COLLECTION

Minnesota Polka Project

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Identifier
CSUMC0008-CG (local)
Date
1990 (Date created)
Summary
The Minnesota Polka Project documents the polka music traditions of German-American, Czech-American, Slovenian-American, and Polish-American ethnic groups throughout Minnesota. Sixteen bands and 21 of the bands' musicians were documented, resulting in a 44-minute anthology of Minnesota polka recordings and an accompanying 20-page booklet in 1990. Available materials include recorded interviews with band leaders and members, color slides of musicians and performance venues, and artist files containing correspondence, tape logs, electronic versions of the tape logs, and news clippings. The project was co-sponsored by the Minnesota Historical Society and the Minnesota State Arts Board and was also known as the Minnesota Polka Oral History Project.
Creator and/or Contributor
Minnesota State Arts Board (creator), Minnesota Historical Society (creator)
Scope and Content Note

The Minnesota Historical Society holds the original sound recordings and tape logs for the interviews conducted during this project. They are called "Oral History Interviews of the Minnesota Polka Oral History Project" (call number OH 44). The interviews document artists who have been involved with the performance of ethnic polka music in Minnesota and adjacent states, both as band leaders and performers. Many of the narrators are first- or second-generation ethnic Americans and describe the rich part music played in their home lives and social gatherings.

At the Wisconsin Historical Society Library-Archives Division, 18 folders organized alphabetically by traditional artist name (within the context of a range of mostly Wisconsin traditional artists) represent formerly open artist files kept by the Wisconsin Folk Museum. They contain copies of tape indexes, correspondence mostly with James P. Leary, newspaper clippings, song translations, and other materials related to the project. The files are part of the "Wisconsin Folk Museum Records" collection (call number M98-044). See the Access portion of this collection guide for more information.

James P. Leary has copies of the interview sound recordings and tape logs and some correspondence from the project on file at the UW-Madison Folklore Program. The tape logs and correspondence are also in electronic format.

The musical performances included on the Minnesota Polka anthology were all previously recorded and issued on LP and/or cassettes by the respective bands. The original masters were returned to either the bands or to the studio that produced the original recordings. Photographs in the anthology were either historical photos from the Minnesota Historical Society, field photographs by James P. Leary, or those provided by the musicians and subsequently returned. A listing of photo credits can be found in the back of the booklet.



Administrative/Biographical History Element

Staff/Fieldworkers
Philip Nusbaum, then Folk Arts Program Associate at the Minnesota State Arts Board, initiated and obtained funding for the project. James P. Leary, then working with the Wisconsin Folk Museum and a faculty associate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, conducted the field documentation, co-produced the recording, and wrote the companion booklet. Recording Engineer Jerry Minar of New Prague, Minnesota, produced a master tape of the individual tracks.
 
Project History
The Minnesota Polka Project was part of the Minnesota Musical Traditions Series, a joint effort between the Minnesota Historical Society and the Minnesota State Arts Board. The project presented recordings of traditional music and interpreted them historically and culturally based on historical research and contemporary interviews of musicians.

In 1990, the Minnesota Historical Society and the Minnesota State Arts Board contracted with folklorist James P. Leary to research polka traditions, compile an anthology of polka music, and interview polka artists. Polka music was broadly defined to encompass polka, waltzes, schottisches, obereks, laendlers, and other dances. To study the polka traditions of German-American, Czech-American, Slovenian-American, and Polish-American ethnic groups, Leary interviewed 21 artists across the state.

The anthology of sound recordings, Minnesota Polka: Dance Music from Four Traditions, and its 20-page companion booklet of the same name, were published in 1990 by the Minnesota Historical Society Press. The anthology features previously released musical performances from 16 bands. The booklet focuses on the ethnic influences of Minnesota polka music and Minnesota's polka industry. The book and sound recording may still be purchased through Folklore Village in Dodgeville, Wisconsin.



Conditions Governing Access
Access to the Bill Czerniak interview at the UW-Madison Folklore Program is restricted until 2040 January 1. Contact records custodians for other access information.

Conditions Governing Reproduction
Consult the Minnesota Historical Society and Wisconsin Historical Society for information on use restrictions. Duplication of the materials for non-profit personal, educational, and research purposes within the scope of the Folklore Program's jurisdiction may be arranged. Duplication of materials for public presentation, publication, and production requires negotiation with the Program Director, the fieldworkers, and the people documented.

Custodial History
Original sound recordings and logs of interviews were deposited at the Minnesota Historical Society upon completion of the project. Copies of manuscript and project materials generated by James P. Leary and maintained in open artist files at the Wisconsin Folk Museum were transferred from the Wisconsin Folk Museum to the Wisconsin Historical Society upon closure of the museum in 1996.

Related Archival Materials

Rippley collection of old time bands, Minnesota Historical Society. Photograph Collection I.329

Minnesota folk art survey and exhibition research files, 1945-1989 (bulk 1984-1989), Minnesota Historical Society. 143.J.13.3B--143.J13.9B

"The Polka Music, Polka Culture" traveling photo-index exhibit, 1991, produced by James P. Leary and Lewis Koch at the Wisconsin Folk Museum, currently available through Folklore Village, Dodgeville, WI



General Note

Productions resulting from the described fieldwork were:

Minnesota Polka: Dance Music from Four Traditions, St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1990

Extent
12 (sound recordings)
52 (documents)
18 (folders)
12 (copy sound recordings)
78 (slides)
56 (documents)
1 (computer diskette)
Language
English (Languages)
Other Subject Headings
Czech Americans (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
German Americans (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Polish Americans (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Slovenian Americans (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Accordion (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Baritone (Musical instrument) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Bohemian bagpipes (Local)
Button-key accordion (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Chordovox (type of accordion) (Local)
Clarinet (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Concertina (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Coronet (Local)
Drums (Musical instrument) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Fiddle (Local)
Melodeon (Button-key accordion) (Local)
Piano (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Saxophone (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Solovox (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Trombone (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Trumpet (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Czech language (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
English language (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
German language (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Polish language (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Slovenian language (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Anchorage (Alaska) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Duluth (Minn.) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Ely (Minn.) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Mankato (Minn.) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Minnesota (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Montgomery (Minn.) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
New Prague (Minn.) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
North Mankato (Minn.) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Norwood (Minn.) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Rochester (Minn.) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Shoreview (Minn.) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
St. Joseph (Minn.) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Sturgeon Lake (Minn.) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Webster (Minn.) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
White Bear Lake (Minn.) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Brass bands (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Folk dance music (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Laendler (Local)
Marches (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Mazurkas (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Obereks (Local)
Polka bands (Local)
Polka (Dance)--History (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Schottisches (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Waltzes (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Preferred Citation
Consult the Minnesota Historical Society and Wisconsin Historical Society for citation guidelines for their documents. We suggest the following citation form when using direct quotes from a person documented: [Name of person documented]. [Date]. [Tape/video/other]-recorded interview by [Fieldworker name]. [Place interviewed]. [Name of collection/project]. [Repository, city, state]. When using a specific image: [Identify subject matter/people in caption]. Photo/image by [Photographer/fieldworker name]. [Date]. Courtesy of [repository]. To quote fieldworker, follow bibliographical style
Related Entities:
Minnesota State Arts Board (creator)
Minnesota Historical Society (creator)
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