On Saturday, September 27, the Cleveland Hungarian Heritage Society hosted a Vintner Dinner at the Shaker Heights Country Club. The evening was graced by beautiful sunshine and warm weather. Our guests were greeted at the door and in the reception area, one could taste the first of the five Hungarian wines for the evening: 2012 Szöke Mátyás Pinot Gris, Szürkebarát, accompanied by wild mushroom and goat cheese tartlettes, seared brie and mango canapes, and smoked kolbász with green peppers on baguette. The atmosphere was filled with the laughter of our guests and with the live background music of Harmonia.
At approximately 7:30 p.m., those present were invited into the dining area. Éva Szabó, President, greeted the guests and then the dinner wines from some of Hungary’s best wine regions were introduced by Elmer Meszaros. They complimented the salad and entrees: 2011 Tokaj Nobilis Hárslevelű, 2009 JandJ Egri Kékfrankos, a 2012 Szöke Mátyás, Zöld Veltelini, and our dessert wine for the evening was a light and subtle 2009 Tokaj Nobilis Kövérszölő.
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Mr. Lászlo Bőjtös, Honorary Consul General of Hungary, was the first to be recognized by M.C. George Kozmon. We were happy to have in our midst many presidents or heads of other Hungarian organizations. Among them were Carolyn Balogh – President of the Hungarian Cultural Garden; Mihály Bodor — visiting intern from the Kőrössy Csoma Sándor Program in Hungary; Dr. Jeannette Graselli-Brown – outstanding Hungaian American philanthropist and leader in the Cleveland scientific community; Istvan Hargitai – Bocskai Radio; Andrea and Andrew Lazar – Kapossy Radio; Andrea Meszaros – Cleveland District Commissioner of the Hungarian Scout Association in Exteris; Mary Jane Molnar – President of the Northeast Ohio Hungarian Cultural Center; Dr. John Nadas – President Hungarian Association; Valeria Ratoni-Nagy – President of the United Hungarian Societies; Judge Ralph Perk, Jr. – President of the American Nationalities Movement of Ohio; Richard Sarosi – Board member of the William Penn Fraternal Association and Elizabeth Papp-Taylor – President of the Cleveland Hungarian Development Panel. Mr. Allen Waddle, our host for the evening at the Shaker Heights Country Club, was acknowledge with hearty applause.
After the dinner, members of the Cleveland Hungarian Scout Folk Ensemble entertained the guests with a medley of Hungarian drinking songs and and impromptu men’s dance. The evening included dancing to the music of Harmonia, along with a silent and a Chinese auction.
The Vintner Dinner is an annual event. Please consider joining with us in this celebration next autumn! Stay tuned to our website for this as well as many other special events, exhibits and lectures: clevelandhungarianmuseum.org
Warm greetings from Budapest to the Hungarian community of Cleveland. Marcia’s writing and photos show me a great evening of the Winter Diner. I feel sorry not to see the dance of the Scout Folk Ensemble in a video. All you are so nice people and someone just with the right age to remember some old Hungarians, my old relatives, who have been living in Cleveland long time ago.
I’m a pensioner chemist, searching my family-tree for the benefit of my granchildren and would like to ask you to help me to trace Joseph and Elizabeth Edwards family, they name was originally Ötvös. They left Hungary at the turn of the last century, ~1900. They children Elizabeth, Anne, Joseph, Julius and Louis – probably all are deceased now.
Elizabeth Edwards and Anne St. Georg with husband Joseph St. George (died 1981 North Olmstad) have visited us in Budapest a few times, they had no children. But Joseph, Julius and Louis have had offsprings and I hope maybe they would like to know they Hungarian roots too.
Maybe this is the last time to find anybody to remember of these nice late people of Edwards. I would be very greatful if somebody could help, I have photo about them and Julius owned a petrol station somewhere in the city. Unfortunately here I couldn’t attach a photo of them.
Many thanks in advance and sincere greetings
Zsuzsanna Haraszti
Zsuzsanna:
My grandparents came here from Veszprem Megye in the early 1900’s. I was able to find information about Hungarian relatives they left on the Latter Day Saints’ website: Family Search.com. It is free and much of it is now online. I used to go to their physical site here in Ohio and order microfilms. Technology is making things easier.