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GOOD MORNING,
RANDY RUMMELL!
THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBING
TO THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT.
About this series
Month by month, we are cele-
brating the many unique ethnic
backgrounds of this region.
“Homelands” is a mix of history
and culture.
Today: Hungarian heritage.
Pictured above are members of
the Horvath family: John Sr., John
Jr. and Julia, who is holding Louis.
Also pictured are dancers from
St. Emerich Roman Catholic Church.
October: Polish heritage.
September: German her-
itage.
August: Carpatho-Rusyn her-
itage.
July: Serbian heritage.
June: Slovak heritage.
May: Croatian heritage.
April: English heritage.
March: Irish heritage.
February: African-
American heritage.
January: Italian heritage.
Inside:
■ JSO conductor/E1
Editorial.................A8 ■ Hungarian orphanage/E1
Horoscope..............E2
■ Recipes/E1, E7
■ Descendants reminisce/E6
Lottery.................D10
■ Inclined Plane designer/E6
Movies...................E3 ■ Houses of worship served as
Sports.....................B1 cultural, social places/E7
Television..............TV
Online:
www.tribdem.com/homelands
Video:
www.tribdem.com/homelands
Next month: Scottish her-
itage and emerging pockets of
growth.
Preparation key to success
for deer hunters, experts say
BY JOE GORDEN
JGORDEN@TRIBDEM.COM
Deer hunters may find mixed success in the
area’s woodlands this season, as expectations
vary widely from place to place.
Local wildlife conservation officers posting
game forecasts to Pennsylvania Game Commis-
sion headquarters provided differing outlooks
for this year’s general firearms season, which
opens Monday.
“Populations remain low in this area of WMU
2C,” WCO Shawn Harshaw said of his southern
Cambria County district. “Hunting will be poor in
WWW.TRIBDEM.COM $1.50 NEWSSTAND
While most found work in the
steel mills and coal mines, a
number were farmers.
Ancestors
desired
better
lives
“They came for
opportunity.”
- Mary Lieb,
Ebensburg
BY FRANK SOJAK
FSOJAK@TRIBDEM.COM
John Horvath’s quest for a
better life was splashed with
secrecy, faith and stamina.
Like many fellow country-
men from Hungary and citi-
zens of other eastern Euro-
pean countries in the early
1900s, Horvath was impov-
erished. But what he lacked
in wealth, he commanded in
audacity.
When Horvath couldn’t
afford passage, he secreted
himself aboard an ocean
liner carrying immigrants to
a new life in America.
As the ship approached
New York Harbor, the stow-
away leaped into the water
and swam to Ellis Island.
Not every immigrant from
Hungary who settled in
Cambria and Somerset
counties in the late 1800s
and early 1900s had to be so
daring.
Their reasons for coming,
however, were the same:
To build a better life for
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KIMBERLY F. WILLIAMS Please see ANCESTORS, A6
‘I am so glad God brought us to America’
BY MIKE FAHER
MFAHER@TRIBDEM.COM
There’s something more than the
usual parental pride in Edith Kovacs’
voice as she lists the occupations of
her four grown children.
They are more than job titles. For
Kovacs, those words represent the
freedoms she was denied under a
communist regime in her native
Hungary.
And they represent the long road
she traveled to Johnstown, starting
with a harrowing escape from
counter-revolutionary violence in
1956.
“It was cold, and it
was snowing, and we
had to run.”
EDITH KOVACS,
HUNGARIAN IMMIGRANT
“I am so glad God brought us to
America, and my children could
choose what they wanted to be,”
Kovacs said.
There were few choices for Hun-
garians in the 1950s, as Soviet-
backed communism had taken a
firm hold on every aspect of public
and private life. So there was little
doubt about the ultimate outcome of
a revolt against communist rule in
October 1956.
Russia responded with brute force. DAVE LLOYD/THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT
And that spurred crowds of Hun-
Edith Kovacs, a native of Hungary, with hand-embroidered Hungarian table linens.
garian citizens to run for their lives
– the U.S. State Department esti- then had the surname Buch – that she recalled.
mates that 200,000 fled west. oppression became painfully clear Worse still, officials decided that
They were trying to escape not just when the government shut her nearly all of the school’s students
the spasm of violence that was shak- Catholic high school and forced the would not be permitted to attend
ing the country, but also the pain of students to another institution. college. Since she was a little girl,
years of oppressive communist rule. “They wanted to close every-
For a young Edith Kovacs – who thing that was Roman Catholic,” Please see AMERICA, A6
■ Luckiest Buck contest info/B6
most areas in this district. I have seen a decline in
harvest for the past seven years, and I see nothing
to change that this year. I see very few deer in my
travels, and have had very few road kills this year.”
Not far away in northern Somerset County,
WCO Travis Anderson paints a more optimistic
picture.
“Deer numbers are on the increase in the
county,” he reported. GREGG DOLL/FOR THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT
A buck is seen among brush and undergrowth during a recent day in
Please see DEER, A2 Susquehanna Township.
Page A6 THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT Sunday, November 28, 2010

ANCESTORS
Continued from A1
themselves and their families. Some
also came to escape the civil unrest of
their homeland.
Followed others
No doubt Horvath carried thoughts
of his wife, still in Hungary.
Horvath followed the path of others
from their hometown of Szendro in
northeastern Hungary to Windber,
said his grandson, Dave Kormanik of
Windber.
Horvath planned to establish him-
self in Windber and then bring his
wife, Julia, whom he married Feb. 7,
1910, to America, Kormanik said.

He said his grandparents were going

to have their first child, but it is not
clear if his grandfather knew that
upon leaving Hungary.
He said his grandmother bore a
child, Margaret, in 1911 and stayed in
Hungary for a couple of years to raise
Margaret before leaving Margaret
with her parents to join her beloved
husband.
It must have been heartbreaking for SUBMITTED PHOTO
her to leave Margaret, he said. The John Horvath family — (left to right) Joseph, John Sr., John Jr., Julia, who is holding Louis, and Julia.
The couple planned to eventually
bring Margaret over, he said. 7 months with her parents to Czecho- sold toys to Macy’s, Woolworth’s and
He said his grandmother already slovakia. other well-known stores.
was an American citizen, being born She said her mother grew up in Tarsovich said her father was the
in April 1892 in Pocahontas, Va., to Hungary and married her father, Bert, first person to design Bambi, a stuffed
parents who had already immigrated. who was from Budapest, Hungary. deer, and the only one in the industry
He said his great-grandparents then Her mother, who thus was an Amer- who could make the thin legs of the
returned to Hungary, where they ican citizen by birth, moved to New deer stand up.
raised his grandmother. York City after being married six Her father ran the business until
months to start building a better life retiring in the 1960s and moving with
Places called home for themselves. his wife to Johnstown.
Immigrants from Hungary during Back then, the word was that people
the late 19th century and early 20th in New York City were doing well eco- Lived in a tent
century settled mainly in the Windber nomically and that “money was being Mary Lieb of Ebensburg said her
area of Somerset County and in swept up off the streets,” she said. grandfather, Alex Mata, and her
Johnstown, Portage, Nanty Glo, She said the plan was for her mother grandmother, Pauline, were born in
Mundys Corner and Vintondale in to find a job and a place to live while the late 1800s in Eger, Hungary.
Cambria County. saving enough money to bring her She said her grandparents knew
While most found work in the steel father to New York City under her citi- each other well in Hungary, with her
mills and coal mines, a number were zenship. grandfather arriving first in central
farmers. “When my mother arrived at Ellis Cambria County. Her grandmother
All worked hard to raise their fami- Island, employers were there looking followed a short time later, in 1914, at
lies, support their churches and be for workers,” Tarsovich said. the age of 24 with the couple then get-
successful. “My mother was interviewed by a ting married.
For many Hungarians and other Jewish family who had immigrated She said the couple moved to Colver,
immigrants settling in Somerset Coun- from Hungary. The husband was a where they lived in a tent before mov-
ty, their first stop was generally a lawyer and they wanted to hire domes- ing into a house in that town. Later,
boarding house in Macdonaldton, just tic help. they bought 10 acres of land in
outside Berlin. “They liked my mom from the start Mundys Corner and built a farmhouse.
Another Windber area family, head- and asked her to work for them. They Lieb’s grandfather worked in the
ed by Andrew Molnar, also left Szen- gave her room and board.” coal mines and steel mill and also
dro around 1910 and managed the After six months, she saved enough farmed. She said her grandmother was
boarding house in Macdonaldton money to bring her husband. an amazing lady and the matriarch of
before moving to Wilbur and settling Tarsovich’s mother continued work- the family – taking care of the house SUBMITTED PHOTO
for good in Mine 37, located in Rich- ing for the couple, with her father and raising the family. The couple had Alex Mata with his grandsons — (left to right) Joe Mata, Paul Mata, Francis Myers and Jim Myers.
land Township but near Windber. finding a job selling fruits and vegeta- seven children, two of whom died at
Barbara Horvath, who married Kor- bles on the street for A&P supermar- childbirth. nity meant losing someone they loved. 6. The others were Stephen, Louis,
manik’s uncle, Joseph, said her father, ket, she said. Her grandmother made rugs to sup- The Horvaths never did get to bring Joseph and John, and another
Andrew Molnar, was born in 1881 and “He was living with four other plement their income and, having Margaret to America. daughter, whom they named
her mother, Theresa, in 1883. Her boarders, and in his spare time learned carpentry skills from her The couple wanted to return but Julia in honor of their first
mother also was from Szendro. enjoyed drawing 3-D pictures of ani- father in Hungary, wasn’t afraid to use World War I prevented that from hap- daughter and whom is Kormanik’s
The Windber area woman said her mals, she said. that skill around the house. pening, Kormanik said. mother.
parents knew each other in Hungary. “One of the boarders worked at a toy Lieb said her grandfather was a After the war, they didn’t have the In 1975, a joyous reunion took place
Her father came first with the cou- factory that made stuffed animals. The wonderful man who was jovial, kind money to return, plus the grandpar- when son Stephen arranged a trip to
ple marrying shortly after she arrived, boarder suggested that my father and loved his grandchildren. ents had grown too fond of Margaret take his mother and siblings to see
Horvath said. apply for a job designing animals at “They came for opportunity,” she to give the girl up, he said. Margaret.
She said while in Macdonaldton, her the toy factory.” said, adding that they also wanted to He said it must have been heart- It was the first time the siblings saw
parents had 18 boarders at a time, After showing management his flee civil unrest. breaking for both his grandparents to Margaret and the first time Julia Hor-
many of whom were Hungarians. The drawings, he was hired, she said. Lieb said her grandmother’s brother leave Margaret there. vath saw Margaret since leaving for
boarders stayed until they found jobs While working at the factory, her was killed around 1910 during that He said his grandfather never saw America.
in the mines. father attended night school to learn civil unrest. Margaret, who remained in Hungary In 1985, son Stephen arranged to
English and to get his citizenship. Many other Hungarian families in her entire life. John Horvath died in have Margaret and members of her
Domestic help After five years of working at the toy the Mundys Corner area also came the 1960s. family visit Windber.
Margaret Tarsovich of Southmont factory, her father was able to open his from Eger, she said. Kormanik said his grandparents, Shortly afterward, Stephen
said her mother, Margaret Lipan, was own toy factory in New York City. who lived in Windber their entire arranged a family trip to Hungary
born in Homestead, located near Called Gloria Toy Inc., the factory Land of opportunity lives, had five more children. for the wedding of one of Margaret’s
Pittsburgh, only to move at the age of eventually employed 150 people and Often, finding the land of opportu- The oldest, Julia, died at the age of children.

AMERICA soldiers declared that everyone

could continue on – except for
Kovacs.
better it was.”
Given the nightmarish jour-
ney, Kovacs’ memories of the
came with a choice – Canada or
the United States.
Kovacs said her husband
“They were so good to me
and to the family. They practi-
cally adopted the kids,” Kovacs
The trip made quite an
impression on her son, Dan
Kovacs, who was about 12 at
Continued from A1 “They wanted to take me,” moment she spotted an Austri- “looked at me, and I said, ‘Of said. the time. He remembers
she said. an town are dreamlike: There course, America.’ ” “There was not one morning guards, supported by guns and
Kovacs had dreamed of becom- “There were five or six of was sunshine, and she heard that I opened the door and dogs, searching the family’s car.
ing a physician. them, with machine guns.” music. didn’t find some present there.” “After you experienced that,
“It is like you are a rose grow- The guards somehow “It was good for An assignment in Mercer it put the fear of God in you,”
ing, and you are clipped,” she were persuaded to release ‘It was so nice’ me to show them County followed, and the family he said.
said. her. “The Austrians were wonder- eventually settled in Ligonier. Edith Kovacs smiled when
“You know that whatever you The next day, she and Paul ful,” she said. that this was Paul Kovacs spent more than she heard that, saying she knew
dreamed of, it is finished.” boarded a truck arranged by “They gave us rooms, and what we came two decades as administrator of the family was safe on that trip.
So when the revolution began Edith’s aunt. The couple had there was straw on the floor what was then called Bethlen For her, the experience was
the year after she completed been disguised as peasants – but it was so nice.” from.” Home, and Edith Kovacs in part an important lesson for
school, the 18-year-old wasted no heading for a day of work, car- The young couple stayed in EDITH KOVACS, worked as a dietitian. her children.
time in fleeing west in a group rying shovels and rakes. Austria for a few months, then WHO RETURNED TO “It was good for me to show
that included her future husband The truck stopped near the moved to the Netherlands, HUNGARY WITH HER
Homecoming them that this was what we
Paul Kovacs, a young minister Hungary-Austria border. where they were married. They After retiring, Paul Kovacs came from,” she said.
she had met in Budapest. had two children during their CHILDREN came full circle: He was asked The long journey ended for
Difficult journey time in Amsterdam. to again minister at Johns- Paul Kovacs when he died in
‘We had to go’ From there, it was a difficult But their travels had just town’s Hungarian Reformed April 2009.
Fifty-four years later, there journey on foot to freedom. begun: Paul Kovacs then was First assignment Church. But Dan Kovacs will never
remains a steely resolve in her Even after crossing the border, invited to perform United “It was like going home,” forget his father’s stories about
voice when she says, “We had to there remained about 3 miles of Church of Christ missionary Their first assignment was Edith Kovacs said. surviving in Hungary.
go.” dangerous no-man’s-land. work thousands of miles away the Hungarian Reformed She also recalls a homecom- His parents’ migrations – and
But there was no easy way to “It was cold, and it was snow- in Uruguay, South America. Church in Johnstown’s Cam- ing of a different sort. Around their final destination – now
slip through the Iron Curtain. ing, and we had to run,” Kovacs The growing family spent a bria City neighborhood. 1980, Edith Kovacs returned to seem almost inevitable.
The group was stopped in the said. full decade in Uruguay. And It was the early 1970s, and Hungary for the first time, with “It was all about freedom for
border town of Sopron, where “The faster you got over, the their next potential relocation the congregation was thriving. two children in tow. them,” he said.
THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT
Sunday, November 28, 2010 LIVING E

INSIDE: BY THE NUMBERS • CHURCHES • DESCENDANTS REMINISCE • RECIPES

‘I was blessed’
JSO conductor recounts steps in race for his life

Ι
By Mike Faher/mfaher@tribdem.com
stvan Jaray is a Johnstown institution,
having conducted the local symphony
orchestra for more than a quarter
century.
However, if not for a a few miraculously
narrow escapes in the cold, gray November
of 1956, Jaray never would have set foot on
U.S. soil, never would have picked up a con-
ductor’s baton and never would have seen
his 26th birthday.
In the span of one month, Jaray went
from dodging bullets that had cut down so
many of his Hungarian countrymen to rest-
ing comfortably in London.
“Some helping hand was with me all the
way, guided me through an incredible jour-
ney,” Jaray said.
“I was blessed, really.”
Music was an everyday fixture in Jaray’s
small-town Hungarian household: He first
picked up a violin 74 years ago, at the age
of 5.
‘Music chose me’
“I always say that I didn’t choose music,”
he said. “Music chose me.”
It was music that later led Jaray to the
Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest to study
the violin.
In a country ruled with an iron fist by a
brutal communist regime, a free education
was one of the few perks. It was important
for Jaray, who had grown up in a blue-collar
family and had lost his father at age 17.
But everything changed in October 1956.
“I had another year to complete to have
my full performing degree,” Jaray said.
“But then, of course, the tragedy
hit on Oct. 23.”
That tragedy began as a peaceful student
gathering protesting the Soviet-communist
government and expressing solidarity with a
Polish movement against Russia. Jaray was
part of that parade, and he recalls a crowd
swelling to the thousands.
“It was such an incredible, enthusiastic,
joyful march,” he said.
“All I had was my clothes,
a coat, and that was it.”
ISTVAN JARAY,
JSO CONDUCTOR
“Everybody’s hoping that maybe through a
peaceful march, the solution can be that the
Russians eventually will just pull out of the
country.”
The march ended violently, though, as sol-
diers fired on students. And while the subse-
quent uprising appeared for a short time to
hold promise for a free Hungary, the Soviets
quickly cracked down in early November.
Jaray remembers “absolutely senseless,
brutal cruelty”: Machine guns turned on a
line of people waiting for bread, or soldiers
told to shoot on sight anyone who was wear-
ing boots.
‘Their system’
“The government started a systematic
search for any of those who were part of the
start of this whole revolution,” Jaray said.
Students were a target. And one night
around 11 p.m., three tanks appeared
outside the dorm where Jaray lived.
After a search, soldiers decided
– mistakenly – that these students
were enemy combatants. The
classmates, who had been herded into a large
assembly hall, now were ordered onto a wait-
ing truck.
“That meant we knew that we’re going to
be shot. Period. There were no ifs and buts,”
Jaray said.
“That was their system.”
Their lives were spared when, by chance, a
Russian officer came by the truck, was told
what had happened and allowed the stu-
dents to go free.
The ordeal had lasted until about 3 a.m.,
and Jaray did not wait around to see what
might happen next. He called a friend at
5 a.m., and an hour later, they were on a
train headed toward the western border.
“All I had was my clothes, a coat, and that
was it. And that’s where I decided that obvi-
ously our future is so dark, so hopeless, that I
have to leave,” Jaray said.
‘Didn’t call anybody’
“I absolutely didn’t call anybody – not my
mother, my sisters, and for weeks actually
they didn’t even know whether I (was alive)
or whether I was dead.”
Jaray and his friend knew what they faced:
The Hungarian border, he said, was “iron-
clad. A mouse couldn’t get out.”
Still, they would try, with their hopes
buoyed by the fact that the border had been
breached during the revolution.
The duo disembarked before reaching the
border, spooked by a secret police search of
the train. Reaching a village on foot, they
heard that a man – for a certain sum – would
lead them to the border.
A group of about 20 set off. But a
sudden encounter with bright lights
Please see JSO, E7
Hungarian Beef Goulash
3 tablespoons oil
1 1/2 pounds beef cubes
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, cored, seeded and cut into four
pieces
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1 medium-sized ripe tomato, seeded and cut
into 4 pieces
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon salt
5 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and diced
Use a 3-quart saucepan or Dutch oven. Run
hot water over meat in a strainer; let drain.
Sauté onions in oil; add paprika and stir well.
Add meat, salt, tomato and 1 cup of water or
enough to cover ingredients. Cook slowly for
1 hour. Then add all washed and sliced vegeta-
bles, except potatoes. Add another cup of water
and cook slowly for 1/2 hour, then add pota-
toes. Continue cooking for 15 minutes. Add
1 quart of cold water; let it come to a boil and
cook for 10 minutes. Serve as a main dish with
dumplings in a heated soup tureen. (Can also
be served without dumplings.)
Dumplings
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
1/4 cup water
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and beat with
spoon. Drop by teaspoonfuls into boiling water.
Cook until dumplings rise to top. Drain and
rinse in cold water.
By Josephine Seeley

Creamed String Bean Soup

1 pound fresh string beans or canned
1/2 pint sour cream
Vinegar to taste
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons flour
2 quarts water

Cook beans in water until soft. Add remaining

ingredients; simmer for a few minutes.
By Theresa Dudash

Hungarian Style Spinach

DAVE LLOYD/THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT 1 pound spinach
Hungarian-born Istvan Jaray is conductor of the 1 cup water
3 tablespoons bacon drippings
Johnstown Symphony Orchestra. 2 1/2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup milk

Please see RECIPES, E7

Ligonier facility once served as Hungarian orphanage

Τ
By Mike Faher/mfaher@tribdem.com
he orphans are long gone, as is the old
hotel they called home.
Bethlen Communities now is a modern
care center for the elderly, and it has branched
out beyond its hilltop headquarters overlooking
Ligonier Borough.
But one thing has remained constant
throughout the facility’s nearly 90-year history:
People of Hungarian ancestry founded this
place and continue to operate it.
And they are not about to let their proud his-
tory disappear, with plans to soon open a
museum and archive that will have nationwide
significance.
“This is the way we can pass on the history,
the lessons, the dedication and the sacrifices
that were made over so many decades,” said the
Rev. Imre Bertalan, Bethlen Communities
executive director.
Bethlen traces its roots to the other side of
Westmoreland County, where 239 miners lost
their lives in the Darr Mine disaster of Decem-
ber 1907. Most of those who died were Hun-
garian immigrants, and it remains the worst
mine disaster in Pennsylvania history.
For children left behind by the Darr explo-
sion, an orphanage was created at the First
Hungarian Reformed Church in Pittsburgh.
“At that point, the orphanage began to open
to people of other ethnic backgrounds,” Berta-
lan said.
“The common denominator was industrial
accidents.”
That led to a need for more space, and the
orphanage moved a few times in Pittsburgh,
Bertalan said.
But things changed when the owner of the
Park Hotel in Ligonier, who was looking to
leave his business, heard of the orphans’ plight.
The Hungarian Reformed Federation of Amer-
ica bought the hotel and surrounding land, and
on July 4, 1921, the building was rededicated as
TODD BERKEY/THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT
Please see FACILITY, E7 The Rev. Imre Bertalan is executive director of Bethlen Communities in Ligonier.

OVER 26 YEARS EXPERIENCE

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PLASTIC SURGEONS
Board Certified
415 Napoleon Place, Johnstown
(814) 536-9000
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Evening hours now available.
Page E6 THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT Sunday, November 28, 2010

‘CHURCHES WERE A BIG PART OF THEIR LIVES’

TODD BERKEY/THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT

A big tradition for the Hungarians was the Grape Festival, held in the fall to celebrate a successful harvest. At right, Barb Petruska of Brownstown Bor-
ough holds handmade costumes worn by girls to the celebration. Above are outfits for boys.

Descendants carry on their ancestors’ traditions

BY FRANK SOJAK ried and had one son who died in
FSOJAK@TRIBDEM.COM
infancy before coming from Hungary.
Faith in God carried Hungarian Her grandparents arrived in the
immigrants across the ocean to a new early 20th century with her grandfa-
land. ther working in the steel mill and her
America was a melting pot of vari- grandmother taking care of the house
ous cultures and the Hungarians clung and the six additional children born to
to their traditions as strongly as the them.
newcomers from other lands. Her grandparents first lived in Cam-
A big tradition was the Hungarian bria City before settling in Oakhurst.
Grape Festival, held in the fall in Hun- Margaret Slick of Geistown said
gary to celebrate a successful harvest. her grandparents on her mother’s side
The tradition made it across the left Hungary in the early 20th century
Atlantic, and was a staple at the for- and settled in Windber.
mer St. Emerich Roman Catholic Her grandparents, Mike and Bertha
Church in the Cambria City section of Lodinsky, raised four children.
Johnstown. The immigrants quickly learned
The event, featur- English and
ing colorful cos- remained close to
tumes, also was pop- each other, she said.
ular with Hungarians “Even if people “Churches were a
from other churches. big part of their
Barb Petruska of weren’t your aunt lives,” she said.
Brownstown Bor-
ough, who is of Hun-
or uncle, you She said entire
families would
garian and Slovak called them that attend weekend
descent, said her dances, highlighted
mother, Ann (Havril- out of respect.” with a live Hungari-
la) Stofa, handmade ALEXIS KOZAK, an orchestra.
costumes for her and WESTMONT Frank Myers of
her three siblings. Mundys Corner,
“We decorated the whose grandparents
church hall with Alex and Pauline
leaves and branches that we gathered Mata arrived in central Cambria
in the woods,” she said. County in the early 20th century, said JOHN RUCOSKY/THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT
Petruska’s grandparents, Joseph and folks brought their recipes with them Barbara Horvath (foreground) is her family’s connection to their homeland. When she was young, she learned Hungarian from a priest and
Rose Havrilla, immigrated from Hun- to America. wrote letters to her relatives in Hungary. With her are her daughter, Toni Kohler, and her nephew, Dave Kormanik. On the table is memora-
gary and settled in Woodvale. He said his grandparents made bilia – embroidered cloths and a wine barrel.
Her grandfather worked in the steel Hungarian sausage and pigs feet, plus
mill while her grandmother took care smoked their own ham and bacon. Toni Kohler of Windber, Hor- 1920s to support each other. against communist rule, the club
of the house and raised their nine chil- “I still make pigs feet Hungarian vath’s daughter, said it was an Easter Originally located behind the former helped many people who fled the
dren. style, the way my grandmother made tradition for families to take food to St. Emerich Roman Catholic Church, communists and settled here, she said.
Marion “Dutch” Lehman of the it,” he said. Mass on Easter Sunday to have it the American Hungarian Citizens As a girl in the latter days of the
Edgewood neighborhood of Lower Barbara Horvath of Mine 37, blessed. Club would advise members on where club, which closed in 1985, she
Yoder Township said her grandpar- Richland Township, whose parents, “They would cover the basket with they could learn to improve their Eng- remembers that everybody at the club
ents, Joseph and Martha Toth, kept Andrew and Theresa Molnar, immi- beautiful, embroidered cloths that lish skills, she said. was like family.
alive the tradition of having an extra grated from Hungary in the early 20th usually were inscribed with a picture The club, which moved to the for- “Even if people weren’t your aunt or
place setting for Christmas dinner for century, said the women baked their of the Resurrection,” she said. mer Gilbert Street School in the uncle, you called them that out of
an unexpected visitor. own bread and made their own cot- The women made their own cover- Brownstown area in the 1960s, also respect,” she said.
Another tradition was inviting tage cheese. ings, she said. was a way to keep in touch with the A Hungarian-language newspaper,
cousins and other family members for Chicken paprikash was a favorite Alexis Kozak of Westmont said motherland, she said. The Hirado, was published in
a Sunday meal, she said. dish along with beet relish, made by the Hungarian immigrants founded a During the 1956 revolution in Hun- Johnstown as a weekly from 1910 to
Her grandparents already were mar- mixing horseradish and slices of beets. social club in Johnstown during the gary when Hungarians revolted 1924.

JOHN RUCOSKY/THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT TODD BERKEY/THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT

World War I era photos of the Kormanik family. Joseph and Martha Toth family.

Johnstown’s Inclined Plane designed by Hungarian immigrant

Samuel Diescher THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT

designed Johns-
town’s Inclined
Johnstown’s famed Inclined Plane has a Hun-
garian connection.
ON THE WEB
Plane. It is the The world’s steepest vehicular funicular was
designed by Samuel The following are Hungarian-American
world’s steepest resources online:
vehicular funicular. Diescher, a highly
regarded engineer who
was born in 1839 in ■ American Hungarian Federation:
TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT
FILE PHOTO Budapest, Hungary. www.americanhungarianfederation.org.
Diescher was educated
in Germany and Switzerland and arrived in the ■ Hungarian American Coalition:
United States in the mid-1860s, settling first in www.hacusa.org.
Cincinnati. He later moved to Pittsburgh.
Diescher became an internationally known ■ American Hungarian Foundation:
expert in creating inclines – he is credited with www.ahfoundation.org.
designing eight in Pittsburgh and designing the
first incline in Ohio. ■ Hungarian Reformed Federation of
Johnstown’s Inclined Plane opened in 1891. America: www.hrfa.org.
Diescher also designed machinery for the first
Ferris wheel, which was unveiled in Chicago in ■ William Penn Association:
1893. www.williampennassociation.org.
He retired in 1908 and died in 1915.
Sunday, November 28, 2010 THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT Page E7

RECIPES While the number of people 10%

claiming Hungarian ancestry 9.8% 9.5%
Continued from E1 is relatively low statewide
1 clove garlic, chopped and in Cambria and Somerset 8.1%
1 teaspoon salt counties, the percentage rises 7.2 %

6.4% 6.8%

VINTONDALE BOROUGH
SCALP LEVEL BOROUGH
1/8 teaspoon black pepper in certain areas. Some 6.1 %

BLACKLICK TOWNSHIP
5.8 %

WINDBER BOROUGH
1 cup sour cream examples: 5.2% 5.5% 5%

PAINT TOWNSHIP
2 hard-boiled eggs

PAINT BOROUGH
BROWNSTOWN

CENTRAL CITY

WEST TAYLOR
NANTY GLO
Wash spinach; drain and cook in 1 cup salted Cambria County: 2.4%

TOWNSHIP
BOROUGH

BOROUGH

BOROUGH
boiling water. Chop spinach fine. In separate pan, Somerset County: 2.1%
melt bacon drippings; stir in the flour and brown Pennsylvania: 1.1%
lightly. Remove from fire; add spinach and garlic. 0%
Slowly stir in sour crean until well-blended. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Add cold milk, salt and pepper. Cook over

Houses of worship
low flame about 5 minutes. If mixture is too thick,
add a little milk. Garnish with sliced hard-boiled
eggs.

Hungarian Nut Torte

8 yolks
8 tablespoons sugar
Churches served as cultural, social places for Hungarian immigrants
8 tablespoons flour BY MIKE FAHER
MFAHER@TRIBDEM.COM
2 teaspoons baking powder
8 tablespoons ground walnuts For generations, local churches founded by
Hungarian immigrants thrived.
Icing: But now, those institutions – and the history
4 tablespoons cocoa they represent – are disappearing at a rapid
1/2 pound sweet butter rate.
5 tablespoons powdered sugar In just a seven-year span from 1997 to 2004,
all three Hungarian-founded Roman Catholic
Beat yolks with sugar for 20 minutes or until light churches in Cambria and Somerset counties
and thick. Sift together flour and baking powder, closed because of mergers with other parishes.
then add it to the egg yolks. Beat egg whites until And there are dwindling congregations at
stiff, then fold in the mixture. Add ground walnuts. two remaining Hungarian Reformed churches
Bake in moderate oven at 375 degrees for in Johnstown and Vintondale. But, for now, a
30 minutes. Bake in 2 round, greased and floured handful of dedicated members are keeping
cake pans. those churches open.
Icing: Mix together and put on cake. Sprinkle finely “To keep their (ancestors’) heritage and lega-
chopped nuts on top of icing. Put cake in refrigera- cy alive, they come to this church,” said the
tor to prevent icing from getting soft. Rev. Joseph Posta, who leads Vintondale Hun-
By Catherine Dudash garian Reformed Church.
“Somehow, some way, it still survives.”
Hungarians, like other immigrant groups in
Hungarian Nut Cake the early 1900s, banded together in communi-
ties where their numbers were large enough to
Filling: support a church.
10 egg yolks Sometimes, “they built the churches before
12 egg whites they built their own homes,” said the Rev.
1 tablespoon lemon juice Albert W. Kovacs, minister at Johnstown-
1 1/4 cups sugar Windber Hungarian Reformed Church on
3 cups ground walnuts Chestnut Street in the Cambria City neighbor-
hood.
Beat egg yolks and sugar until it is fluffy and put “It was their center for worship, but also
in lemon juice. Also add ground walnuts and their cultural and social center as well,” Kovacs
mix very well. Then beat the egg whites until real said.
light and fluffy and add to nut filling, mixing Johnstown’s Reformed congregation has
thoroughly. staying power, celebrating its 110th anniversary
this year. Local historical records say the
TODD BERKEY/THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT
Dough: church building dates to 1902.
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour “It’s actually one of our oldest Hungarian A service is held on alternate Sundays at the Johnstown-Windber Hungarian Reformed Church, 824 Chestnut St.
1 cup butter Reformed churches in the United States,” in the Cambria City section of Johnstown.
1/4 cup sugar Kovacs said.
2 egg yolks He added that Windber’s Hungarian “But as long as we are able to keep these con- ■ In Windber, a Hungarian parish was
Reformed congregation merged with the gregations alive, we’ll work hard.” formed in 1912, with a church called St. Mary’s
Mix flour and butter well; mix egg yolks with a little Johnstown church in the late 1970s. Parishioners of the area’s three former Hun- built in the early 1920s.
sweet cream so that you can handle dough like pie Even as a merged congregation, though, the garian Roman Catholic churches were not so The parish merged with St. John Cantius in
dough, then divide dough in 2 parts. Use 13-x-11- Johnstown church struggles. Only about a dozen fortunate. None of those parishes still function, 2000 to form St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. But one
inch pan. Line pan with half of the dough. Put in people attend services every other Sunday. and two of the buildings are gone: weekly Mass still was celebrated at St. Mary’s
the filling, then the other half of the dough. Roll out The same small numbers are found at Vin- ■ The earliest Catholic church founded by until 2002, when structural problems forced
and put in top of the filling, then pinch the dough tondale Hungarian Reformed Church on Main Hungarians was St. Emerich in Johnstown’s the building’s closure.
on top with fork. Bake in moderate oven at Street. Cambria City neighborhood, the primary place St. Mary’s was razed in 2003, and Windber
325 degrees for about 35 minutes. Leave in pan That congregation dates to 1916, and its first where immigrants from Hungary had settled Research Institute expanded on the property.
and cut into squares and sprinkle powdered sugar church was dedicated in the early 1920s on in the city. ■ In Portage, 32 Hungarians met in 1915 to
on top. land donated by a mining company, Posta said. Permission was granted in 1905 to form a discuss the formation of a new church.
By Catherine Dudash It burned in 1929 and was rebuilt the following parish, and a small frame building was erected Property was purchased at Johnson and
year. at Power Street and Sixth Avenue. Cambria streets in 1922, and St. John the Bap-
The Vintondale church holds services once a The first Mass was celebrated at a new, larg- tist Church was dedicated there the following
Chicken Paprikas month, and an average of 15 to 20 people er church – which was given the St. Emerich’s year. The building’s cost was $13,975.
1 chopped onion attend, Posta said. Nonetheless, like Kovacs in name – in May 1914. In 2004, the diocese merged St. John the
4 tablespoons shortening Johnstown, Posta is impressed by the devotion At the direction of Altoona-Johnstown Dio- Baptist into Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. The
1 tablespoon paprika of those who remain. cese, St. Emerich merged in 1997 with nearby St. John building still stands and was sold to a
1 teaspoon pepper “It’s coming to an end. We know that,” Posta St. Casimir. The St. Emerich building was private owner in 2006 for conversion to apart-
2 tablespoons salt said of the small community’s church. demolished in 2003. ments.
4-5 pounds chicken (cut up)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 pint sour cream

Sauté onion in shortening. Add seasonings and

FACILITY ter of next year.
In the meantime, Hun-
garian-themed displays
chicken; sauté about 10 minutes. Add water. Continued from E1 welcome visitors.
Cover and simmer until chicken is tender. Remove And at the Moriah
chicken, add sour cream to pan drippings and mix Bethlen Home. Chapel – now the oldest
well. The facility has evolved building on the Bethlen
By Margaret Tarsovich since then. campus – there is a Hun-
In the 1930s, the garian-language service on
orphanage moved into the first Sunday of each
Potato Gulyas and Smoked Sausage Ligonier Borough. Some of month.
the orphans’ aging caretak- Bethlen’s chaplain, the
To be prepared in a 5-quart or larger Dutch oven. ers stayed on the hilltop, Rev. Gabor Nitsch, also
leading to the formation of leads Hungarian and Eng-
1 large onion, diced what today would be lish-language services each
2 tablespoons margarine or vegetable oil called a personal-care Sunday at the nursing
1 1/2 tablespoons sweet paprika home. home and personal-care
1 tablespoon caraway seed The hotel building even- home.
2 1/2 to 3 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed tually was razed to make Additionally, Bethlen
1 cubanella pepper (only, whole) way for more-modern publishes an annual
Water to cover structures. almanac containing infor-
TODD BERKEY/THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT
1 to 2 pounds smoked (precooked) sausage, cut into Currently, the property mation on Hungarian
4- to 5-inch pieces (you may add more per serving) hosts a nursing home and A Hungarian-language service is held on the first Sunday of each month at the Moriah Chapel, the Reformed churches
Salt and pepper to taste cottages for independent oldest building on the Bethlen Communities campus in Ligonier. throughout the nation.
living. Bethlen Communi- The facility’s diverse
Sauté diced onion in 2 tablespoons margarine or ties also includes a person- three organizations with garian culture. There is an place for “display and activities are both an
vegetable oil until translucent. Remove from heat. al-care home and apart- Hungarian connections extensive collection of arti- healthy storage – it would extension of and a tribute
Add 1 1/2 tablespoons sweet paprika and mix well ments in Ligonier. – the Hungarian Reformed facts and books at Bethlen. be climate-controlled.” to a mission that started
(should be dark red in color). Before returing to The orphanage closed in Federation of America, the “We encourage people, Bethlen also will serve as 89 years ago, when
heat, add 1 tablespoon caraway seed. Mix well. 1979, having served more Hungarian Reformed don’t throw anything a repository for Hungarian Hungarian-Americans
Return to heat. Add cubed potatoes and mix every- than 3,000 children. And Church in America and the away,” Bertalan said. Reformed church docu- were fortunate enough to
thing well. Immediately add enough water to cover. today, only about 20 per- Calvin Synod Conference “Send it to us.” ments from across the find a property where they
Do not burn the mixture before adding the water. cent to 25 percent of of the United Church of Enough people have country, Bertalan said. could care for the less for-
Add 1 whole cubanella pepper (do not use a regular Bethlen Communities’ resi- Christ – play a big role in heeded that request that “There will be no other tunate.
green pepper). The cubanella may be omitted. This dents can claim Hungarian the leadership of Bethlen administrators have plans site like that in America,” “This is a place that they
is for flavor only. Bring mixture to a full boil, then ancestry. Communities. for a large Hungarian he said, adding that the felt was theirs by the grace
reduce heat to simmer. Cook until potatoes are But a Hungarian flag Administrators also are museum and archive on museum and archive may of God,” Bertalan said.
nearly done, approximately 20 minutes. Salt and still flies at the facility. And looking to preserve Hun- site. Bertalan envisions a be open in the third quar- “This is our place.”
pepper to taste. Add precooked sausages which have
been cut into 4- to 5-inch pieces.
The amount of sausages added may vary depending
on the number of servings. Simmer until potatoes
and sausages are completely done. Remove whole
pepper before serving. Serve with warm, crusty
JSO ple tried it ... and again what hap-
pened was, this light was shot up
and they started machine-gunning
and hope all
bundled into
one.”
The Austrians, he said, were
“incredibly gracious.” The two
were immediately fed and housed
bread and sweet butter. Continued from E1 them.” They heard for the night, and in short order
Serves 4 to 6. Their lives had been spared once shots. Jaray cut they were transferred to the capi-
in the sky and machine-gun fire again. But they were seemingly out his leg on tal city of Vienna.
Growing up in Hungary, I used to watch my mother forced them to retreat – the Sovi- of options, and they got off the barbed wire. Within two weeks of his escape,
make this favorite of mine. ets had locked down that section train at the next station. But they did Jaray had traveled to London – he
Coming from a poor family, food preparation was of the border. Chance intervened when they not stop until wanted to get as far from the
always a major focus of concentration. I am very The next day, Jaray and his met a woman who was willing to sheer exhaus- Soviets as possible. There he
glad that I paid attention. companion decided to try their help. A plan was hatched: The tion overtook resumed his musical education,
After I became older and realized how expensive it luck on a train to the south. Word next day, the woman and her them after an Jaray starting on a path that eventually
was to eat out all of the time (having prepared eggs spread that an opportunity lay daughter would distract border all-out sprint led to the United States in the
for myself in every way that was imaginable), I ven- ahead: Anyone jumping from the guards with conversation and through no-man’s-land. late 1960s and to Johnstown in
tured to cook alone. Several attempts proved success- train as it slowed for a curve would wine, and the two friends would “We looked up, and there was 1984.
ful. land on the Austrian side of the run as soon as they spotted a sig- the most incredible peace and But he has not forgotten a single
This recipe always brings back fond memories of the border. nal – the woman blowing her nose. quiet surrounding us,” Jaray said. step of the race for his life, a race
lovely times that I spent in my mother’s warm “And a very, very lovely old “Suddenly we saw the handker- “In the distance, we saw a jeep in which he also won something
kitchen and her endless knowledge and ability to farmer was standing close by,” chief and my friend and I just took coming. Well, we stood up and else.
take the simple things and create a feast. Jaray said. off,” Jaray said. waited and said, ‘If it’s a Russian “You realize what freedom actu-
I hope that you will enjoy this quick, easy, delicious “And he said, ‘Young man, don’t “And I think I would have won jeep or whatever, we’re done. If it’s ally means,” Jaray said.
meal. do that.’ ” the 100-meter world record – this an Austrian jeep, we are free.’ It “And then, this really becomes
By Maestro Istvan Jaray “He was right. Many, many peo- incredible burst of energy and fear was an Austrian jeep.” the most precious thing of all.”