Christmas

Tibor’s Take with Tibor Check, Jr.
Tying up loose ends
WITH CHRISTMAS APPROACHING and the year
2017 looming on the horizon, I offer these thoughts:
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During a recent trip back home to Ohio, I retrieved
a few more boxes of Hungarian items that had been
stored away for years in the basement of my parents’
home. (See Tibor’s Take in the February 2016 issue for
a complete story and explanation.) I once again came
across many items of interest, but three similar items
tucked away in a Ziploc plastic bag caught my attention.
Closer examination revealed that these items
looked somewhat like cassette tapes but were much
bigger.
After some research, I learned that they are called
“8-track tapes” (see photo opposite page) and were a
phenomenon of the 1960s and 1970s. Oddly enough,
these tapes, produced by the B&F Record Company
in Cleveland, were in good condition. The tapes were
of vocalists Károly Solti and László Szalai backed up
instrumentally by the band of Kálmán Oláh or Károly
Mágó.
Unfortunately, I do not have an 8-track tape player,
so I contacted my father for more information on them.
I learned these were actually tapes given to him and
my Grandfather Cseh by their cousin Ferenc Keszler
of the Detroit area. Faithful readers may remember
that my Detroit cousins, the Keszler Brothers, owned
a popular Texaco gas station on Fort Street. My father
further explained that he had several cars that were
equipped to play 8-tracks and fondly recalls playing
those tapes on warm, sunny days with the top down on
his 1969 Pontiac GTO convertible.
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One late night while visiting home, I began perusing
through the small library of Hungarian themed books
occupying what was once my sister Lizzy’s bedroom.
I stumbled upon a hardbound book that was only 112
pages long. The spine of the book bore the simple title,
“Christmas Carols.” It was bound in red and protected
by a weathered dust jacket that depicts the Virgin
Mary, baby Jesus and several angels. I almost put the
book back on the shelf but decided to examine it more
thoroughly.
I learned it was published in 1984 in conjunction
with the 90th Anniversary of the Catholic Hungarian
Sunday (Katolikus Magyarok Vasárnapja) in Youngstown.
This unique publication is a collection of Hungarian
Christmas carols from many various denominations
that make up the religious fiber of Hungary. Many
carols date back to the 1700s. Most of the songs are
translated to English and offer notes for playing instrumentally.
The first section of the book is made up of the
most familiar Magyar carols and is beautifully illustrated
using multi-colored woodcut prints in the
style utilized by the monks of the Middle Ages (see
photo at left).
Further examination of the title page and bibliography
revealed that this book was a collaboration
of Ferenc Bitto, Dr. Charles Szabo, Elizabeth
Szabo and Nicholas Dengl OFM, along with additional
contributions of information added by
Msgr. Dezső Török, Julianna Toth, Rev. Andor
Leffler, Rev. Francis Karpi and several others.
Except for “Silent Night,” all the carols are of
Hungarian origin.
The book is a masterpiece of artwork and
6 º December 2016 º WILLIAM PENN LIFE