Don Haderle
During the summer polka dancing takes a backseat to
grandkidding, so the reporting will be a wee bit light which will delight Mel
Stodola who thinks my articles are garrulous (that’s the word he used).
The grandkids and I rafted the Tuolomne River with
headwaters in Yosemite Park, wending its way down to Don Pedro Dam, offering
class IV rapids to thrill us. But the highlight of the trip was the fantastic
sourdough pancakes at the Hotel Charlotte in Groveland. My dad had starter
dough dating back into the 1920s from which he made sourdough pancakes that put
to shame any restaurant pancakes with one exception – Chef Don Edwards brought
back great memories for me.
We took in Great America and tested our courage on the
roller coasters and other devices designed to arouse a frisson of terror. The
Death Drop offered the true test. Strapped to a seat with feet dangling you are
elevated vertically over 200 feet, pausing for a moment to enjoy the shudder of
the tower gently moving in the wind, and then plummeted straight down at over
60 mph screeching to a halt just before being slammed into the earth. Now
doesn’t that sound fun?
From there we had a mundane backpacking trip for 3 days into
the Trinity Alps, which is a wilderness area in the northern part of our state.
The Alps are known for their sharp rising craggy mountains and stunning lakes.
We started our hike at the Ripstein Campground out of Weaverville up the ever
ascending trail, bushwhacking our way through Manzanita brush, rock hopping the
detritus at the base of the crags to the Canyon Creek and El Lakes, which are
stunning. Now that’s fun! Pass the mosquito juice please.
Grandsons Ben & Max with Don in Trinity Alps |
There’s more grandkid tales, but Gail reminded me that this
article is supposed to cover polka. In July the Sacramento Polkaboosters and
the San Jose Germania take hiatus, so nothing to report on that front. We
hooked up with the Joe Bajuk Trio at Sonoma Moose July 15, where Joe performed
with Stefan Kochishan and Anthony Krische. The crowd was a good size (100) and
the music was great. We hadn’t seen Joe in a couple of months – everyone has
been busy – so it was nice to get caught up on things. Normally it’s blazing hot
in Sonoma in July, but we lucked out on a relatively cool day - you just sweat
a cup or two instead of buckets. Jim Pringle gave us the lowdown on the pilot
who misguided a ship in the San Francisco Bay creating a bit of damage. Jim was
a Master pilot and guided enormous ships under the Golden Gate Bridge to and
from the San Francisco Bay, so he has the credentials to assess the mishap. We
missed the Internationals who played at Teske’s Germania Restaurant in San Jose
the day before the Bajuk gig – we don’t have the stamina to do a late night
dance and then drive 120 miles to Sonoma for the Moose dance the next day.
Alina at Sonoma Moose |
The Rosins came to the Moose Lodge in force. |
Joe Bajuk trying to remember where the notes are |
Anthony Krische under the gaze of Father Moose |
Arnie & Jan Ellwein supporting the Moose |
Sam Katchar in the embrace of Michelle Kochishan & daughter with birthday girl Mary hovering |
And, as luck would have it, the Internationals played at
Swiss Park in Newark on July 29th at the Swiss National Day
celebration. Tony Raymann’s Edelweiss Band performed outside in the picnic area
from 1-5pm. Monika Ryser gave a performance on alphorn and Pascal Gyger
entertained us with Talerschwingen. Tony Raymann’s band played monthly at the
SJ Germania Verein in the 1980s and 1990s. Now we just get to hear Tony on
special occasions – Tony plays Swiss ländler waltzes and Swiss polkas to
perfection – great stuff! In the evening, the crowd moved into the hall at the
park where the Internationals played to a crowd of several hundred. We were
delighted to hear all of the new tunes (at least new to us) that the
Internationals served up for this occasion. We have enjoyed this group for 30
years and marveled at their musicality – they wowed us again. This is the first
time that we’ve seen them since Tom Casazza (drums with Steve Balich) joined
the group. Tom crooned “Mama”, Steve McGinnis & Jan Meere played an alphorn
duet, and Bobby Maggiora led the group on accordion (we’re always impressed
with Bobby’s range). We were delighted
to see old friends. Steve Balich Sr. and Jr. dropped by after their gig at the
Croatian Hall which was a members-only affair. We reconnoitered with old
Gasthaus friends: Stan & Evelyn Cheever, Ron & Linda Farr, Gloria &
Werner Item, and Betsy Zuckerberg & Young Kim. Michael Gottwald gave us the litany of polka
engagements in the area for the next couple of months and it was great to see
his dad, Rudy, up and about on his new knees. As previously reported, this is
one of the best dance floors and dance halls in Northern California – large old
wooden structure carrying sound beautifully and sparing the knees with the
pliable boards.
Swiss Park in Newark with the Internationals |
On the personal front, we wish Gunn Magnusen a speedy
recovery after her heart operation. And we wish her soul mate, Don Sedmak
better luck at the track (actually, it’s bad luck to even mention this). And we
wish Andy Nester a speedy recovery after his terrible automobile accident.
A special thanks to our pal Ron Pivovar who penned
“Haderle’s Polka,” a button box ditty soon to be available on a jukebox in your
area.
We have a busy polka agenda August through October – too
many to cite. Bob Banoczi (aka Polka Bob) does great job of calendaring the
polka events in California (north and south), Arizona, and Nevada at http://www.polkabob.com/. By the time you
read this we’ll have joined our buddies in Southern California at the Slovene
Hall in Fontana for a whizbang jam session in August and once again the weekend
of September 15 when Polka Power plays. We’ll catch the Balich boys in Cotati
at the Accordion Festival in August, Polka Power again in Sacramento for Polka
Boosters, and the Internationals and the Gruber Family Band who play at Teske’s
Germania Restaurant often.
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