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His father came to the United States in 1903 to mine coal in Perry County, and then moved to Columbus in the 1930s, thanks to the Works Progress Administration, the Depression-era jobs program for out-of-work Americans.
Margaret Leonardo's father, Joseph Meszaros, mined coal in Athens County. He moved his family to Columbus in 1950. Leonardo, 85, still lives in their 95-year-old Hinman Avenue house.
But for the most part, Hungarian Village is devoid of residents who can trace their roots to Budapest or Debrecen.
"Not many Hungarians in this neighborhood. All passed away," Nagy said.
Italian Village and, of course, German Village are far better known. But those who have moved to Hungarian Village in recent years are working to re-create its identity. They fly Hungarian flags on their porches and used grant money to buy signs that are red, white and green - the colors of Hungary's flag - to educate visitors.
"We love the neighborhood," said Flo Plagenz, who, with her husband, Andrew, moved to Hungarian Village six years ago. "Even though we're not Hungarian, there's pride in having that identification."
Hungarian Village is wedged just south of Merion Village and north of the Reeb- Hosack/Steelton Village neighborhood. It's little more than Woodrow and Hinman avenues between S.High Street and Parsons Avenue, although in the 1970s, neighborhood leaders listed the northern border as E. Markison Avenue, said Doreen Uhas-Sauer, president of the Columbus Landmarks Foundation.
A century ago, the neighborhood teemed with immigrants from Hungary, Croatia and Italy. So many countries were represented on the South Side then that a Parsons Avenue market called Foreign Grocery employed a staff that spoke about a dozen languages.
The residents had left the mines to toil at nearby businesses and factories such as Buckeye Steel Castings, where they made parts for railroad cars. And Parsons Avenue hummed with commerce. "It was a vibrant community through the 1940s and 1950s, even the 1960s," said Alex Huber of the Hungarian Cultural Association in Columbus.
In 1973, the Rev. Zoltan Szabo, pastor of the Hungarian Reformed Church on Woodrow Avenue, proposed a "new" Hungarian Village akin to German Village. The Hungarian Cultural Association still meets in the 104-year-old church, once a neighborhood hub.
The church now has only 175 members. But in the 1940s, "You had to get to church early, or you didn't get a seat," said Julius Gyurcsik, who grew up on the South Side and now lives near Carroll in Fairfield County.
In May 1991, Hungary's president at the time, Arpad Goncz, visited the church on a seven-day U.S. trip.
Many Hungarians or those with Hungarian roots attended St. Ladislas Roman Catholic Church, also on the South Side.
Last summer, Columbus Landmarks led a tour of the neighborhood, visiting houses and studying their century-old architecture, including Queen Anne and Dutch Colonial styles.
Thousands of Hungarian refugees from the failed 1956 anti-Soviet revolution settled in U.S. cities with larger Hungarian populations such as Cleveland, New York and Newark, N.J., Huber said. A few came to Columbus, infusing the neighborhood and city with new blood, said Huber, himself a refugee.
Today, some residents are working to restore the neighborhood, which struggles with foreclosures, boarded-up houses and a spate of arsons a little more than a year ago.
Tom Linzell, president of the Hungarian Village Society, bought his Hinman Avenue house in 2001. Like the Plagenzes, he was a first-time buyer, and the price - $82,000 - was "obviously a factor," he said.
But more than that attracted him. He likes being 3 miles from work Downtown. And he likes the traditional neighborhood feel, with garages along alleys behind the houses, and the racial and economic diversity.
Linzell, 41, grew up in Worthington and knew nothing of the neighborhood's history. He does now, and flies a Hungarian flag.
You might not hear szia - Hungarian for "hello" - on Hinman Avenue today. But you can imagine it.
mferenchik@dispatch.com
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