COMING TO CANADAA
few years ago, I met
a very interesting
person, Mary Dudas
from Strathroy, Ont. Our
initial conversation was very
casual, with our respective
dogs being the main topic.
As time went by, our conver-
sations naturally expanded
into other areas. One day,
I asked Mary where she
came from originally, and
upon hearing her response,
I asked if I could share her
story with the readers of
Our Canada magazine.
Much to my delight and
hopefully yours, she
said yes.
Mary’s father, Frank
Dudas, had been in the
militia in Romania
when communism was
getting established and
preparing to take over
the country. Frank and his
wife Zsuzanna eventually felt
the need to escape from the
resulting oppression, and so they
went by foot over the Carpathian
Mountains, arriving in Hungary
in 1951, where Frank found work
on various farms.
Mary was born in 1953 in
Budapest and was not yet three
years old when the Hungari-
an Revolution began, forcing
the young family to flee. Mary
recalls her father telling her to
be quiet as he carried her on his
back while crossing the bor-
der from Hungry into Austria,where they found refuge in
a Red Cross unit.
As part of its relief efforts, the
Red Cross arranged to have the
Dudas family and other refu-
gees like them flown to Toronto,
where they were housed in a
big building that in hindsight
reminded Mary of a huge audi-
torium. Her dad set out to find
a job and found employment on
a farm in Strathroy, which was
owned by a Hungarian woman.
Frank worked for her as a hired
hand and, once established,
he arranged to have his familyjoin him there. He saved
enough money so Mary
could start her education
in Strathroy. She was five
years old by this time.
Fortunately, there was
a large Hungarian com-
munity in Strathroy at the
time, which helped out
the family in a number of
ways, most notably help-
ing Mary overcome the
language barrier at a young
age. By the time she was
13, Mary was bilingual and
able to teach her parents
sufficient English to take
the Oath of Allegiance in Toron-
to. She has resided in Strathroy
ever since.
Who could have known that
from a casual conversation about
one’s dogs that you could meet
and get to know someone with
such an incredible history. ■Mary and her
parents get ready
to attend a memorial
service at the Strathroy
Hungarian Church
to mark Hungary’s fight
for independence from
the Austrian Empire
in 1848.SHARE your family’s
story about coming to
Canada at ourcanada.ca or
see page 64 for our address.A Chance Encounter
From a casual conversation about dogs comes a
remarkable tale of fleeing oppression and starting anew
by Don Martin Jr., Melbourne, Ont.31