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Published: April 26th 2006
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(Nagy’s childhood country estate):
This has been a magnificent day. We didn’t know what to expect since contact with the hospital and Nagy’s old friends has always been sporadic and difficult. We had a late start and arrived around 1:00 pm. The town was very quiet and we had no idea how to contact Joseph (the director) or Janos (friend and translator). However as we approached the house (now a home for severely mentally challenged women) a woman was walking out and we were able to get her attention. She didn’t speak English, but seemed eager to take us somewhere and quickly jumped into our car. We drove just a block or so and she indicated that we should park and walk to a particular house. There a girl walked out and (thankfully!) greeted us in English! The girl was Martina (age 19), and she was the daughter of the woman—who turned out to be named Helen-who is a teacher/activities director at the home. We were welcomed inside, where we met Peter (age 25), Helen’s son, who spoke even better English!! They quickly explained that Helen had been waiting for us!! And Joseph had been at the home all
morning also waiting!!
Things were just falling into place. Peter, Martina, and Helen were so gracious—and immediately the table was filled with cake, cookies, brownies, apples, tea, soda, and the traditional shots of liquor… We toasted and a fell into conversation about our quest, our successes, and our hopes. They were all interested and offered information about the town, the house, and anything that they knew. As it turns out their grandfather was the coachman for the estate and he always gave complimentary remarks about Nagy’s father. Strangely we are further connected—During our last visit we encountered an elderly woman who helped us find Joseph—That woman was Helen’s Mother!!
The family is obviously devoted to their village and to the home—so Nagy’s history was fascinating to them. Peter explained to us that it saddens him to see fellow Slovakians leaving the country to improve their lives when they should be staying to improve the lives of others. We are so lucky to have happened upon such a generous and kind family. Of course Momma and I gave our contact information and offered our homes to Peter and Martina if ever they would like to visit and experience
Back Yard of Mana Manor
I will add better pictures later, but you get the idea. the U.S.
Eventually Helen was able to contact Joseph and we walked over to see him and the house. Joseph was eager to show us the improvements that were made to the home in the past 5 years—fresh paint, new windows, foundation reinforcement, new pavers, new floors, and new furniture. Everything was remarkably better and so Joseph was eager to show us every room, which was not possible on my first visit (in 2000). I am so pleased that I could just turn on the camera and follow Nagy as she described the original state of the manor. We were quite a group, Peter and Helen, Joseph and his son Andrew, another translator Susan, Nagy, Liz, Momma, and me. Everyone was asking questions and/or offering information—it was a DREAM COME TRUE!!! Every little detail about the rooms and original conditions and customs were exciting even to the Slovakians. We were all awe-struck by the depth of history and culture. This was a family excursion but it was a joy to share with the others because they seemed to value the history just as much as we did. We also learned from them as we went—a painting of Nagy’s father
that is located in a museum and could perhaps also be with the construction pictures and maybe even the original furniture. We also learned that there is a photo chronicle of the home and church that the city has developed, since the site is now historically preserved by the Slovakian government.
It was wonderful to be shown rooms that Nagy had never even seen… Servants quarters, corridors and stairways, as well as the rooms used for storage and laundry and such. We even went down to the basement where the nature of the design kept the space cooler and so it was possible to use for refrigeration. There Nagy recalled a Dungeon type space that she and Sulu were told about but terrified of!!! I found it funny when Nagy recalled a darken spot on the stone staircase that she and sulu thought was a blood spot and they always screamed and jumped over it—and claimed the stairway was haunted!! There were some changes that were unavoidable, but sad—like the balcony where Nagy and Sulu were photographed so many years ago—has been replace by a wall and a room. And the secret room in Nagy’s father’s bedroom—is now totally gone since the layout of the room has changed completely. Also we couldn’t even locate the dining room because the walls had changed and the food lift had been removed. Many details remained though—moldings, arched ceilings, entrances, niches where porcelain stoves were positioned, windows, original wooden shutters, stone staircases, and chevron like parkay—all worn with time .… So many architectural details…
With so much to absorb we were all exhausted, but Peter suggested we walk to the chapel and make an appointment with the priest to see the crypt. Father --- was very excited to met us and learn about our excursion. But we were all so tired and my video battery was exhausted—we kept saying “please, please tomorrow,” but he couldn’t help himself and we instantly bonded over our mutual enthusiasm. He produced legers that documented the church’s weddings, baptisms, and deaths…We searched its pages for the name Foldvary, but came up empty-handed… it is most likely that any record of Nagy’s family would exist in only in Budapest. We are still hopeful because the priest believes that he may have pictures of Nagy’s home and family that are older than ours!! We will see these things tomorrow!
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