Geauga Magyar Cultural Society
The Geauga Magyar Cultural Society was started in October 1975 by Geauga County resident Ann Poto McBride.
Ann grew up in a Hungarian neighborhood known as "Buckeye Road" in Cleveland, Ohio. The majority in this
neighborhood consisted of Hungarian owned businesses, the first Hungarian Roman Catholic Church
(now on the National Historic Register) built in the United States, known as St. Elizabeth of Hungary,
many other churches, clubs and societies supported by the Hungarian families living in the area.
As the flight from the inner city began, Ann married Hank McBride and moved from her beloved Hungarian "roots".
Living in Chardon, Ohio in Geauga County, she started noticing many Hungarian names on the mail boxes, and this
was the inspiration for "Geauga Magyar".
The first meetings were held (in what affectionately is called the "Log Cabin") on the square in Chardon, Ohio.
Ann also hosted a Sunday morning Hungarian-American radio hour on WBKC. The first meeting had 30 very interested
people in attendance, and from this small "cluster" group. A yearly picnic and fall festival was started and, to
this day, are still a part of the club's functions.
The club was chartered in 1976 and conducted Hungarian language classes and had its own dance group (children and
adults) that performed at many festivals all over northeastern Ohio. As the membership grew, it became evident that
the need for a permanent home could no longer be ignored and in 1984 the club purchased forty acres on Abbott Road
in Hiram, Ohio with the Cuyahoga River as a backdrop. We have numerous members from many locations in Ohio as well
as Pennsylvania, Florida, and Indiana. Our membership roster has grown from the original 30 to 300.
The club is affiliated with other Hungarian organizations such as the United Hungarian Societies, the Hungarian
American Coalition in Washington, D.C., plus supporting the other Hungarian churches and societies in the area.
A monthly newsletter known as the "Hirek" is distributed to all our members. We also have a web site on the Internet.
Our address is www.hungarianclub.com or www.hungarianclub.org.
In April of 2001, the members of the Geauga Magyar Cultural Society and St. Stephen's Dramatic Club voted to consolidate
into one organization which was chartered as the Hungarian Cultural Center of Northeastern Ohio. Both organizations,
having the same interests, felt by combining their two forces, they could continue to foster the Hungarian ideals that
each club was founded on.
St. Stephens's Dramatic Club was established in 1904. Over the years, St. Stephen's had a very well-known choir
and preformed many, many concerts and plays in their Club on Buckeye Road and in the Hungarian community.
|
|