[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18964]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                MARC TENBUSCH: DEAN OF THE POLKA DANCERS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES A. BARCIA

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 4, 2001

  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Marc Tenbusch for his 
induction into the Michigan State Polka Music Hall of Fame. Michigan is 
a state whose citizens are proud of their multi-cultural ancestry and 
who delight in celebrating that diversity with others. The Polish 
community is one of the proudest in Michigan, bringing with it a love 
for good food, good spirits, fellowship, dancing and the lively, 
footstomping traditions of the polka.
  When Marc first hit the dance floor in the early 1950s to step to the 
sounds of the polka, he both fulfilled a family tradition and became 
part of a rich musical heritage with origins in the European waltz and 
the folk dancing of many lands. Contemporary polka music and dance 
represents a melange of musical talents and dancing styles brought to 
America by the many immigrants that created our great melting pot 
culture. Marc quickly became a master practitioner of the polka and a 
much sought after dance partner at places such as the Arcadia Ballroom 
in Parisville, Ravenna Gardens near Saginaw and Edgewood Gardens in 
Owosso.
  Many former students at Ubly Community still fondly recall Marc 
teaching them the polka, the waltz and the oberek as they listened to 
records on an old juke box in the school gymnasium. Marc also later 
took his passion for the polka to Fort Bliss, Texas, during a stint in 
the Army, where he always insisted a few polka tunes be played at 
Sunday evening get-togethers at a singles club on post. When he 
returned to the Ubly area, Marc continued promoting the polka and 
sponsoring dances. The citizens of Parisville will always be grateful 
for a polka dance fund-raiser he organized to help pay for rebuilding 
Saint Mary Catholic Church after a fire destroyed the original 
structure.
  Marc's reputation as a premier polka dancer was well-known beyond 
mid-Michigan and he proudly recounts taking part in a contest at the 
Polkabration in New London, Connecticut, with a well-know dancer called 
``Tillie from Philly.'' He also was honored to serve as a groomsman in 
the wedding party of ``Big Daddy'' Marshall Lackowski and Mary Ann 
Finnelli at the Polish Home in Baywood, New Jersey, where he danced the 
Baltimore Polish Wedding March and the New Jersey Bounce.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Marc 
Tenbusch on achieving the Michigan Polka Music industry's highest 
honor. Marc's polished and seemingly effortless footwork was an 
inspiration to a generation of polka dancers and I am confident that 
his love of dance will continue to provide encouragement to many more 
polka dance enthusiasts in the future.

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