Volume 68 – No. 4 April 2013

MONTHLY PROGRESS founded by Ted Kereczmann† in 1946.

Published by

The United German Hungarians of Philadelphia and Vicinity

4666 Bristol Road, Oakford, PA 19053

Phone: 215-357-9851 Fax: 215-357-1560 Web Site: www.ughclub.us

President: William Galgon, 1641 Loretta Ave-

nue, Feasterville, PA 19053

Publicity/Editorial: Emily Fricker, 654 Manor Drive, Horsham, PA 19044

267-470-4828, ehfricker@hotmail.com

2013 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

May 15th—Spring Penny Party

June 16th—Gau Team Warm up

Father’s Day Picnic

June 30th—German-American Day

September 6-8th —Hot Rod Hoedown

September 28-29th —Oktoberfest

October 5th—Rocktoberfest

October 26th—Schocktoberfest

November 2nd—Fall Craft Fair

November 9th—Kirchweihfest

November 13th—Fall Penny Party

December 15th—Club Christmas Party

OUR TOASTMISTRESS’ TOAST AT OUR

103RD ANNIVERSARY BANQUET My name is Nichole Blank Deely and I have the honor of being

your Toastmistress tonight. I am 31 years old. I am the daughter

of Marlene Fricker and John Blank and the step-daughter of Bill

Galgon. I am a sister; I am a wife; and I am a mother. And I have

been a member of the United German Hungarian Club for 31

years.

I chose to use these descriptors in my introduction because I feel

they give you a piece of who I am. Everyone knows what a

daughter is, what a wife is, and what a mother is, but, what is a

club member? When I began to reflect on this I had trouble find-

ing the right words to describe the essence of what it means to

me to be a member of the German Hungarians. So I went to my

computer and I typed the word club into the google search box.

According to Wikipedia a club is an association of two or more

people united by a common interest or goal. This definition is a

starting place but for me our club is so much more.

I widened my search to include the words family, friendship, and

kinship. Now this was getting me closer to the feeling of our mem-

bership. Kinship is a term in anthropology, considered to refer to

the web of social relationships that form an important part of the

lives of most humans in most societies. This is what the German

Hungarian membership is…A kinship.

I am proud to say that I have been a German Hungarian my en-

tire life. My closest friends have been made here. I have celebrat-

ed my happiest moments with these friends...many times under

this roof, and more importantly, during the most difficult times in

my life, this kinship, these friends, are who have given me the sup-

port to overcome obstacles.

We are a group of people who come together to have a good

time. We work together; we play together; we travel together; we

dance and drink together. We laugh together and we cry togeth-

er. And, We love each other.

I can’t imagine my life without this club, without these members,

my German Hungarian friends.

Please raise a glass with me on this anniversary night. To our

guests, thank you for celebrating with us. I invite you to drink and

dance with us this evening. To my fellow club members , my

friends, my kinship. Thank you for inviting me to speak tonight.

May we have many more memories together...Prost!

April 2013 Monthly Progress Page 2

103rd ANNIVERSARY BANQUET Our club was the scene of a

very enjoyable banquet held on Satur-

day, March 23rd. The cocktail hour be-

gan at 6:00 P.M. and the guests looked

resplendent in their evening finery.

It’s always a pleasure to see the

various ages, seniors, middle aged and

youth, enjoying a celebration together.

The Toast Mistress for the evening was

Nichole Blank Deely and she welcomed

all who joined us for the evening. After

the National Anthems of both the United

States and Germany were sung a mo-

ment of silence was held for our de-

ceased members, especially Antonia

Kreutzer was held.

At that time Michael Fricker who

gave the invocation, was introduced.

Michael is a member of our Publicity &

Editorial committee, the Archiving com-

mittee, and can be most often found

performing with the dance group. He is

currently a student at Temple University.

Michael chose as his invocation a pray-

er by St. John Neumann: “Everyone who breathes

High and low

Educated and ignorant

Man and woman

Has a mission

Has a work…

As Christ has his work

We too have ours

As he rejoiced to do his work

We must rejoice in ours also.”

Nichole introduced the head

table. She gave a toast and a small

speech about what it means to her to

be a member of our club. She then offi-

cially opened the dance floor with our

Cultural Group performing a Grand

March.

The dinner was served and as is

our custom, various introductions were

made throughout this meal as well as

our guests enjoying dancing to the mu-

sic of the Heimatklaenge Orchestra. The

Board of Governors was introduced. Al-

so two past presidents, Andy Weyer-

shaeuser and Werner Fricker Jr. were

acknowledged and thanked for their

continued support and involvement in

our organization

Special guests in attendance were rec-

ognized:

Vereinigung der Donauschwaben Phila-

delphia – Fred Gauss Vice President

Cannstatter Volksfest-Verein – Willie

Glaeser, President

German American Committee of Phila-

delphia – Lou Oschmann, President

Catholic Kolping Society – Frank Staub,

President

Bayerischer Volksfest Verein – Alex

Paraker, president

Bayerischer Volksfest Verein Ladies Auxil-

iary – Thea Paraker, President

First German Sport Club Phoenix – Chris-

tine Groeber, Phoenix Anniversary Com-

mittee Chairlady

Vereinigung Erzbebirge – Jay Bitterlich,

President

Steuben Day Observance Association –

Tom Markow, President

US Eastern Region Verband der Do-

nauschwaben – Fred Gauss, President

WaldEcho Singing Society – Betty Boyts

A Friend from the Donauschwaben of

Los Angeles, California – Paul Fruhner

Tom Marko, Lou Oschmann and Alex

Paraker each spoke a few words to the

guests.

Bill Galgon, our President,

opened his address by reading an arti-

cle from our Monthly Progress Newsletter

in the May/June 2008 issue. The article

entitled, “Attention Members! Read This

Now!” began with the words. “I wonder

how many of you who are reading this,

realize what it means to be a member of

our club.” The article told about all as-

pects of our club, the people, the activi-

ties, and ended with “Why are we so

few when we should be so many? Only

as members united together with a

common goal – the advancement of

our club, - can we continue as a bigger

and better organization than ever be-

fore.” An Editor’s Note at the end stated:

The above article (with some updated

changes) appeared in the Monthly Pro-

gress in August 1957. This article was

written over 50 years ago. IT IS STILL REL-

EVANT TODAY! Billy continued to say

that he referenced this article because

as things change – they remain the

same. He stated, “I do not speak of bad

members or members that do not at-

tend, I speak of a lack of interest, apa-

thy or indifference. In the world we live

in today, people would rather stay at

home sit on the couch and eat too

much of the wrong food, watch TV or

play on the computer. People no long-

er want to get dressed up to go out. We

have dress down Fridays. Jacket and tie

required seems like something out of the

“Great Gatsby”! Now we see signs “No

Shoes, No Shirt, No Service!” The reason

that many organizations like ours, lack

people is because of some of the issues I

just mentioned. This affects the clubs,

lodges, singing societies, religious organi-

zations and many more.

Our president further stated,

“We speak of our young people all the

time. Today, I acknowledge our toast-

master , Nichole Deely, the next genera-

tion on the podium. I now speak for us,

the German Hungarians, with pride, that

we are able to bring forth people that

can present themselves as professionals

in front of an audience. This is what we

do! We are teachers.! Susi Hartmann is

the third Chairman of the Cultural Group

after the initial group of women who

started it all in the 60s. The soccer pro-

gram under Andrew Weyershaeuser Jr.

has grown to its highest level of partici-

pation in our history.

Representatives from Adidas and the

Philadelphia Union Soccer Team have

visited our club and stated that this is

great – what a soccer club is all about. I

have heard leaders from dance groups

around the world compliment our danc-

ers. I brag, that we get it right, that all

of you get it right, that there is and

should be room for organizations like

yours and ours, that we get off the

couch and become involved!!!”

At this time Bill introduced all the

Committee Chairmen stating “The Ger-

man Hungarians exist because of the

sacrifice of the people just mentioned

and all the other members that serve on

committees. Thanks to the Executive

Board, Janet, Andy and Michael who

work together with me every week and

often times every day. Thanks to the

young adults and our parents. A special

thanks to the members and friends from

the Bayerischer Volksfest Verein espe-

cially their president, Alex Paraker and

to all our friends in the German Ameri-

can Community. I thank my wife, Mar-

lene, and our children for all their sup-

port. Enjoy the remainder of the even-

ing.”

Nichole commented, “Bill Galgon has

been our president since 2007, but he

does not just hold a position. He is instru-

mental in all happenings around the

grounds. He is one of our biggest sup-

porters. Our president travels with both

the soccer teams and dance group to

help cheer us on in our endeavors. And

he plays music for us at many events.

Thank you Billy, for your time, support

and being our #1 fan!!!”

The final Cultural Group perfor-

mance featured the dancers performing

the Lueneburger Windmueller

April 2013 Monthly Progress Page 3

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? German Hungarians named to Halls of Fame

Certain phrases are in use in

our club community. They seem to

always be floating around my head.

(I don’t know if that happens to you

or if it’s just my strange mind.) For ex-

ample when I was organizing the

pieces of this article together in my

head, the phrase that stuck there was

this, “Hundreds of Teams, Thousands

of Players.” There is a ring to that and

I searched my archives of German-

Hungarian and general soccer docu-

ments to find its author. To no avail I

might add. Most likely I heard anoth-

er German-Hungarian-for-life say it in

one of the countless hours we spend

talking about ourselves; our club. (If it

is yours let me know.)

In my search I found some-

thing similar although, so I’ll transpose

it here, with attribution. “Just sit back

and think of the people that played

and trained here on our grounds.

Thousands played and trained here,

a l l w ith a pass ion for the

game." (Werner Fricker, Jr.) This is from

the opening of a piece that Fricker

wrote entitled "Hallowed Ground"

that we ran in the Progress last year.

This lengthy introduction aside the

meaning of the line is what this is all

really about. The German Hungarians

as an organization has a history of

drawing players, administrators, and

coaches alike to our sport communi-

t y . W h e r e a r e t h e y n o w ?

It seems to be Hall of Fame season

and a number of former GH men

have been inducted recently to vari-

ous Halls both locally and across the

nation. Former players Mark Ozoroski,

and Rich Reice were inducted to the

Bucks County Chapter of the

Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame on

T h u r s d a y A p r i l 9 t h .

Ozoroski started his full-time

Majors career in the 1991-92 seasons

and he played in the televised 1993

US Open Cup Final for the German

Hungarians in Indianapolis. Werner

Fricker, Jr., Major Team Manager from

1988 to 1999 said, “He was known to

be a very good player coming out of

the midfield often to create and

score goals.”

The Reice family including

Richie all played youth and adult soc-

cer at the club. Richie was a really

good player and went on to play with

the Fury in the NASL.

On March 24th Tony Rod was

inducted into the North Catholic Soc-

cer Hall of Fame class of 2013. Tony

played continuously for the German

Hungarians from the early 2000s until

just recently.

The South Eastern Pennsylva-

nia Soccer Hall of Fame, formerly the

Philadelphia Oldtimers Soccer Associ-

ation holds the slogan "Honoring the

past, Building the Future." Dating

back to 1947 there is an extensive list

of inductees that have been honored

over the years. Glancing over this list

you will find over 60 inducted have

ties to our club in some way. This year

one more will be added. On May

11th at the annual banquet at the

Cannstatter the 66th class will be hon-

ored. Joe “Rock” Rudy is among the

names listed.

Rudy joined the club in 1987

when the re-building of the major

team was being taken very seriously

by a group of administrators seeking

new younger players that could con-

nect with the past traditions and suc-

cess. The 75th Anniversary of Soccer

Souvenir Book reads, "Joe Rudy con-

tributed greatly to the club’s success.

Joe gave the best years of his adult

career to the German Hungarians."

Fricker spoke to Rudy’s

strength as a player, “he was a strong

and disciplined player who could

read any situation, it was difficult to

knock him off his game, he would be

dangerous on the attack and disci-

plined on defensive man marking.”

It has just been announced

the Peter Vermes has been inducted

into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame on

the Veteran Ballot. He played for the

club in the 1987 season. Vermes, after

his return to Rutgers University, be-

came a full time member of the US

National Team, and was a member

of the US World Cup Team. In 1988 he

was named US Soccer Federation

Player of the year. Vermes is currently

the Head Coach of the MLS team

Sporting Kansas City.

Vermes when talking about

Philadelphia native Bobby Convey

playing in the MLS for Kansas City,

told Philly.com in January of 2012

about the dedication to soccer in the

Philadelphia area. “I know that men-

tality. I played in Philly for a number of

years with the United German-

Hungarians. Just knowing that men-

tality there, I think it’s good, and I

think it’s good to bring it into our team

here.” Vermes is the fourth Man with

ties to our club to be inducted to the

National Hall of Fame behind, Walter

Bahr, Alex Ely, Werner Fricker, and Emil

Schillinger. He told Soccer by Ives,

“Soccer is the consummate team

sport and being inducted into the

National Soccer Hall of Fame is cer-

tainly indicative of that. It is humbling

and a great honor”

Mark Ozoroski, right Joe Rudy, far right

Peter Vermes, right German Hungarian Team Member, 1987

April 2013 Monthly Progress Page 4

— GERMAN-AMERICAN DAY — Sunday June 30th 2013 | 12:00pm

On the grounds of the United German Hungarians

Proceeds support the: German-American Steuben Parade

on September 28th 2013

AS MEMBERS OF THE GERMAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY WE NEED TO SUPPORT GERMAN DAY AND IN TURN THE PARADE

www.germanday.info

U.G.H. Women’s Auxiliary

— SPRING PENNY PARTY — Wednesday, May 15

Doors open 6:30pm | Numbers

called 8:00pm

Tickets—$3.00 per person

Includes coffee and cake

RESERVATIONS are REQUIRED

Call Emily Fricker at 267.470.4828 Set-up: Wednesday Morning—10:00am

_____________________________________

— SCHNITZEL NIGHT — Wednesday, May 1

Wednesday, June 1

— A THANK YOU — The German Hungarian Cultural Group thanks

all of you who supported our recent events! The

Martini Night, the Fish Fry, and the Game Night

were Fun Friday successes. There is a raffle that is

currently underway! Tickets are $5.00 and can

be purchased from any dancer at the club. 1st

prize is an iPad 2 and 2nd prize is Philadelphia

Union Tickets! Drawing will be held on May 21st! *Winner need not be present at drawing to be eligible.

_____________________________________

— BAYERISCHER ECKE — Saturday April 20—

SPRING DANCE with Emil Schanta Band

Wednesday April 24—

BVV Ladies Penny Party

Doors Open 6:30pm

Saturday May18—

MEMBER APPRECIATION DANCE

with Joe Weber Band