Uncle Károly Szabó, a teacher from Bólya, who died on January 24th at the age of 86, was a symbolic figure of the Hungarians in Szeben County, wrote Reformed pastor László Vetési on his social media page.
As he put it: "He stood by the Hungarian education of his chosen village until the last minute, until the last Hungarian child, and when it was no longer possible, he had to close the symbolic door of our mother tongue education. Before his eyes, the Saxonity of the village and the countryside disappeared, its Hungarianness became rarer, but he steadfastly stood his guard: he taught, educated, cared for the rest of his people, preserved the past, feared the ruined Tholdy-Bolyai castle, cherished the memory of the famous Bolyai family. He was loved, respected and rightly respected by the local Roman Catholic Hungarians, whose language was dwindling, by the majority of the village and the countryside as a whole. We wish comfort to his family, loved ones and especially his spouse, Aunt Anikó. May his memory be blessed!" The funeral of Károly Szabó will take place on January 26, Wednesday, from 12 noon in Bólya.
Culture previously summarized the teacher's work as follows: "During forty years of pedagogical service, he was able to manage well those entrusted to him, and performed his service as a child educator and teacher with honor and love . As the only reformed and retired Hungarian teacher in the settlement, in addition to teaching, he also performed educational and informational tasks, mainly as the keeper of the traditions of the Bolyai cult. Bólya is the birthplace of the famous mathematician Farkas Bolyai, whose memory is still alive in the hearts of the locals. With some enthusiastic Bolyai researchers, a memorial room was set up in Bólya in 2002.
After persistent and long work, it was possible to renovate the former religious school and turn it into a Hungarian House, where not only the local community, but also Hungarians from the Szeban countryside can gather. In one word, the teacher uncle could be described as everything from Bolyas. He always welcomed the tourists coming to the village with great love and warm words, and spoke enthusiastically about the past and the castle of the Bolyai family. For four years, between 1996 and 2000, he represented Hungarians as a local village councilor in the colors of the RMDSZ. In 2002, he received the Bolyai János Medal in recognition of his activities promoting the heritage of the Bolyai people, and was elected a permanent member of the Bolyai Circle Scientific Society, founded in Marosvásárhely. In January 2008, he received the Silver Pine Award in recognition of his work as a guardian of Hungarian culture.
Opening image: muvelodes.net
Source: erdely.ma
