true of the holders of $1,000 certificates, because that amount, too, is altogether insufficient under present conditions. The fact is, .that the purchasing of additional insurance by members who already have some insurance with the Verhovay, ought to develop into a general trend necessitated by the economic changes of the last decade. UNLIMITED MARKET Thus we have a rich, almost unlimited market for our commodity right at home, among our membership in good standing. With such opportunities before us we can’t in good faith say that “it can’t be done today.” Then, too, we have tens of thousands of good prospects among those who have heard of the Verhovay but have never been properly approached. In the past years of rapid progress a great part of our new members came from this group. With so many good prospects right at home as well as next door, the slogan of every branch-manager should be “It can be done!” Nor is this asserted without proof. Just recently the volume of new business dropped almost to the zero point in one of our most important metropolitan fields. Those in charge claimed that prevailing economic uncertainties and similar factors have made the securing of new members an impossibility. Then an old Hungarian insurance-man moved in for the Verhovay. Within ten days he wrote more than $25,000. For this month he set himself the goal of $50,000. And this in a city where it was claimed that Verhovay’s opportunities for Laid out in state in a beautiful casket amid a veritable forest of floral contributions, the remains of Ernest Kunstadt, Manager of Branch 164, one of the best known figures in Chicago’s teeming Hungarian social life, were tearfully viewed by his innumerable friends, the members of the Verhovay, the Rákóczi and the American L.I. Association, ■the readers of the “Iras-Otthon” (Hungarian News-American Home), fellow-editors, fellow-managers and business associates who arrived in an endless stream throughout Sunday and Monday, July 17 and 18, at Hollerbach’s huge funeral chapel to pay final tribute to a man whose forceful personality has made deep and lasting impressions on the great colony of Americans of Hungarian descent in the windy city. Though seriously ill for more than a year, his sudden death came as a shock to the Hungarians of Chicago whom he has ably and conscientiously served through his weekly newspaper as well as in the management of Branch 164 to the very hour of his passing. Even while confined to bed, he kept on writing the news about his beloved Chicagoans, processed the claims of the Verhovay members, attended to their various requests, collected the dues and made his monthly reports, doing all this always in time, never permitting his condition to cause any inconvenience to either his subscribers or to the members of his branch. In fact, he even managed to secure new members during some of the most incapacitating periods of his illness so that while he was declining his branch kept on growing to the eternal credit of this man who was, first and last, a builder of the Verhovay. That he was well liked, respected and held in high esteem by the great majority of Chicago’s Hungarians and the members of Branch 164, many of whom are of other than Hungarian descent, was movingly demonstrated on this occasion by the innumerable floral contributions, the procession of thousands of callers atl the funeral chapel, and the attendance of nearly half a thousand of deeply sympathetic people at the funeral services on Monday, July 18th, at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. After a beautiful vocal solo, with organ accompaniment, by Miss Yolan Horkay, Henry Rettmann, editor of the Verhovay Journal, whose two sons lost a loving godfather in Ernest Kunstadt, officiated in accordance with the last will of the deceased. Following the ceremony and a vocal solo by Miss Horkay, the jpogress have reached the point *of exhaustion. Actually, the opposite is true. Prospects by the thousands are ready to sign applications, not for $500, but for 1-2-3 and 5,000 dollar insurance certificates. If business is slow, it’s due to poor legwork. Prospects for life insurance can’t be expected to beat a path to our doorsteps. Not even good mousetraps are sold that way any more. He who goes, gets it. Hence the term “go-getter”. He who sits, invents excuses. But excuses don’t buy groceries. body was taken to the chapel *of Graceland memorial park. Joseph Iroczky, Louis Barna, Stephen Ehas, Ben Fodor, Joseph Exner and Eugene' Petrovits, officers and members of Branch 164, were the pall-bearers.' After the commitment service by editor Rettmann, National President John Bencze delivered a deeply moving farewell address on behalf of the membership of the Association. Reviewing the accomplishments and outstanding services of the late Manager, district delegate to several of Verhovay’s national conventions, a former member of the national Auditing Committee, the only manager of the Association who held both the ‘Acknowledged’ and ‘Appreciated’ degree of membership, awarded to him by the Board of Directors in recognition of his unusual contributions to the advancement of the Verhovay, Mr. Bencze assured the widowed Mrs. Kunstadt, her two sons and theip families, of the deep sympathy and gratitude of the Association’s officers, directors and members. Joseph Iroczky, President of Br. 164, Andrew Fejes, director of thp Rákóczi Aid Association, Williaqi Kopnick, secretary of Branch 129 of the Rákóczi Aid Association, and editor Ignatzius Izsák, representing the American Hungarian press, each placed a' flower on the casket with a brief expression of condoling sentiments. The orchestra of Anton Skolny opened and closed the ceremonies with a superb rendition of appropriate Hungarian selections. Ernest Kunstadt was born in Temesvár, Hungary, on Actober 8, 1893. He came to the United States at ther age of 18 and settled ip Chicago. He assumed the management of Branch 164 nearly twenty years ago and developed it from its then modest beginnings into the seventh largest branch of the Association. Several years ago he purchased the Hungarian language “American Home” weekly which recently merged with the Hungarian News. Since the purchase of the paper he devoted all his time to newspaper and Verhovay work. He developed a serious heart ailment about a year ago. He was hospitalized for some time, then confined to bed for many weeks, and suffered several nearly fatal relapses on repeated occasions, escaping death only due to emergency treatments by his physician. Pneumonia aggravated his condition at the beginning of this year. Since then he declined rapidly. That he could still continue his work, serving the members of his branch and the subscribers of his paper, was due only to the magnificently self-sacrificing carp given to him by his wife with whoop hé has spent 34 years in deeply harmonious marriage. Their union was blessed by two sons, deeply devoted to their parents, who with their wives and children were the comfort and pride of their parents during the sorely trying period of Ernest Kunstadt’s illness, until his suddep death, due to heart failure, on Thursday morning, July 14th, at 6 o’clock, at the age of 55. He is survived by his widow, thp former Margaret Holechko, by his sons, Ernest Jr., his wife, Olga, and their children Ernest III., and Margaret, and Marvin, his wife, Irma, and their son, Michael; furthermore by his mother, 84, in Budapest, his sisters, Ella, the wife of Dr. Michael (Continued on page 8)
