William Penn Life, 2003 (38. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2003-02-01 / 2. szám
Branching Out with Endre Csornán Celebrating 117 years of progress WE HAVE MANY GOOD REASONS to celebrate. We are the oldest and largest Hungarian fraternal life insurance society. We have flourished for 117 years and have not been buried by internal politics. Our fathers came from every part of the Hungarian realm—from the Great Plains (Hortobágy); from the shores of the Duna and Tisza rivers; from the foothills of the majestic Carpathian Mountains; from Ung, Zemplén, Bereg, Toma, Borsod-Abauj; from the beautiful Mátra and Bükk region of Nográd and Heves County; from the Mezöség; and from the mountains of legendary Transylvania (Erdély). Our ancestors were driven by poverty, coming from cities and villages in Hungary to America, in hopes of earning enough money to return to their homeland and satisfy their hunger for land (Maroknyi Föld). Some settled on the eastern coast in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey; others in the industrial cities of Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Chicago. But, most of them were enticed to work in the coal mines of rural West Virginia and Pennsylvania. The majority of coalminers left their families in Europe. They sent their savings back to their families. In order to save as much as possible, they elected bárdos gazda, sometimes as many as 10 to 15 men lodged in the same barracks or house. The furnishings were simple-benches, tables and beds. The work opportunities for women were few, so it was common for the Hungarian women to take in boarders. The burdos asszony cooked, washed and ironed clothes, carried water and prepared baths for their boarders. In some cases, they handled their money for them. It was not an easy task to be a burdos asszony. Some of them had no compassion for the sick or disabled miners. According to old accounts, Mihály Pálinkás, a young and energetic coalminer, witnessed the eviction of a sick burdos who could not pay for his lodging. His bed was put in the yard on a dreary February day in 1886. Pálinkás was outraged and took the sick coalminer to his own room. Immediately he called upon his coworkers and friends. "Men, we have to do something," he said. He said they could not permit those who get sick to be thrown out on the streets like dogs. The miners must help one another. They must establish a sick benefit fund. They all agreed, and a few days later they held an organizational meeting in Hazleton, Pa. According to the records of that first meeting, 21 Hungarian miners attended, but only 13 of them signed the petition to establish a sick benefit society. Those 13 miners were: István Arnoczky - Joseph Debrössy János Eckbauer - Mátyás Galátha József Hornyák - Károly Juhász Ferenc Kriszt - György Mikó István Mészáros - Mihály Pálinkás András Ráski - Andrew Spisák Joseph Uhlár The date was Feb. 21,1886. By December of that year, they were chartered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under the name " Verhovay Aid Association," the name having been derived from a Hungarian politician from the 1800's who favored the rights of the working man. By the first decade of the last century, there were 1,339 Hungarian organizations. Of those, 382 were associated with churches and another 200 or so were socialist oriented. The extent of the founders' efforts, strength and determination deserve our respect. A song called the "Coalminer's Song" gives insight into the feelings of these miners. It shows how even though they had a new life in a new country, their longing to return home was always in their hearts. Coalminer's Song Könnyeinket szénpor issza, Kacagásung fiistbefúl, Kisfalunkba vágyunk vissza, Ahol minden fűszál ért magyarul. The coal powder absorbs our tears, Our laughter is drowned in smoke, We yearn to return to our little village, Where every blade of grass understood Hungarian. All in all, it is amazing that, out of the hundreds of fraternal societies with Hungarian roots that were established, the William Penn Association (the successor of the Verhovay Egyesület) remains as the largest and most successful of the Hungarian societies still in existence. God Bless our Founders. mp|J William Penn tile, February 2003 7
