Edward Chester Kutas Sr. was a well-known and important promoter of polka music in Buffalo and Western New York. He was the owner and operator of the historic Warsaw Inn on Broadway in the heart of the Polish East Side. For many years, Ed had a vision for a…
Since 1968, Marge Machay and her predeceased husband Chuck, owned and operated Polonia Ballroom and Grove. A Chicago landmark, its name was changed to Polonia Banquets in the 1980’s as renovations were made to broaden the business and better accommodate its patrons. For almost a half century, Marge leveraged…
Elmer Scheid was born on October 4, 1921 in New Ulm, MN. At the young age of 8 years old, he learned to play the concertina from his father and performed his first professional dance event with the John Fritsche Band at the age of 14. Elmer later played…
Andrew (Andy) Fenus, along with his brother Steve Fenus, organized The Trel Tones polka band in 1954. Since that time the band has performed at venues across the United States and Canada and appeared on numerous radio and TV shows in Ohio and Pennsylvania, including a three-hour special about polka…
Fred Ziwich was born in Cleveland, Ohio on March 10, 1954. He began taking accordion lessons at the age of 5, and could read music before he could read English. Fred started taking clarinet lessons in the 4th grade, began playing the tenor sax in the 8th grade, and…