Himlerville: Hungarian Cooperative Mining in Kentucky - The Filson ...

1992] Himlerville 531
home. It was the biggest building in the town, measuring eighty
feet by forty feet. In the auditorium, which had a seating capacity
of eight hundred, Himlerville's residents watched the latest
motion pictures. Inhabitants sometimes staged amateur theatrical
productions of their own, and upon occasion famous Hungarian
actors and actresses touring the United States performed
in the Himlerville theater. These performances were especially
welcomed by the immigrants because the dialogue was almost
always in their native language. The Hungarian literary society
in Himlerville sponsored the plays. Many young people in the
town belonged to this organization, which charged monthly dues
in return for season tickets. Sometimes native mountaineers
would view the plays, and quite often natives were given parts in
the plays staged by Himlerville's residents. After a play was performed
the Hungarians, joined by their mountain neighbors,
would get together for a dance. These dances were usually either
the native Appalachian square dances or the Hungarian grape
dance. In the grape dance, pods of fruit were suspended from
the ceiling of the dance floor. Girlfriends and wives tried to
entice their dancing partners to "steal" a piece of the hanging
fruit. If a male was caught taking fruit he was required to pay
a fine which varied according to his economic means. The fines
were paid in good spirit because the money was donated to
charity. In Himlerville, mountaineers and Hungarian immigrants
frolicked together. In addition, Himlerville contained a pool hall
and a meetinghouse for use by all residents. The immigrants,
for the most part, enjoyed these activities following the work
day when they would congregate at public places dressed in
native costumes and converse in their native language.5s
Perhaps the most popular form of recreation in Himlerville
was baseball, an American sport the Hungarians quickly adopted.
58 For information on the Hungarian grape dance, see Verona Smith, Steve
Andraiga, and Margaret Andraiga interview, 20 June 1986, Coal Mines Oral
History Project, University of Kentucky Library; EIler, Miners, 191; Watson,
"Eastern Kentucky," 48; Chapman, "Influence of Coal," 231; Bagger, "Himler,"
150.