[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 129 (Friday, October 4, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1763-E1764]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   JOSEPH J. URBAN: PUSHING THE POLKA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES A. BARCIA

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 3, 2002

  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my very good friend, 
Joe Urban of Bay City, Michigan, for his induction into the Michigan 
State Polka Music Hall of Fame and for his many years of cultivating 
and publicizing polka music in our shared hometown. The polka has long 
been king in Bay City, especially among the members of our significant 
Polish and German communities, and Joe Urban has been a polka fan and 
promoter since he was a boy.
  Although Joe never learned to play a musical instrument, he has been 
beating the proverbial drum on behalf of his fellow polka music 
enthusiasts for more than 40 years. In 1959, he began promoting polka 
for festivals at St. Hyacinth Catholic Church and for dances at Pulaski 
Hall in Bay City. Joe's Polish Circle dinnerdances became legendary in

[[Page E1764]]

the 1960s, featuring local bands and musicians such as Stan Drzewicki, 
Gene Kochaney, Pat Lepeak's Starliners and nearly every other polka 
band in the region. Later, out-of-town bands joined the line-up as 
polka music and dancing grew in popularity.
  Since then, Joe's tremendous energy and enduring passion for the 
polka has been instrumental in keeping the music alive and flourishing 
in Bay City and beyond, particularly at Pulaski Hall. The list of bands 
that Joe has managed to bring to Bay City is a veritable ``Who's Who'' 
of the polka industry, including The Polish Kid, Tony Blazonczyk, 
Polkamotion Crusade, Lenny Golmulka and The Chicago Push and many 
others. In fact, Lenny Gemulka's retirement party was held at Pulaski 
Hall.
  Over the years, Joe also has extended his polka promotion efforts 
throughout the state and across the country. He has attended events 
produced by the United States Polka Association and the International 
Polka Association. Of course, Joe's wife, Rita, and daughter, Jeanne, 
should also be commended for their support of Joe and his keen interest 
and involvement in anything and everything associated with the polka.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
congratulating Joe Urban upon the occasion of his induction into the 
Michigan State Polka Music Hall of Fame. It is an appropriate and well-
deserved honor for someone who has made so many contributions to ensure 
that generations to come will continue to stomp their feet and dance to 
the energetic beat of the polka well into the future.

                          ____________________