Harold Loeffelmacher was born in 1905 on a farm in Nicollet county near Fort Ridgely of frontier days. He moved to New Ulm, with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Loeffelmacher. He took his first music lesson on a violin from a Lutheran minister. He graduated from the violin to wind when he bought a mail order horn and was taught by A. P. Boock of New Ulm. He played in the 205th…
Steve Adamczyk was born in Chicago, the eldest of four children of the late Stephen and Lottie (nee Kazanecki) Adamczyk. His parents introduced Steve to music at an early age, enrolling him as a student of piano, his first teachers being the Felician Sisters of SS. Peter and Paul Parish. When a school was organized, Steve turned his attention to the saxophone and clarinet. When in their teens, Steve and a few neighborhood…
Johnny Pecon was born on February 3, 1915 in Cleveland. At age five he began playing on a small accordion. In his teens he already sat in with some of the Slovenian polka bands. At age 19 he formed his own polka band. Johnny joined the Navy in 1942, trained as a Seabee and shipped to New Guinea in the South Pacific. Here he put on shows for the troops. After the…