EDITORIAL WORKS IN B.C. (EXCERPTS)

Editing the Tárogató for close to five years was one of my most memorable experiences in British Columbia. I did most of the planning, organizing and writing for the paper out of Victoria. On the last weekend of each month I travelled by ferry to Vancouver to put the issues together. We had an editorial office in the Hungarian Cultural Centre at 728 Kingsway. We had a wonderful group of volunteers to work with such as Jolán Csordás, former president of the society, Éva Kossuth, the present editor of the paper, and others. We altered the format and the contents of the periodical considerably. Our predecessors used to fill the paper with clippings from newspaper sources in Hungary. Most of the articles were about the unfortunate lot of the Hungarian minority in the Successor States. We retained some of these sad news items, but decided to make Tárogató a basically Canadian-Hungarian paper, emphasizing the positive qualities that make the reader look and feel good. We published original writings about accomplished people in British Columbia and across Canada. The issues were filled with colourful reports on such people as János Kenyeres, a professional horseman in Kingston and later in Winnipeg.

We wrote about the internationally renowned artist Dora de Pédery-Hunt, about a nationally famous chef Julius Pokomándy of Vancouver, about professors Charles Wojatsek and Anthony Kozák, the latter being an associate dean of Forestry at UBC, and Tibor Fekete, a prominent oil engineer and president of the Széchenyi Society in Calgary. I wrote a series of essays entitled A Friend of Hungarians pertaining to people like the Hon. J.W. Pickersgill, Watson Kirkconnell and the Victoria-based professor and author Carol Wootton. Tárogató came to serve as a forum for Hungarian-Canadian writers. We published the work of, and wrote critical appraisals about, local poets and fiction writers in Canada. We have also published short stories by Canadian authors including Morley Callaghan and Sinclair Ross. In short, our intention was to show Hungarians in the best possible light, emphasizing the fact that this is a nationality group with many talented individuals, ensuring our readers that Hungarians are not a neglected, rather appreciated people for their qualities by the Canadian host society. The readers and the contributors loved the new approach. We received scores of encouraging letters from across the country.

The Hungarian Society of Greater Vancouver has ever been a dynamic social organization. Its membership by the ’90s reached more than a thousand, thanks to such devoted presidents elected for two years as Jolán Csordás, Csaba Tanner, Dr. Joseph Molnár, Magda Sasváry, László Szanyi, and supported by some equally enthusiastic members of the executive. There were lively annual meetings and well-attended cultural events. Our editorial schedules were productive and full of fun. Typesetting of the manuscripts was prepared on in-house computers. The editing, polishing and paste-up job was done collectively. Madame Jolán was a great organizer. She was energetic and on top of societal and community events. Work was accompanied by telling stories, singing and reciting poems. We had Lucullian lunches of Hungarian delicacies served up by the president of the time. I spent the nights at the Csordás’ home in North Vancouver. Laci, a professional engineer (now retired), and former deputy chief of CPR’s Western Business Unit, was an excellent cook. His delicious steaks were prepared with the precision of a senior engineer. Joli and Laci came from the eastern part of Hungary that I am from. We had so much in common. They were almost like brother and sister to me. I have the warmest of memories of those years.

[...] At first we rented a suite at 1020 View Street, but soon after we bought a condominium at 139 Clarence Street. The 12-storey complex with picture windows is situated in the James Bay district, overlooking the Beacon Hill Park, the Juan de Fuca Strait and the Olympic Mountains. From our windows the Canadian flag can be seen in the Beacon Hill Park, showing the direction of winds which are not uncommon on Vancouver Island. On one occasion, when I was preparing for my presentation of the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution, I looked out of the window and was surprised to see that the Canadian flag had a hole in the centre. The sight gave me the inspiration for a short story, "The Mutilated Flag in Victoria." Although, as I later came to learn, the Victoria flag was not defaced by city administration in memory of the October Revolution but by a vicious storm called marine bomb, it reminded me of the flags with a hole in them that came to symbolize the 1956 uprising. The two-page story created a sensation. It has been republished over and over by papers in Canada, in Hungary and elsewhere. In fact, it was translated into Esperanto, and the Minister of Cultural Affairs of Hungary read excerpts from it as part of his commemoration speech given in the Opera House of Budapest, on the 41st anniversary of the revolution.

[...] Victoria has a viable Hungarian community. The first settlers arrived here after the Second World War. They received a substantial boost as a result of the influx of the 1956 refugees. The Hungarian Society of Victoria was established in 1966. It has been active ever since. Main activities include the annual commemorations of the 1848-49 and the 1956 revolutions. The society is a regular participant in such community events as the annual Folkfest and the Saanich Fair. Other traditional events are the summer picnics, the St. Stephen, and the Katharine and Elizabeth balls, and the Christmas and New Year celebrations. Sub-groups included are the Friends of Hungarian Literature, holding monthly presentations for over a decade now. The Búzavirág Dance Group has performed by the same dancers for over four decades! Also included are the Hungarian Language School and the Choir.

A significant event occurred on January 9, 2005, when the official opening of the Hungarian Cultural Centre took place - at a time when similar Hungarian organizations are folding up due to depopulation all over the world. The opening was attended by federal, provincial and municipal dignitaries, including His Worship Alan Lowe, the mayor of Victoria, the Hon. David Anderson, a federal cabinet minister, as well as Madame Sheila Orr, member of the B.C. Legislature, and, above all, by a jubilant Hungarian community. The renovated club has become the centre for most Hungarian activities in Greater Victoria. The title of my presentation, still available on the societal web site, was "The Birth of a Cultural Centre." Edmond Vlaszaty, the president of the society, who played a major role in obtaining a sizable government grant for the renovation of the Centre, has conducted the opening ceremonies.

Although I have attended most of the annual commemorations, I have not become much involved in the local activities, with the exception of giving the odd presentation and assisting in the editing of the Szigeti Magyarság. In 2003, however, I was approached by Katharine Kövér, president of the Society, asking me to take over the paper as editor. It was with some reluctance that I accepted the invitation. I wasn’t familiar enough with the local community life and I was busy working on other projects. As there was no other volunteer to take on the job, I felt obliged to accept the responsible and time-consuming appointment. Imre Csorba and myself did the editing for over a year as guests at the Szamecz Summer Residence. After the establishment of the Hungarian Cultural Centre on Bay Street, a comfortable office was set up for the editorial board. It is a lovely location, with broad windows overlooking the city with the majestic Legislative Building. I have been doing the editing, with a short break in between, ever since and, I must admit it, that I find great enjoyment in doing the work. I’m fortunate to have some dedicated and talented people to help me. Some of those included are George Fias, webmaster of the society’s web site and technical editor of the paper, Imre Csorba, Tibor Szamecz, the former editor, Kati Kövér, Mária Pelvay and others.

The Szigeti Magyarság, similarly to Tárogató, owing to an inquisitive and intelligent readership, has continued to be a paper of high quality writings, focusing on local and Hungarian-Canadian themes. […]
 

János Miska
(Excerpts from his memoirs:
From Kerosene Lamps to Space Travels.)

Vissza az SZ.M.-Online oldalra