ALEX F 145 B53 1975

89 Pages·2005·8.96 MB·English

ALEX
F
145
.H95
B53
1975
/_
BI(cid:127)CENTENNIAL
HUNGARIAN HERITAGE
IN NEW JERSEY
The Bicentennial Hungari(cid:127) Heritage Committee
of New Jersey
1975
Bless the Magyar, O our God,
Bountifully, giadily!
Shield with Thy protecting hand
When his foes smite madly!
Fate, of old, has rent him sore;
May it now bring healing!
By-gone sins are all aton'd,
Ev'n the future sealing.
From Magyar National Anthem
by FerencK 6l(cid:127)ey (1790-1838)
Englisht rar(cid:127)lation by WatsonK irkconnell
PRINTED BY
STANDARD PRESS
New Brunswick,N ew Jersey
BICENTEN NIA:L
HUN!GARIAN HERITAGE IN r NEW JERSEY
The HUngarina Heritage Committeeo f New
Iersey was formedo n March 10, 1'975w i(cid:127) the goal to join our
country'bsi centenniacle lebrationbsy making(cid:127)o (cid:127) the contAbu-
tions of Hungarianst o the life of New jersey'o n the economic,
scientifainc,d c ulturlaelv elasn db yp ledginthge a ctivleo yaltoyf
Americanso f Hungariand escentt o the ideals of the founding
fathers of this nation.
The Committee elected the Rev. Imre Bertalan as its chairman,
Miss P(cid:127)cil(cid:127) Hunyady to be secretarya, nd Iohn Nemisht o be
treasurer. Members of the Commi(cid:127)ee at its formation were- Laszlo
Abonyi,A lexanderB emath, Gabor Bodnar,L aszlo Dienes,D ezso
F(cid:127):or, Dr. GeorgeF rederick(cid:127)e, Rev.J ulianF uzer,L ajosH ajdu-
NemetDh,r .O (cid:127) ø Hamotsh, eR evi.'.(cid:127)'r -(cid:127)ndrewH arsanYthi,e R ev.
StephenH o(cid:127)ath, the Rev. LaszloH unyady,L aszloK aroly,J ohn
Kerekgyarttoh,e Rev.M atthewK isst,h e Rev.D r. (cid:127)drew Kosa,
William Kukor,M rs. JohnM a(cid:127), the Rev. SzabolcsN a(cid:127), Bela
Pandak,t he Rev. (cid:127)orge Pogany,G eorge Pregg, Lester Sabo,
Paul SomodyL, asz!oS zabo,j osephT egze and the Rev. Francis
Vitez. (cid:127)e Committeeh as been incorporate.
Amongt he proiectso utlineda t the Committee'fsir st meeting
was a Mobile Exhibit to be taken to the various comm(cid:127)ities
throughoutht e Stateo f New lerseyd isplayintgh e con(cid:127)butions of
Hungari(cid:127)s to the life of New Jerseyin the pasta ndi n the present.
A(cid:127)o two printedp ublicafi.onosn, e entitledH u(cid:127)ari(cid:127)ns (cid:127) New
Jerseyc, ontaininag det(cid:127)ed histo(cid:127) togethe(cid:127)trh a Who'sW ho
AmongH ungariansin New lersey.T his latter pa(cid:127) wishest o in-
dude not onlyp rominenpt ersonalitieNs.o, belP r(cid:127)e laureatesa nd
other i(cid:127)ders (cid:127) (cid:127)e sciencesi,n arts, and in economicsb ut also -
(cid:127)d moste mphatically- commonp eoplew ho are not common
at all in the ethymologicasle nseo f the word becauseth ey have
built their lives and labor into the (cid:127)owth and excellencoe f the
Stateo f New JerseyT. heseC ommonp eoplem adeH ungarianas
highlyr espectedet hnicg roupa mongt he many nationalitieisn
Newl erseyIn. thisb ookw e& nvisiosenv erathl ousanodfs e ntries.
The otherp ublicationis this booklet.T he main part consists
of '*biographieosf Hungarianc hurchesa nd civic organizations
presentloyp eratinign New JerseyT. he editorso f thisb ookleta sked
everyc hurcha nd organizatiotnh ey knew of to submitt heir bi-
ography. Most of them respondeda, nd the reader will find a
fairly completec ollectiono f them. A few, like St. Stepben'sin
Trenton and St. Elias in Carteret, did not consider themselves
Hungarianc hurchesa ny longer.O thersh ave, in fact, lost their
Hungarianc haracterS. omei,n spiteo f follow-upsd, id not give a
positivere ply.A ll thesew ill be reviewedin the historicasl urvey
of the forthcomingv olume.
Ther esto f the contentosf thisb ookleti,n cludingth e pictorial
sectionw, erea ddedt o giveo nlyg limpseosf Hungarianp articipa-.
tion in New Jersey'sli fe and history.I t shoulda lso serve as a
foretastteo a mored etailedh istoryo f Hungariansin this State.
The editorsw ho put this booklett ogetherw ere Bela Bacskai,
LaszloD ienest,h e Rev.D r. AndrewH arsanyiM, ichaelH egedus,
andt heR ev.M atthewK issT. heya ll hadt heirs harein compiling
the materiaal nd writingu p the articlesD. r. AndrewH arsanyi
wasr esponsibfloer thef inal compositioann ds hapeo f the booklet.
The editorsw ish to emphasize,h owever, that each church and
civic organizationis responsiblefo r the material included as well
asf or thev iewse xpresseind t heirr espectivbeio graphies.
The art worko n the coverw asm adeb y JanosT okay.T he
printingw ork was doneb y the Rev. AndrewH amza and Istvan
HamzaT. o themt hee ditorws isht o exprestsh eirs inceraep preci-
ation.
ADDING OUR BRAWN AND BRAIN-
SHAPING LIFE IN A NEW WORLD
E pluribus unum- out of the many peoples who have found
haven on American shores, there has formed a mighty Nation;
just as out of manyS tatest ime and statesmanshfiopr geda single
Country. What did a comparatively small band of newcomers
from the fertile, yet tragic vale of Duna-Tisza, once protected
by the Carpathian Range, contribute to the greatnesso f New
Jerseya nd these United States?
Legend has it that there may have been an odd .Magyar
among the Vikings. S()mcs uspecta few of them midst the crew
of Christopher Columbus... But there is no) doubt that the
name America stems from 1rare; since there is no other with this
name on record among those canonizedt han the first heir to
Hungary's throne, St. Emericus. Consequentlye xplorer Amerigo
Vespucci, godfather of the new continents must have been
baptized with Imre as his patron.
There are hints that George Washington may have had a
maternal ancestorw ith a Magyar strain. But much before that,
in 1583, it was a Hungarian his-(cid:127)orian, Oxford scholar Stephen
Budai, who in classicL atin detailed an eyewitnessr eport on the
first English expedition'sla nding. While Budai was swept over-
board in a gale, his charts guided the Mayflower to shore 37
years later.
While Colonel Kovdts was recruiting and organizing the
American cavalry in the North, a large number of Hungarians
arrived amongt he French expeditionaryfo rce, to relieve Wash-
ington'st ired men in the crucial stageso f the conflict. Tht(cid:127) .
inclusiono f Magyarsa mongt he French is due largely to the.
promptingo f Ldszl6 BercsdnyiG, rand Marchal of France, who
was able to guide abroad R(cid:127)tk6czi's crack cavalry, when he was
in chargeo f the Kumc leader'sb odyguard.
Our BICENTENNIAL prompts us to present a cavalcade
in a nutshell. Some of our people's contributionsa re quite out-
standingw, hile mosto f them little known and unpublicizedI.t
is high time to offer a glimpseo f our sinceree ndeavor,e nrich-
ing life in NexvJ erseyi n particular.O ur State, situated as it is
at the epicenteorf the Boston-Washingmtoeng alopolpisr,o vides
homea ndw orkplacfeo r a goodp ortiono f Hungarianim migrants.
A resoureeEfunl glishmathne, f irstt o surveyth eN ewJ ersey
coastlinei,s well known to all schoolchildrenf,o r he was founder
of the originapl ermanenste ttlemenint historicJ amestowBn.u t
where is i,t taught that this fabulousJ ohn Smih took a leaf from
that greatc ommonekri ng, MatthiasC orvinus(w hose5 00-year-
old,p ricelesbso okasr et reasurebdy Amerieam'so spt restigious
universities), by pressing his Gentlemen Adventurers into
physicalal bori n ordert hat the first VirginiaC olonym ay sur-
vive. Popular miseoneeptions urmizes Smith to have been a
sea-captain,p artly becausel ater he was made Admiral of New
England, the region he thus named. But the fact is that he was
madeC aptaino f the Hussarsin WesternH ungarya nd after
havingd istinguishheidm selifn the defenseo f tha.tc ountryh, e
meritedth e recommendatoiof nS igmunBd (cid:127)tthoryo f Transylvania,
andw itht hath ew asa blet o joint he1 607e xpeditiobne,c oming
i,t s leader.
Hard workingm en and womenf ollowedi n the path of
SmithT. heys ettledo n farmsl,a boredin minesa nd forestsa, nd
even their young worked in factories.A merica's riehest have
smokeedi garsr olledb y teenageM agyarg irlsb roughot vero n
contractosf indenturefr, ee onlyw hent heir passagwe as worked
off.
When the combinedA ustrian and Russian armies over-
whelmedL ouis Kossuth'sst rugglef or independencteh,e first
political refugeesc ame in droves.T he Great Liberator him-
selfm adea whirlwind.t our,a nd spokein New Jerseyc enters
as well. Left behindw ere his followers,8 00 of whom became
officerfso r .theU nionA rmy,m anyd istinguishitnhge mselveosn
battlefieldsla, ter in Americanp ublie administratioann, d also
in thef ledglinAgm ericadnip lomatcico rpasb road.
NewJ erseiyn dustrrye liedo n the steadyw orkingd iligence
of Hungariainm migrar(cid:127)tfso r overa centuryT. he crueld ismem-
bermenotf Hungarayn dt he stillm ored isastrocuosn sequences
of the WW II forcedt he emigrationo f a multitudew hicho ther-
wise would have madeg oodi n their native environmenSt.o -
phistieateadr tisansd,i splacepdr ofessionaalsn,d r esearchsc ientists
thus roundedo ut the pioneeri mmigrantc omplementA. s a result,
especiallys inceK ilmer becamea word knownt he world over,
the Bicentennialf inds a wide spectrumo f Magyar talent and
enterprise.
All Hungariansi n New Jersey,i n every walk of life, sought
the companyo f each other spirituallyc. ulturallya nd socially.
Thise ndeavobrr oughfot rthc hurchessc, hooalsn ds ociacl lubs.'.
Ir(cid:127) this age of abrupt changest, rials, and tribulations,w e are
proud to adhere to the noblest American traditions, also to
the heritageo f our œorebearTsh. is samplero f past performances
attemptst o show that this segmento f our State'sc itizenry strives
to do its level best.
Our brochurea lso aims to strengthent he hope of young
ando ld œoar brightf utureb, asedo n an impressivfoeu ndation.
This may be a modest bouquet for a magnificent Bicentennial,
but it is submitted as a token of what we are and what we of-
fer as an appreciationf or a New Homeland.
Long may it en(cid:127)oy peacea nd prosperity!
HUNGARIAN LANGUAGE NEWSPAPERS
IN NEW JERSEY
Hungarian emigrantst hat settled in New Jersey established
their churches of differen(cid:127)t denominations and founded their re-
]igious, social, and t(cid:127)raterna! insurances ocietiesa s œarb ack as
the 1890s. It was not until 1906, however, that the first printed
Hungarian languagew eekly newspapera ppeared on the scene.
It was the Passaic Free Press (Szabad Sa/t(cid:127)) which later was
merged with a paper called Passaic and Vicinity (Passaic (cid:127)s
Kiirny(cid:127)ke). The Free Press was published individually œoro ver
60 consecutivey ears. Among its editors were the following: Her-
ma,(cid:127) Virag, the first editor-publisher,C orneliusC songrady,C harles
D. Papp, Stephen Huebner, Tibor Bartok, Eugene Lang, Nandor
Karl, Paul Nadanyi, Izso Szekely, Euge,(cid:127)e Markos ma,(cid:127)aging-editor(cid:127)
and Laszlo I. Dienes, editor-publisher.A nother Hungarian weekly
publication,t he Hungarian Republic (Magyar Ki(cid:127)'ztcirsasdg)w as
launched in Trenton in the same year, edited by Dr. Eugene
Antal, but it ceased publication shortly aRer.
in 1908 the Magyar Herald (Magyar Hirn(cid:127)'k) was established
in New Brunswick, edit.e d and published by Mr. Pogany. Into
this weekly merged several other New JerseyH ungarian publica-
tionsu ntil finally, in 1973, all the existingJ erseyp apersm erged
into one united Hungarian weekly, the Magyar Herald (Magyar
Hirad(cid:127)). The Magyar Herald's editor was i:or several decades
Hugo Kormos of Highland Park, whose sympathy and connec-
tions with leftist groups was well known. Upon his death the
paper was purchasedb y Lasz!o I. Dienes, who merged it with
his otherN ew Brunswickw eekly,t he,H ungarianY ourhal( Magyar
HirlaI(cid:127)) acceptedb y all Hungarianc hurchesa nd organizationosf
that area.
Chronologicallyt he next Hungarian publication in the state
xvast he Trenton and Vicinity (Trenton (cid:127)s Ki)'rny(cid:127)ke) in 1909,
whicha ppearedo nly for a œewm onths.I n 1911 anotherw eekly
wass tartedin Trenton,t he HungarianY ourhal( Magyar Hirlap),
edited by John Walko, publishedb y AnthonyV arady.
In 1913 the Independence(F iiggetlensdgw) as foundedb y
a young Hungarian newspaperm an from the old country, Alex-
ander O. Zambory who on November2 7th of that year published
the first issuem ade on a proof-machineH. e edited and published
this weekly until 1920 when he sold it (cid:127)to Anthony J. Orosz. The
new editor and publisher, a young former Hungarian army of-
ricer fresh from the war, took his job very seriouslyw, orked hard,
and for the 15th Anniversaryo f the paper published a large-size
Jubilee Album with a sub-title The History of the Tren'ton and
Roebling Hungarians - 1876-1928. The 114-page Album is a
master-pieceo f its sort, with an overwhelminga mount of valuable
information regarding the history of Hungarian churches and
societieso f Trenton and Roeb!ing.I f all the editors of Hungarian
newspapersh ad done the same kind of thorough job in publish-
ing similar Albums,w e would now have a full history of the
Hungarians in New Jersey.
In 1919 a newspaperc alled Reformed Church Informer (Re-
formtltusE gyhdzil (cid:127),gesit3) was publishedb y the Rev. Geza Ko-
rocz, also of Trenton. This paper merged with the Independence
in 1922.
In 1921 Alexander Zambory moved to Perth Areboy where
with the help of Louis Csipo he started a new paper, the Perth
Areboy Herald (Hiradd). He edited and publishedt his weekly
for the following 19 yearsu ntil 1940 when he sold it to Laszlo
I. Dienes, whom he invited to be his managing edi.tor from
Bethlehem,P a. after he was named secretaryt o the Perth Amboy
Housing Authority and director of the newly built, federally
financed William Dunlap Homes. Even after he took his new
position,Z amboryr emainedw ith the paper as editor in chief,
contributingh is editorialsa nd joke columnst o the Hiradd for
severaly ears thereafter.H e was the Grand Old Man of the
Hungarianp ress.H e took active part in the Hungarian life to
the day of his death in 1958. He was honoredb y the City of
Perth Amboyb y naminga streeta t the site of the HousingP ro-
ject ZamboryS treet.
Prior to his Perth Amboy activities,Z ambory started another
weekly in Trenton with the help of a print-shopo wner, Maurus
Gerenday.T he Iersey Herald (Jersey Hiradd) was launched
early in 1921. Gerendaya nd later his son, NicholasG erenday,
edited the paper for over 35 years.U pon the death of the Ge-
rendays,t he paper was publishedf or a while by an Italian
publishingfi rm. In 1964 it was mergedw ith the Independence.
The IndependenceO, rosz'p aper, was edited for severaly ears