23 September 2022 was a very special day for me.
During these days, my Hungarian conscience and American life were intertwined and it was a special experience for me. The day before I was in Budapest and visited the statue of the American President Washington. The statue was built with the support of the Hungarian American Federation in 1906. Interestingly, that year my grandfather was in America, working in a mine.
And in 2022, I was on my way home from America to the Corn Husking Festival in Sarród. It was especially valuable to me that this festival was held in the local museum of Sarród, which was Tomordi’s, my great-great-grandmother’s childhood home. The event brought back old memories for me, when as a child I myself was part of this autumn work together with the boys and girls from the village. Much to my surprise, I was invited to take to the stage in the event. The President of the Győr-Moson-Sopron County Assembly, Zoltán Németh, Attila Barcza Dr., Member of Parliament, and the Mayor of Sarród, Gyula Papp, presented me with a medal for my service to the county of Győr-Moson-Sopron for the development of its international relations.
When I held in in my hand, my heart was pounding so hard that my parents, who are buried in a nearby cemetery, may have heard it. Happy and tearful, I thanked them for the honour, which for me has become one of the most precious awards of my life. I thanked God that Sarród and the county had honoured me with this award and appreciated my work as President of the American Hungarian Federation from California to Washington, D.C., from Lousiana to Minnesota as a native of Sarród. (I am often referred to as Imre Sarród among my American friends, as I always emphasised my ancestry.)
It was a special pleasure for me to receive the award at an event in Sarród, where old friends and acquaintances from nearby settlements were present and after congratulations we could chat and reminisce about old experiences.
Thank you to the county, thank you to my native village for the recognition!
Dear Sarród people!
Let me address you from America, because you are the hardest working people in my homeland.
I thank God that I was born in Sarród.
I am very pleased that with the joint effort of Attila Barcza Dr., this book, an expanded edition of the history of Sarród, will be published, which I will place in the Hungarian Library of Congress here in Washington, D.C., to preserve the history of my dear village for a long, long time.
I translated the first edition for my children. They had heard so many stories from my dear mother about our little village, and when they saw that beautiful village they were very happy because everyone welcomed them and surrounded them with great love.
I saw the development of the village, the new houses, the beautifully cultivated fields around the village. I was proud of the new chapel, our church. The sound of the bell still brings tears to my eyes. Some of the best memories of my life are when I recall the time I spent with my parents, family, relatives and acquaintances in my home village.
In 1974, from Switzerland, I was able to visit my homeland of Sarród for the first time. I arrived at the border with two passports. At Sopron, the military officer Bencsik, with whom I played football, came to check my passport. I was happy to be back home after so many years spent far away. I was happy to see that the village had been beautified thanks to the hard work of the locals. When I saw the name of my village, it brought tears to my eyes to see it again. My parents were very surprised to see me, as I arrived unexpectedly. But this visit was one of the happiest experiences of my life. Over the years I have returned again and again. I met my childhood friends, with whom I played games, with whom I shared the bread and dripping. I see how much our dear village has changed, and it is due to the hard work of the diligent people of Sarród.
I wish that as many people as possible feel that their home village, Sarród, has given them a bond that will last for a lifetime. I have decreed that after my death my heart will be taken to Sarród by my children and buried in my parents’ grave, because wherever I lived, I was always a Sarród person in my heart. My body will be buried by my family here in America, but my heart will return to my beloved homeland and hometown.
I have never denied my Hungarianness, I was a Sarród person and I will remain that every day of my life. I wish this feeling to all those who come from Sarród. Wherever they live in the world, rich or poor, happy or a little sad sometimes. May they feel the love of their home village and visit their home to recharge themselves with the positive experiences it can give them. Let us be proud to have been born here and to have spent a happy time of our lives here with our relatives, friends and acquaintances.
It is great that posterity will have this beautiful book written by you, people of Sarród.
It is very important to me that this book brings the history of my home village not only to Hungary, but to the world, to those who are interested and to those who are descended from it.
I wish that the recording of the history of the village will continue for many more years to come.
Let us pass on to future generations what has happened, what
is happening in our small village.
Awarded for the Service of Győr-Moson-Sopron County – International Relations Section
Imre Németh Dr.
cardiac surgeon


