Volume 68 – No. 11
November 2013 —EDITORIAL— The United German Hungarians Have Survived for Over 100 Years: Will We Continue Our Proud Traditions?
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 9th
In recent months, much has been written in our Monthly Progress about our Heritage and our Culture. However, it has come to my PERFORMANCES BY attention that many of those who should understand our history, do not. When I was a little girl, my father told me that we were German people from Hungary. Ok, since I knew we were also Americans and lived in the United States, the names German The Beautiful “Rosmarein Strauss” Adorned with Colorful Ribbons and Hungary really didn’t mean that much to Authentic “Spruch” Delivered by the “Geld Herr” me. I did know that these were countries in A Cultural Exhibit of German-Hungarian and Banat Artifacts and Pictures Europe. Europe was way across the Atlantic Ocean. We could see that ocean when we Music provided by the Heimatklänge Orchestra – 7:30 to 11:30 pm went to the seashore in the summertime. Later I was taught that the area that my ancestors lived was called Banat and that after the First World War, the Banat was divided into Adult Tickets - $25.00 Hungary, Yugoslavia and Rumania by a famous Children Tickets (6 to age 12) - $12.50 | Tickets for Children 5 and Under – No Charge treaty. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED Most of the neighborhood where I grew up was Irish and Jewish, although there were a Contact Nichole Deely | 215.806.1998 | Kirchweih@ughclub.us few families that lived near me that were from CELEBRATING | REMEMBERING the same town as my parents. We all spoke CONTINUING A PROUD TRADITION “schwowisch” when we were together and we ate certain foods that my Irish and Jewish THE MOST IMPORTANT TRADITIONAL GERMAN-HUNGARIAN EVENT HELD AT OUR CLUB friends didn’t eat. In the fall, we went to various festivals called a “Kerwei”. One was held at the “Banater Club” at 2nd and Norris; one was at the “Gewerbe Club” at 2nd and Lehigh; and the most important for my family was the “Botscharer Kerwei” held at the Herz Jesu Church Hall on Germantown Ave. There were also a few others we attended. th In the early 1950s when my aunts, uncles and cousins emigrated from Europe, I went with my cousins to other events held at these German clubs. The music was not what I was used to from my school dances. This was German music and consisted of waltzes, polkas and also some “modern” American music. The attendees were of all ages – children, teenagers, parents, grandparents, everyone dancing, laughing and having a lot of fun together. I loved it! (CONTINUED ON PAGE 4)
THE GERMAN HUNGARIAN CULTURAL GROUP
IN BANATER SWABIAN TRACHT
Hot Dinner Buffet – 6:30 pm
Women's Auxiliary
Holiday Penny Party WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 13
$3.00 | Doors open at 6:30pm | Numbers called at 8pm includes coffee and cake
Reservations are a must call Emily at 267-470-4828 Set Up - Tuesday November 12 at 10am Donations of new or unused items are appreciated
November 2013
Monthly Progress
Page 2
—MAJORS CORNER— Record as of 10/30/2013: (2-4-0)
MATCH REPORTS—USL OF PA Sun. Sept. 8 — at Vereinigung Erzgebirge: 2-0 VE Sun. Sept. 22— vs. Montgomery United: 3-2 Mont. Sun. Sep. 29— vs. West Chester United: 3-1 West. Sun. Oct. 6— at Donauschwaben: 3-1 GH Sun. Oct. 13— at Phoenix SC: 3-1 Phoenix Sun. Oct. 27—vs. Vereinigung Erzgebirge: 2-1 GH
UPCOMING MATCHES OFFICIAL USL OF PA MATCHES Official schedule as of 10/30/2013 Sun. Nov. 17— at West Chester United, Westtown Rd. West Chester.
*All United League games are at 2:30pm unless otherwise noted. Cups begin in the fall and take precedent. Games listed are subject to change.
EPSA USASA OPEN CUP QUARTER FINAL Sunday, November 10, 2013 2:00pm in GH Stadium
L to R: Standing—Werner Fricker III (Manager), Jason Karasow, Eric Drewenskus, Ken Tomczuk, Paul Hileman, Jeff Bennet, Pat Raykivitz, Wayne Grasela, John Gravelle, Kevin Sherry, Dr. Joe DeCarlo (Trainer), Mike Curley (Head Coach) Front Row—Cody Antonini, Brian Blesi, Jeff Spiker, Zach Fayer, Dave Straub, Ryan Tadley, Mike Pio, Andy Meehan, Marc Brookland, Rashard Gayle. Missing—Glodi Konga, Jimmy Clark.
—EPSA AMATEUR CUP—
Vereinigung Erzgebirge Fox Chase United Danubia Phoenix Ultra Vs. Ukrainian Nationals West Chester United Come out and support the team at the EPSA Hunter Senior Premier Open Cup Quarter Final at the German HunSalone FC garians. The Bar will be open! Upper Moreland Celtic —UNITED SOCCER LEAGUE— Cavalla FC Colonial Ultra MAJOR DIVISION STANDINGS Lighthouse SC As of 10/30/2013 German Hungarians 1. Phoenix SC (4-1-1) 13pts. Vereinigung Erzgebirge Reserves 2. Vereinigung Erzgebirge (4-3-0) 12pts. Phoenix SC 3.
West Chester United (4-1-0) 12pts.
4.
Ukrainian Nationals (3-1-0) 9pts.
5.
Montgomery United (2-5-0) 6pts.
6.
German Hungarians (2-4-0) 6pts.
7.
Donauschwaben (1-5-1) 4pts.
Find more information at www.unitedsoccerleague.us
—EPSA USASA OPEN CUP—
2013-2014 2013-2014 The following soccer clubs entered the The following soccer teams are entered in EPSA National Amateur Cup: the EPSA USASA Open Cup:
On Sunday, October 20th, the following teams were eliminated: Fox Chase United, Phoenix Ultra, Hunter Senior Premier, Salone FC, Cavalla FC, German Hungarians, Vereinigung Erzgebirge Reserves. Four games of Round 2 will be played on Sunday, November 3 at 2 PM. Home teams are Vereinigung Erzgebirge, Ukrainian Nationals, Upper Moreland Celtic and Lighthouse SC. Quarter Finals game date is yet to be announced.
Cavalla FC Ukrainian Nationals West Chester United Salone FC Phoenix SC Colonial Ultra Upper Moreland Vereinigung Erzgebirge German Hungarians The round 1 date as well as quarter, semi and final are yet to be announced. Games begin at 2 PM unless otherwise noted. West Chester United is the seeded team and German Hungarians were the 2012-13 finalists.
—EAST PENN SOCCER— “Eastern Pennsylvania Soccer Association is a non-profit organization, dedicated to supporting adult soccer through local Leagues and Clubs. The State Association currently registers approximately 5000 adults, involved in 15 different Leagues. Eastern Pennsylvania Soccer is a member of the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA), which is an affiliate of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF).” (www.eastpasa.wix.com)
November 2013
—DANCING AROUND— Our dance group has been busy with many dance jobs this fall season. Some are small with few people, but some are much larger jobs where we need to prepare more material to entertain the audience. As a dance group with our leaders we always aim to maintain a very large and varied repertoire in order to allow ourselves performances that can best entertain our audiences! At the Bethlehem Oktoberfest at the Steel Stacks, this is what we had to do! We danced many long sets filled with all different kinds of dances. At these types of events we add in diverse dances to make it more interesting both for ourselves and the spectators. This job was really fun and we had a good time! The week prior we made our way to Princeton, NJ to the Elks Lodge for their annual Oktoberfest. We have entertained here the last few years and this year it was sold out so there was a full house! We had an especially good time at this job because the Heimatklänge was the band at that event. No matter where we are, it is always a good time because we are together and love to dance to the Heimatklänge, our band. The following weekend, we made our way to the Cranbury Brook Retirement Community in NJ. This was an extremely small job where there were only about twenty people there to watch us. Our performance was thoroughly enjoyed by all and we hope we are hired back next year! On October 26th, there were two jobs. One was at the Holiday Village East in Marlton, NJ. The hosts of this Oktoberfest were so friendly and nice. We had an awesome time and after our second set of dances, Alex and Werner, my cousin and brother left to go to the Kaiser Family Reunion in Port Richmond. Here the Heimatklänge played music and a few dances were performed by the two boys as well as their partners Marlene Fricker and Connie Reiter. The Kaiser’s really enjoyed this and especially liked the band. Now we are practicing for Kirchweihfest. We are preparing many dances and of course the traditional Kirchweih dances. Our group is really excited for this event! We can’t wait to uphold our traditions and hope to see you all there! Karina
Monthly Progress
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Celebrate Christmas With Us! Club Christmas Party Sunday December 15th Buffet Dinner starting at 3:00pm Adults - $25.00 Children (6 to 12) - $12.50 5 and under – free
Entertainment and Nativity Scene featuring the UNITED GERMAN HUNGARIAN CULTURAL GROUP
Special Visit from
Santa Claus! RESERVATIONS ARE A MUST:
Contact Kathi Noel
215.368.3221 Proper Attire Recommended
All Are Welcome! ENTERTAINMENT REVIEW:
—SCHOCKTOBERFEST— It was Saturday evening at the United German Hungarians where there were some ghosts and goblins having a good old party at the third annual “Schocktoberfest” Halloween Party. Many people came dressed-up that night from the smallest to the tallest, including adults! The lovely ladies working in the kitchen were on hand with Scary Skeleton Cheeseburgers, Mummy Dogs and fresh, hot Freaky French fries! There were bowls of Halloween candy on each table for all to enjoy. DJ Mike had the children scrambling with games including musical chairs and scavenger hunts, even looking for the oldest penny in the room! We are so glad he was able to join us again this year for the party!
There was a parade of all the children where the judges chose the best costume of the night! That was a difficult job because there were so many great costumes! First the group was narrowed down to 5 boys and 5 girls. Once the winners and runners up were picked, all ten of those children won a prize for making it to the final round of judging. In the end, the jester won best costume and the runner’s up were the astronaut and the Grecian goddess. Cindy Proll, the Entertainment Chairman, gave a small bag of goodies to each child that was in the parade. The dance floor was full for the rest of the night with the kids dancing up a storm. Lisa Fricker
November 2013
—EDITORIAL CONTINUED— Later I realized that the “Banater Club” was really the “United German Hungarians” and in 1954 with friends, I became a member of the German Hungarian Sport Club. We had quite a busy youth group and over the years, I learned many stories about the history of the early colonization of the Banat and the other nearby areas of Austria-Hungary. As a young wife and mother, my husband brought me a book in German titled “Der Grosse Schwabenzug”. Even though I can speak “schwowisch” (our German dialect) and learned two years of the German Language in high school, it was difficult for me to read this book. However it was most interesting and when this book was published in English in 2012, I purchased one for my grandson, Michael, who I know is as interested in our history as I am. The following is his book review on “The Great Swabian Migration”:
BOOK REVIEW - The Great Swabian Migration (Der Grosse Schwabenzug) By Michael Fricker The Great Swabian Migration (Der Grosse Schwabenzug) Adam Müller-Guttenbrunn. Palatine, Illinois: Pannonia Press, 2012. 222pp. The historical novel, originally published in 1913 in German is just over 100 years old and was given new life in 2012 with an English language version by Pannonia Press of Illinois. The English translation was done out of an intrinsic necessity as noted in the paperback, “to tell our young people about their roots.” These young people are members of the larger community of “Donauschwaben” people in the United States. This tale however, is an age old story or people seeking a better life. Its themes are universal to any culture in almost any time. The great Adam Müller-Guttenbrunn in his Der Grosse Schwabenzug draws from the truths of these simple people. He creates these stories that live and breathe in a real world that was populated by real people. Set in the eighteenth century this book uses fictional examples to explain how it was that the German “Volksdeutsche” came to settle and build thriving communities in Hungary, Romania, and what is today Serbia. He tells the story from the imperial court’s decree for colonization of the once Turkish lands of Hungary, to the middle and lower class people striving to settle the land and all along remembering the great Governor who aims to build the Banat into a thriving civilization that rivals the marble of Rome. MüllerGuttenbrunn winds together these stories
Monthly Progress that are constantly moving to the same place; what would be their promised land. This book is not just a source of entertainment and knowledge for those descendants of the ethnically German people of SouthEastern Europe. It can be read by all and a wealth of knowledge can be obtained from it. I urge any reader; read it for the historical background, read it for the entertainment, and read it for smiles, the laughs, the tears and the connections you can find in it! EDITOR’S NOTE: As Michael encourages all to read this book, I do as well. This historical novel explains how it all came about relating fictional stories chronicling the journey of the thousands who came mostly by boat to find a new homeland in the Banat, Batschka and Schwäbische Türkei, areas which are now Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Croatia. All members of our club whether your ancestors lived in that area or did not, should have a copy of “The Great Swabian Migration” on their book shelf. A great Christmas gift! ef
—FOR PURCHASE AT THE GH— Kirchweih Fest: A Danube Swabian Celebration from Europe to America $25.00 The Great Swabian Migration: Learn how and why the Donauschwaben settled in their new homes along the Danube in the epic historical novel by Adam Müller-Guttenbrunn, now translated into English! $22.00 Millions Cried… No One Listened: You will receive 6 distinctly different DVDs covering a wide range of history the Eastern European German Expulsion following WW2. An Ann’s Films production.
Page 4 out the year. The Ladies Penny Party which was held on October 23rd was well attended and quite successful. Among those attending were groups from various German-American organizations. The BVV Ladies Christmas Party will be held on December 8 and we encourage all to attend this enjoyable event. Saturday, November 16th – BUNTER ABEND with music by Emil Schanta Band Sunday, December 8, BVV LADIES CHRISTMAS PARTY with music by Maria Party begins at 2 pm and Reservations are necessary – CALL Thea at 215-464-5564
—AMONG OUR MEMBERS— Congratulations to Kyra Malofiy, age 11, member of our Cultural Group, who is also a member of Bux-Mont Panthers Cheer and Dance. This group won first place at the PA Elite American Youth Football Conference. Kyra also won first place for her solo jump competition. Best wishes to Maria Neu who was recently hospitalized with a serious illness and is now recuperating at Pine Run Rehab Center in Doylestown. We look forward to seeing Maria and her husband Karl at the club soon. Sorry to hear that Anna Michi passed away during the summer. She was the wife of Tony Michi, a former member of our Board of Governors and various committees. Their sons Herbert and Richard were formerly active members of our Cultural Group. We offer our deepest sympathy to the Michi Family. Condolences to Theresa Betsch on the death of her daughter Renate Anne Noone. Renate, age 54, died after a three year battle with cancer. She is also survived by her husband of 31 years, Steve and her sister Theresa and her brother Michael. Renate was also the daughter of the late Michael Betsch.
—SCHNITZEL NIGHT— Every first Wednesday of the Month - 5:30pm to 7:30pm
Available for purchase at the Schnitzel Nights as well as the Kirchweihfest in November
—BAYERISCHER ECKE— Besides the BVV Monthly Dances and their participation in the Annual Bavarian Oktoberfest, the BVV Ladies organize monthly trips to Atlantic City. These trips have been organized for quite some time and are usually filled to capacity by mostly senior men and women as they take place during a weekday. These trips are a lot of fun and are looked forward to by the “regulars”. Thea, BVV Ladies President, also plans other trips through-
November 6th & December 4th A delicious schnitzel dinner including two side dishes plus a salad, bread and butter, and coffee or tea are served for the price of $10.00 for adults $5.00 for children. Dessert and drinks are available for purchase