Keeping Czech Culture Alive:
The Baldwin County Polka Band
© Melda H. Boyd and Gary M. Boyd
|
Members of Baldwin County Polka Band, 1977.
Left to right: Johnny Kostelecky, Clara Prochazka, James Prochazka,
John Krauss, Georgi Prochazka Kichler, Belinda Bauman, Elias Krehling. Photo taken by Frank Prochazka, bandleader and manager, and provided courtesy of Georgi Prochazka Grant.
Click to Enlarge.
|
|
Ever since a teenaged Bohemian girl invented the polka in 1834 to stave off boredom on a Sunday afternoon, the dance has been a joyous expression of life and its goodness. First introduced into the ballrooms of Prague in 1835, by the mid-19th century the polka had become a sensation, quickly sweeping across Europe. 1 The polka grew deep roots in the culture of the Czechs, and wherever they migrated they brought their polka music and dance steps with them.
In Baldwin County, Alabama, the Prochazka family, led by Frank D. Prochazka, established one of the most famous and active polka bands to be found anywhere.
Frank started a Czech polka show, "Polka Party" in 1953, on the local (Foley, Alabama) radio station, WHEP 1310. Initially, the show featured recorded music by American and Czech artists from Frank Prochazka's personal collection. Frank was always happy to play his listeners' requests.
Years later, in 1977, Frank Prochazka started The Baldwin County Polka Band. After the band was established, Frank played their music on his radio show.
In May 2014, in Foley, Alabama, the authors of this article had the opportunity to meet with Georgi Prochazka Grant, her brother Louis Prochazka, and Eli Krehling, the son of Elias Krehling, a member of the original Baldwin County Polka Band. Louis kindly gave the authors a copy of the band's album, which was produced by M.J. Recording (Czech Records), of Dodge, Nebraska. The conversation with these three generous people and the album jacket of the recording are the primary sources for this article.
The first members of the Baldwin County Polka Band were Johnny Kostelecky on accordion, Frank's wife Clara Prochazka on drums, his son James Prochazka on trumpet and diatonic button accordion, Frank's daughter Georgi Prochazka Kichler (now Georgi Prochazka Grant) on clarinet and tenor sax, John Krauss on diatonic button accordion, Belinda Bauman on saxophone, and Elias Krehling on button accordion.
Georgi Prochazka in her Kroj.
Photo courtesy of Georgi Prochazka Grant.
The band was active throughout Alabama and beyond for more than 14 years. They performed at weddings, Mayfests, Octoberfests, senior citizens centers, and other Baldwin County gatherings, including the Elberta, Alabama Sausage Festival. They played at the Executive Club and the Arts Festival in Mobile, the golf club in Pensacola, and the Folklife Festival in Montgomery.
In 1980, the Baldwin County Polka Band released its LP Frank Prochazka/The Baldwin County Polka Band, which includes such favorites as "At the Spring Waltz," "Barbara Polka," "Tinker Polka," "At the Mill Polka," and "Senior Citizen Polka," an original composition by James Prochazka.
The establishment of the band was a natural out- growth of the founders' musical heritage. Both Frank and Clara Prochazka were born in the U.S. of Czech parents. Frank, born in 1914 in Iowa, took piano lessons as a child. He also studied in Europe for two years and played violin in the school band. Clara was born into a musical family, the Dostaleks, in Silverhill, Alabama, in 1922. She loved music and her Czech heritage, and she learned to dance the Czech national dance, the Beseda, when she was 8 years old.
Frank and Clara instilled a love of music in their children as well. James learned to play the trumpet in the school band. John Krauss, a founding member of the Baldwin County Polka Band, taught James the diatonic button accordion.
Georgi took music lessons as a child from Professor John Novak, a talented musician and teacher. The "father of music" in the area, Professor Novak composed music and taught from his little house on the corner of County Rd. 9 and County Rd. 48 in Silverhill, giving music lessons to any local children who wanted to learn. Georgi played the clarinet and the tenor sax and went on to earn a degree in Music Education at the University of Southern Mississippi.
|
|
Czech dancers, under the leadership of Clara Prochazka, during a break in their performance at the PZK Hall in Robertsdale, Alabama, Christmas, 1965. Photo courtesy of Georgi Prochazka Grant.
|
James and Georgi Prochazka joined the other local children of Czech descent in learning to perform traditional Czech folk dances. Clara Prochazka taught Baldwin County youngsters these dances from 1966 - 1977. They frequently performed for special occasions at the PZK Hall in Robertsdale, Alabama and other venues throughout the state.
|
|
Czech dancers in costume, with Frank Prochazka (far left), James Prochazka (second row, 3rd from left) and Georgi Prochazka (standing next to James), in a field next to the PZK Hall in Robertsdale, Alabama, probably summer, 1965. Photo courtesy of Georgi Prochazka Grant.
|
Over the years the composition of the Baldwin County Polka Band changed. By the mid-1980s, the older members' failing health and the younger members' family and work obligations reduced the size of the band. Eventually, the only band members were Clara, Georgi and James. They continued to perform and to embrace their Czech heritage, which in turn encouraged others to keep the Czech heritage alive in their families and community.
The band played until 1990, when a combination of factors caused its dissolution. The economy had weakened, so fans had less money to pay for the services of a polka band; Clara was having health problems; and Georgi had growing family responsibilities to attend to.
After the demise of the band, James Prochazka continued to play his accordion at festival venues as far away as New Braunfels, Texas. He still accepts invitations to play with various polka bands when he is available. Georgi continued to play the clarinet; for fifteen years she was a clarinetist with the Baldwin Pops.
Today, you may be able to enjoy the music of the Baldwin County Polka Band; their recorded performances have been broadcast on the Mollie B Polka Party show on the "RFD" cable channel.
This article was originally published in the Dec 2014, Vol. 26 No. 4 issue of Naše rodina, the quarterly publication of the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International (CGSI), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. To learn more about CSGI and the many online resources and conferences they offer, visit www.cgsi.org
© Melda H. Boyd and Gary M. Boyd
About the Authors:
Melda Boyd moved with her parents and siblings to the old family place in Baldwin County, Alabama in the early 1970s. She graduated from the University of South Alabama with a double major in International Studies and Russian.
Gary Boyd is the chief researcher in the Boyd family. He partners with his wife Melda in learning and writing about the Czechs of Gulf Coast Alabama. Gary and Melda have a longstanding interest in the history and cultures of other countries and a deep respect for the Czech people and their heritage.
Endnotes
1 "Polka" by Jake Fuller, downloaded from POLKA HISTORY OF DANCE, on the Central Home website:
www.centralhome.com, 8 August 2014
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
