In part IV, we discussed the various buildings that our club has called home and the names we gave them. Now this month we will finally tell the story of how our club went from the Banater Männerchor to the United German Hungarians of Philadelphia and Vicinity.
A club is not a building. It is not a field or a stadium. It is not a bar, a dance floor or a grove. A club is a social gathering of people around common feelings, ideas or goals. You, the members are and always were the club. Naturally, a club needs a gathering place and we have had a variety that we have given numerous names.
In Part II, we expanded the definition of German-Hungarians as an ethnic group. With an eloquent passage from Rudy Rack we described the feeling of community these people gathered around in America. Then in 1922, our athletic club formed and in 1930, it took on the familiar name.
Last week we discussed the Banat, the region that was once the home of our founders and many of our members. We ended on a note that after its founding in 1910, the Banater Männerchor became a rendezvous for all German-Hungarians in Philadelphia.
This essay, originally printed in parts in 2014 in the "Monthly Progress," will take you on a journey to find out the true meaning of who we are and why our names are important.Â
