HUNGARIAN HERITAGE DAY 2004

The Árpádhon Hungarian Settlement Cultural Association (AHSCA) sponsored its annual Hungarian Heritage Day on Sunday, June 13, 2004 at St. Margaret Hall near Albany. Honorees (those of Hungarian descent, ages 75 and over) were greeted at the door and presented with a special certificate commemorating the occasion. Each also received a “Hungarian Honoree, 2004" button to wear during the celebration. The buttons were white with green lettering and decorated with red, white and green ribbons. Individual photographs of the honorees were taken by Bill Prokop as they came in the door. A total of 47 honorees attended this year’s event!! After AHSCA President, Jim King welcomed the crowd, Suzanna Green, daughter of Kathleen Mocsary Green, sang the Star-Spangled Banner. Rev. Dr. Stephen Sanders of the Albany Hungarian Presbyterian Church did the invocation prayer, which was followed by a brief speech by Dr. Stephen Gergatz, Honorary Hungarian Consul for Louisiana. Gergatz discussed his support of the event and stressed how pleased he was to see the community continue to celebrate its heritage. The center of attraction during this program was a beautiful Hungarian flag which is over 100 years old. Gergatz confirmed the authenticity and age of this flag and briefly discussed its historical significance. The flag was brought to the U.S. by Steve Resetar, one of the earliest immigrants to settle here. The owners of the flag, Michael and Joe Jenkins, graciously loaned the flag to the AHSCA for the day in memory of their mother, Helen Prokop Jenkins, who passed away this past year. The entertainment for this event was provided by Suzanna Green and Victoria Mocsary, who performed the following songs in Hungarian: Ég a Város, Debrecen, Megismérni a Kanászt, Kék Nefeléjcs and Piros Piros, Piros. Mocsary, chair of the Heritage Day Committee, then reflected on the history of the community and officially recognized the honorees, calling each one by name. This Hungarian Heritage Day was dedicated to the memories of three AHSCA members who devoted large amounts of their time to the preservation of the Hungarian culture in the community: Betsy King, David Arceneaux, and Horace Green. Their families were presented with framed certificates posthumously declaring Betsy, David, and Horace to be Hungarian Honorees at this event. One of the highlights of the day was when door prizes were handed out to more than fifteen lucky honorees. One of the top honors went to Elizabeth King, 92 years old, who received a floral bouquet and a hand painted wooden box from Hungary for being the oldest honoree present at the celebration. Ethel Ivanyisky Hudak received a gift basket of Hungarian food items from the Olde World Bakery for being the honoree who traveled the farthest to come to Heritage Day. She came all the way from Merriville, Indiana, which is over 900 miles away! A special thanks goes to Diane Szegfu, who graciously donated several hand painted items from Hungary to be given out as door prizes. The last performance of the day featured Suzanna Green singing the song Please Remember. The program closed with a benediction prayer and the blessing of the food by the Rev. Msgr. Leo Guillot of St. Margaret Catholic Church. The refreshments that followed included punch, sandwiches, and Hungarian pastries, such as kiflik and kalács. The Heritage Day committee: Kathleen Green, Victoria Mocsary, Julia Ourso, and Margaret Resetar, would like to thank all of the volunteers who prepared food or helped in any way to make this event possible.

 

PHOTO OF THE HONOREES FROM THE 2004 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE DAY CELEBRATION: