The Fairfield & Hungary Connection

The following was written by Tony Procaccini, president of the AWHS 30th reunion committee.

With the recent anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, the eyes of the world were focused again on this monumental event, which had repercussions decades later, and left a scar on Hungarians who escaped the country as well as those who remained. The state of Connecticut has a strong connection with the country, especially in Fairfield County.

Hungarians comprised one of the USA’s major immigrant groups in the early and middle parts of the twentieth century. In 1894, a Hungarian Reformed Church was founded in Bridgeport, and in the 1930s the Park City had the second largest Hungarian community in the country.

Unfortunately, all remnants of a once-thriving neighborhood, bordered by Worden Avenue, Pine Street and Cherry Street, no longer exist. Hungarian dance halls, churches of various denominations and native language newspapers were some of the characteristics of the area. Redevelopment in the 1950s and 1960s put the proverbial final nail in the coffin, but the Hungarians’ displacement became a positive event for Fairfield.

Saint Emery’s Church on Kings Highway became the new Saint Stephen’s Church, at least for the local Hungarian population. (Ironically, Saint Emery was the son of Saint Stephen.) Streets in the area near Saint Emery’s took on Hungarian names: Andrassy, Hunyadi and others stare at us as we wind along Jennings Road.

Jozsef Cardinal Mindszenty, a staunch anti-Communist who took refuge (starting in 1956) for 15 years in a Budapest embassy, visited the tri-state area twice. His first visit, in 1974, is remembered by a plaque outside the Fairfield church, and a street adjacent to the church is named Mindszenty Square. He also visited Saint Ladislaus Church in Norwalk and Saint Stephen of Hungary Church in Manhattan.

Many Warde 1976 classmates are of Hungarian ancestry. Frank Fekete’s parents are Hungarian-born, and he now lives in Budapest with his Hungarian wife and their child. On our class roster we find the following Magyar surnames: Bakonyi, Bodak, Dudas, Dudics, Foyto, Gadacy, Hajna, Keltos, Kentos, Kiraly (2), Lakatos, Nagy (2), Oros, Pekar, Szabo, Takacs (2), and Toth. There may be others, too, but name spellings may have occurred, obscuring the original names. Toth, Nagy, Kiraly and Szabo are among the most common Hungarian surnames.

Driving along Black Rock Turnpike, one passes Katona Drive, which was named for former Fairfield Town Clerk and native Hungarian, Maria Katona. This is just another example of the strong connection between Fairfield and Hungary.

Classmate Tony Procaccini was organist at two Hungarian Catholic churches, Saint Ladislaus in Norwalk, CT (1978-1982), and Saint Stephen in Manhattan (1998-2002). He has interviewed many prominent Hungarians, including soprano Eva Marton, and written numerous articles on Hungarian culture and music for “Magyar News.” His January 1997 sojourn to Hungary (one of three) included time spent with classmate and former fellow baseball player Frank Fekete.