William Penn Life, 2012 (47. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2012-03-01 / 3. szám
Tibor's Take old records. Regrettably, most had to be discarded. We did not have the room or time to chronicle or catalog so many records. Those thousands of musical renderings now sit in a refuse dump in the limestone quarries outside of Bessemer, Pennsylvania. How many of those records were one of a kind or were the last to exist. We have equipment at home to record and duplicate for the sake of music preservation, but the obstacle is time and storage. I estimated that we would have needed 40 continuous years of recording time to save each record for history. v My question concerning this preservation of Magyar Musical History is: Will it matter 100 years from now? Will anyone down the road care or even be interested in knowing about this saved music? My dad had a departed friend who had in his possession every edition of an official naval historical magazine that was issued. The tabloid began in print not long after the Civil War in 1865. This history of the U.S. Navy was filled with pictures that were not available anywhere else. The negative plates were destroyed long ago. He wanted my father to take custody of the collection. He mentioned to my dad that no one wanted it. He even wanted to give it to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, for the cadets to use as historical reference. They respectfully declined his offer. When this gentleman passed, there was no one to give this collection to, and it ended up in the same dump as my gramps old 78's. This gentleman also gave my father hundreds of new Did you know they're Hungarian? Most of us watched the Super Bowl this past February. Did you notice the punter and holder for the field goals and extra points of the New England Patriots-Zoltan Mesko-is a Hungarian? Proud parents Mihály and Erszabet Mesko of Timisoara, Romania, welcomed into this world their son Zoltán on March 16, 1986. The fall of Communism and a green card enabled the Mesko family to immigrate to America in 1997. Soon afterward the family ended up in Twinsburg, Ohio. When Zoltán was in the 8th grade, he was kicking a football inside the gym when one of his punts shattered a ceiling light. The teacher noticed that the tough metal screen protecting the light was literally torn apart like a piece of tissue paper. He gave Zoltán two options concerning the destroyed light and fixture: pay for the replacement of the light or go out for the high school football team as a kicker. Zoltán chose to play football, and the rest is history. Zoltán went on to star at Twinsburg High School and Michigan State University, where he earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree. He was drafted by the Patriots in the 2010 NFL Draft. At 6 feet 4 inches tall, Mesko holds several kicking records in the high school, college and professional levels. Mihály Mesko was a professional nine pin bowler. □ recordings. (For those of you in the Y-town area, you may remember the late George Gregosits.) My dad kept most of them. This gentleman was in many respects just like an interesting fellow I mentioned in an earlier edition of Tibor's Take: Paul Lasher. Just like Mr. Lasher, he had a passion for recording live Magyar Zene music. This gentleman though recorded decades before even Mr. Lasher was born. These recordings were done on reel to reel tapes and, believe it or not, on spooled copper wire. My father kept some of these early renderings, but another problem surfaced. Where can a person obtain the equipment to playback a copper wire recording? I raise again the old question: "How do you know where you are going if you don't know where you have been?" But, sometimes, you have to ask: "When do you save? When do you throw out? Who, if anyone, will be interested in this bit of preserved culture?" One thing is for sure: You can't take it with you. Pass that legacy on. Just don't give it without explanation. Include the history behind it, the significance of it. Use that item as a tool to create a bond with you, the benefactor and previous generations. If you are unsure that the benefactor will truly become a trusted guardian of that item, then perform a preliminary worthiness test. Give that person a smaller, less significant item of sentimental value and see how he or she takes care of it. If the person shows little reverence or feeling towards this newly anointed stewardship, maybe you select a different person as the guardian of those family or generational legacies. In a future installment of Tibor's Take, I will expound a little more on those sack of old Magyar coins that I opened my column with and their imagined/presumed significance to not only me but the rest of my immediate family. / Éljen a Magyar! Tibor II Tibor Check Jr. is a member of Branch 28 Youngstown, Ohio, and a student at the John Marshall School of Law. He serves as a host of the "Souvenirs of Hungary” weekly radio show broadcast on WKTL-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 drop me a letter in care of the William Penn Association, 709 Brighton Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15233. William Penn Life ° March 2012 0 7 T
