[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 135 (Thursday, September 26, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          AND A ONE, AND A TWO

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES A. BARCIA

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 25, 1996

  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, one of the greatest gifts that has been 
given to us is music. Music makes us laugh and brings us joy. That is 
why today I rise to pay tribute to a man who has brought much joy and 
laughter to all who know him, Mr. Jim Lepeak. On Sunday, October 6, Jim 
Lepeak will be inducted into the Michigan Polka Music Hall of Fame. A 
banquet and presentation will be held at the Western Fraternal Life 
Association Hall in Owosso, MI.
  Born in 1929, music was in Jim's blood. His first instrument was a 
cigarbox with rubberbands stretched across it. At 7, he purchased a 
mail-order guitar that was too big for his fingers. When his father 
gave him a small accordion out of sympathy for his guitar plight, Jim 
took to it like a duck to water. He gave his first public performance 
after only three short lessons and quickly graduated to the 120 bass 
accordion which, to this day, is his treasured keepsake.
  In the early 1940's, Jim joined the Floyd Talaga Polka Band and the 
Musician's Union. From that moment on, Jim knew that playing polka 
music was the path for him. Throughout his long career, Jim has been a 
member of many bands including Floyd Grocholski's Musical All Stars and 
Gary Taylor and the Happy Knights. During his many public appearances, 
Jim has played up and down the great State of Michigan entertaining 
people from Cobo Hall in Detroit to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper 
Peninsula. The number of bands Jim has played in is exceeded only by 
the number of musical instruments he has mastered. Jim excels at 
playing not only the accordion but the bass guitar, mandola, Mandolin, 
piano, organ, drums, and violin. He has used his musical proficiency to 
record several CD's featuring polka music.
  His career has had several interesting highlights, especially during 
his trips behind the Iron Curtain. In the course of one of his tours, 
his playing led to a snake dance through the Kasprawy Hotel in 
Zakopane, Poland, that lasted until 4 a.m. He has also entertained on 
the front deck of a boat on the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary, 
while the Captain danced the polka in the wheelhouse.
  These days Jim calls himself semiretired while playing in a one-man 
band. He now devotes most of his weekdays playing at hospitals, nursing 
homes, and senior sites. Jim also spends time with his charming wife, 
Illamae, and his four children, John, Joseph, Cynthia, and Gregory.
  Mr. Speaker, Jim Lepeak has dedicated his life to bringing music and 
laughter to ours. He is a talented musician and a selfless volunteer. I 
want you and our colleagues to roll out a barrel of thunderous applause 
for Jim Lepeak and his induction into the Michigan Polka Music Hall of 
Fame.

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