National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame

Bandleaders Fred Kuhar, Bob Timko and Hank Thunander

Inducted into the Polka Hall of Fame, November 26

Three polka bandleaders were inducted into the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame at the annual awards ceremony on November 26, 2011. Fred Kuhar of Wickliffe, Ohio, Bob Timko of Dunedin, Florida, and Hank Thunander, from St. Paul, Minnesota, were voted for their lifetime achievements in polka music by Hall of Fame members and trustees. The announcement was made announced at the October 13 semiannual membership meeting in Euclid, Ohio.

All three honorees are accordionists. Fred Kuhar has led an orchestra for more than forty years and served as the founding President of the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum. Bob Timko’s band was a top Cleveland-based polka group in the 1970s and one of the first to popularize polka tours to destinations such as Hawaii. Hank Thunander has been a leading figure on the Iron Range polka scene since the 1960s.

Two all-time Cleveland-Style hits were also chosen by voters. "Save the Last Dance," a romantic waltz written by Lojze Slak of Slovenia as “Ne Prizigaj Luci,” has been a Cleveland-style standard since the 1980s when it was recorded by Cecilia Dolgan with her English lyric. “Terezinka,” a bouncy polka based on a traditional Slovenian folk song, has been recorded and played by countless orchestras since the 1920s.

The Board of Trustees added six names to the Polka Hall of Fame Honor Roll. Accordionist Linda Lee Brown performs at polka events in Frankenmuth, Michigan, and around the country. Drummer Gus Oswald has recorded on upwards of 700 songs, most notably with the Hank Haller Orchestra. Drummer John R. Gerl plays and records with several bands and served as the founding treasurer of the Polka Hall of Fame. Vocalist Angela Zabjek recorded and performed Slovenian music and is active in the Slovenian-American community. Bandleader and accordionist Ray Skovenski has recorded and performs in his home state of Pennsylvania. The late accordionist Al Strukel led a popular Cleveland polka band during the polka heyday of the 1950s. Mike Dragas, Ray Sterle and Bill Tomsick received group recognition for their thirty years together as members of the Art Perko Orchestra, one of the classic Cleveland-style polka ensembles.

The 24th annual National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame awards ceremony took place on Saturday afternoon, November 26, at Euclid Auditorium, 711 East 222^nd Street, in Euclid, Ohio. This year's all-star program featured a salute to radio personality and impresario Tony Petkovsek for his fifty years hosting a daily polka broadcast. A reception, polka mass and dance followed at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Cleveland. The awards show is the high point of the annual Thanksgiving polka music weekend hosted by Petkovsek. At the membership meeting, President Cecilia Dolgan announced that the Polka Hall of Fame would be taking over sponsorship of the Thanksgiving polka festival in 2012, following Petkovsek’s retirement.

The Polka Hall of Fame and Museum was founded in 1987 by musicians and leaders of Slovenian and ethnic organizations. The Cleveland style of polka has roots in Slovenian folk music with influences from country and western, jazz, Tin Pan Alley and other nationality sounds. America's Polka King, Frank Yankovic, was the leading exponent of the popular dance music.

The museum features audio exhibits, photographs and original instruments tracing the Cleveland-style polka to its origins in Slovenia in the late 1800s. The Hall of Fame portrait gallery pays tribute to significant musicians and prominent individuals, as voted each year by 1,500 members. The archive preserves 5,000 recordings, dating to 1917. Each year members nominate and vote for polka musicians and achievers in categories ranging from best orchestra and best album to promotion and Slovenian cultural heritage.

The National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum is located at 605 East 222nd Street in Euclid, Ohio, in the historic former Euclid City Hall. Hours are Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5:00, and Saturdays, 10:00 to 3:00. Admission is free. Polka recordings are available in the museum store.

Joe Valencic, Trustee

2011 Polka Hall of Fame Nominees

CULTURAL/HERITAGE

The Singing Slovenes, MN ( WINNER)

SNPJ Circle 2 Junior Chorus, OH

Slovenian Home, Sharon, PA

SNPJ Heritage Room, PA

Joe Valencic

SUPPORT/PROMOTION

Joe Gabrosek & Gene Kovack

Ed Ostry (WINNER)

Val Pawlowski

Gary Rhamy

Kay Sefcik & Kathy Paulenich

Pam & Jerry Zagar

BEST BUTTON BOX-Individual or Duo

Joe Bajuk

Joe Grkman, Jr.

Kathy Hlad (WINNER)

Joe Jagunich & John Stark

Ron Pivovar

BEST BUTTON BOX-Group

Alaska Button Box Gang

Fairport Jammers (WINNER)

Mahoning Valley Button Box Club

Northern Ohio Players

Western PA SNPJ Button Box Club

BEST NEW ORIGINAL SONG

Arlene’s Waltz-Dan Peters (WINNER)

Free Beer Polka-Jake Kouwe

Logan’s Polka-Ron Pivovar

Old Glory Polka-Marge Ford

A Waltzing Symphony-Joe Bajuk

BEST VOCALIST

Hank Guzel, Jr.

Susan McGovern

Kim Rodick (WINNER)

John Ross

Mary Spehar-White

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR

Joe Grkman, Jr.

Bob Kravos

Joe Novak

Brian O’Boyle

Ron Pivovar

Joey Tomsick (WINNER)

BEST SIDEMAN (elect 3)

Mark Habat, Int’l Sound Machine (WINNER)

Phil Hrvatin, Joey Tomsick Orch. (WINNER)

Brian O’Boyle, Jack Tady Orch. (WINNER)

Frank Okicki, Bob Kravos & Boys in Band (WINNER)

Jim Penko, Joey Tomsick Orch.

Eric Stehle, Klancnik & Friends

Jack Tankovich, Bob Kravos & Boys in Band

Mike Yanek, Joe Novak & Friends

Brian Zupancic, Joe Novak & Friends

RECORDING OF THE YEAR

Getting Together – Dan Peters

Polka Lust – Ron Pivovar

Rainbow of Music – Frankie Spetich

Something for Everyone – Bob Kravos (WINNER)

Triglav – The Singing Slovenes

BAND OF THE YEAR

Klancnik & Friends

Bob Kravos and the Boys in the Band

Joe Novak and Friends

Eddie Rodick Orchestra

Joey Tomsick Orchestra (WINNER)

GREATEST ALL-TIME HIT SONG

(elect 2)

Beverly’s Waltz

Gogebec Range Polka

Italian Nights Waltz

Kamnik Polka

Lee & Ann Polka

Red Lips & Red Wine Polka

Save the Last Dance Waltz (WINNER)

Squeezer’s Polka

Terezinka Polka (WINNER)

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

(elect 2)

Eddie Adamic

Fred Kuhar (WINNER)

Fr. Frank Perkovich

Bob Timko (WINNER)

Hank Thunander (WINNER) Trustee Inductee

SLOVENIAN SAUSAGE FESTIVAL 2011 SUCCESSFUL EVENT

Bill Azman and Hocevar’s Maple Height Catering

Win at Polka Hall of Fame Sausage Fest

Nearly 800 polka-lovers gathered at the SNPJ Farm in Kirtland, Ohio, on Wednesday, September 14, at the eighth annual Slovenian Sausage Festival hosted by the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum. Visitors sampled sausages from vendors and voted their favorite, then danced off the calories to the music of top polka performers.

The People's Choice Award went to Bill Azman’s Meat Market with Raddell's Slovenian Sausage Shop as the runner-up. A panel of judges picked Hocevar’s Maple Heights Catering for top sausage of 2011 with Azman's as as runner-up. All three sausage vendors are based in the Cleveland, Ohio, area.

Sixty musicians and bandleaders, including Canada’s Polka King Walter Ostanek, volunteered to perform seven hours of music at the annual fund-raiser for the Polka Hall of Fame.

"It’s great to see generations of families sharing the fun,” said Cecilia Dolgan, President of the Polka Hall of Fame and Museum. "When everyone’s smiling, you know they’re having a good time."

"We don’t get music and food like this where I come from," said Carol Ryba of Ormond Beach, Florida. "This is my first time here and I’m really enjoying myself.”

“A polka dance and a sausage sandwich are just right for a September afternoon,” said Mark Habat, Hall of Fame trustee and chairman of the event. “There are top polka talents and sausage-makers here today.”

Slovenian sausages (kranjske klobase) are cured and smoked and prepared from recipes brought to the United States by immigrants from Slovenia. About two hundred pounds of sausages and one hundred strudels were consumed at the event.

The National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum celebrates the city's home-grown dance music with audio exhibits, historic photographs and original instruments. The sound emerged from the city’s Slovenian neighborhoods and first became a national sensation in the decade after World War II. Each year, the Polka Hall of Fame’s 1,500 members nominate and vote for polka performers and recordings in various categories. The annual awards ceremony takes place Saturday, November 26, at Euclid Auditorium.

Bill Azman (center), proprietor of Bill Azman’s Meat Market in Cleveland, Ohio, receives the People’s Choice award banner at the 8^th annual Slovenian Sausage Festival sponsored by the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum. The presentation was made by Cecilia Dolgan, President, and Ray Somich, Trustee, of the Polka Hall of Fame.

Dolores Mihelich slices two of the one hundred strudels sold at the 8^th annual Slovenian Sausage Festival sponsored by the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum. Two hundred pounds of sausages were sold at the music event at SNPJ Farm in Kirtland, Ohio.