William Penn Life, 2011 (46. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2011-11-01 / 11. szám
Tibor s Take the companion for Christmas and Easter celebrations. It welcomed new neighbors and was the gathering point for warmth and comfort after shoveling the driveway during the Blizzard of 1950. The pot was a familiar beacon for newly arrived Cousin Robbie. He moved in with my great-grandparents after escaping Hungary in 1956. The pot itself changed hands within the family several times. It was bought new from Strouss Department Store by my Aunt Jenny. It was a housewarming gift to her parents (my Nagyapa and Nagymama Cseh) in 1942. That year, they moved from their company house in Campbell to a big home with an extra lot on the south side of Youngstown. When they passed, Grandpa Check inherited the vessel. Every time we visited him, that old pot was the first thing we would see, hear and smell. About two years before my gramps passed, he gave the pot to my dad. My father used the pot in the same manner as the previous owners. Most of our personal memories of the coffee made by the pot will be fondly remembered. Unfortunately, I never had a sip of coffee from the pot. It would have been neat to say, "I drank coffee made by the same percolator my ancestors of three generations earlier used!" I felt really bad that I destroyed an heirloom. I would have rather had my parents scream and yell at me for my mistake. The lesson was much tougher to take. I learned that the Pyrex coffee pot was not only a tool, it was the gathering point for the family. For several days, I felt really bad. About two weeks later, I awoke from my slumber to the aroma of freshly brewed Joe. I sat up and cruised down the 12 steps of our sleeping area to the kitchen. As I turned the corner, I could hear the familiar PLUP-PLUP. Was I dreaming? No, my mother has a friend at work who had in her basement the exact same sized Pyrex pot. It was her mother's percolator, but she passed about six years ago. She didn't have the heart to throw it away. Guess who got a new/ old coffee pot? As a tribute to our original coffee pot, my father put the old handle on the replacement vessel. A few days ago, I had my first-ever cup of coffee, brewed from the newly acquired pot. Surprisingly, the dark brown elixir tasted pretty good. (Lots of cream and sugar!) I told my dad: "From now on, you make the coffee. I'll just drink it." 0<>50<>C>00<X>C<X>00<>0<XX>0<X><XX>0<>0<>0<X><X>00 I MUST SAY how wonderful and fun it was to be an American Hungarian this past September. Mind you, being an American Hungarian is a sensational experience anytime, but for that short time, the frequency and intensity of living Magyar Style was utterly fantastic. When it comes to experiencing culture, food, music and fraternalism Magyar Style, the 30 days of September 2011 offered a non-stop Hungarian smorgasbord. The days rolled from one to another, and each one seemed to be special. There was a vásár in Akron. WPA hosted a lavish banquet and fraternal fest. My family and I attended the Northeast Ohio Cultural Center's Grape Harvest Festival, Youngstown Hungarian Heritage Day and a Hungarian Scout Jamboree, to name only a few events. From the musical side of the ledger, we were part of the Rajkó experience not once but six different times! 1 saw George Bátyi and his Zenekar. I witnessed the artistry of Alex Udvary as he dazzled the crowds with mallet mastery. I listened and even danced the "Gólya Tánc" played by none other than The Hungarians. I proudly gazed as my brother Endre II performed on his 1892 Schunda cimbalom. He continues to demonstrate to the older generation that there are still a few young people that want to play and perform Hungarian folk tunes and melodies. My family saw several Magyar dance troupes perform intricate dances that were hundreds of years old. The food was GREAT! We enjoyed kolbász, lad pecsenye, gulyás, töltött káposzta, szalonna sütés, homemade palacsinta, kalács, kürtös kalács and several other Hungarian specialties. The culinary experiences alone could leave me writing for several pages. If there was not an advertised event, we found our way to either a Hungarian restaurant, bakery or butcher shop. We ate the Balaton's massive and tender wiener schnitzel and the Hungarian Business and Tradesmen Club's paprikás borjúszelet, made so flavorful by Ida. The Farkas Pastry Shop provided us with melt-in-your-mouth krémes and tepertős pogácsa. We had Dohar's own szalonna and snacked on cserkész kolbász. We even traveled to Toledo and Southgate, Mich., to sample Hungarian hotdogs at Tony Packo's and shared as a family the huge fatányéros at the Rhapsody. Our weekly Hungarian radio show had over 10 minutes of announcements about Magyar events taking place within the tri-state area of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The topper of this month-long feast of celebration and fraternalism came when one of our own, Branch 28's Katherine Novak, was elected to serve on the WPA Board of Directors. Just as we celebrated her achievement, we also grieved as three longtime listeners to our radio program passed. Yes, my family and I had a lifetime of Magyar experiences in a mere month's time. Let's do it again! / Éljen a Magyar! Tibor II Tibor Check Jr. is a member of Branch 28 Youngstown, Ohio, and a student at Cleveland State University. He serves as host of the “Souvenirs of Hungary” weekly radio show broadcast on WK.TL-90.7 FM in Struthers, Ohio. Let's hear your take Let me know how you enjoy my thoughts and views on growing up Hungarian Style. If you have any questions or comments about me or my column, please email me at: SilverKingl937@yahoo.com, or chop me a letter in care of the William Penn Association, 709 Brighton Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15233. William Penn Life 0 November 2011 0 7
