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 polka convention to be conducted in Buffalo and urged his friend Johnny Hyzny of Chicago to bring his International Polka Convention to the Nickel City. …
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 the facility to help sustain and promote polka music and dancing. Crowds from all over the country would travel to enjoy the top polka talent…
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 with the Six Fat Dutchmen and the Babe Wagner Band, which he managed from 1949 to 1951. He then created his own band, Elmer Scheid…
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 music on Public Television. The Trel-Tones recorded six albums on such renowned record labels as Bel-Aire of Chicago, IL, WRS of Cleveland, OH, and WAM…
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 learned to play the button box by his senior year in high school. Upon his graduation from Indiana University in 1977, he formed Fred Ziwich…