February, 2006 - Nr. 2
Dick reports...
Not only Polkas…
…but also waltzes and other musical jewels entertained the
full house at the Danube Swabian Club on a Saturday evening in January.
Although well-known Walter Ostanek is billed as the "Polka King" throughout
the country, the band’s repertoire included dance music like swing and rock.
The audience loved it and the dance floor was never empty.
Born in Duparquet, Quebec on April 20, 1935, he grew up in St. Catharine’s because of his father’s work. By age nine he already played the button diatonic accordion and hasn’t stopped since.
Walter Ostanek is considered "King of the Polka" next in
fame only to the legendary Frankie Yankovic – dad of ‘weird’ Al.
Over the last 40 years Walter has made about 50 recordings and has been nominated for 10 Grammys – of which he won three up to now. He is also a song-writer, radio host and TV celebrity and is now putting the finishing touches on his official website.
Walter played with such musical legends as Roy Clark, Mel Tillis, Ronnie Milsap, the Oak Ridge Boys and Slim Whitman and has met and received recognition of almost everyone else to come out of the Nashville music scene.
He began by emulating American polka legend Frankie Yankovic – a frequent competitor at the Grammys – and Ostanek’s style is sort of Slovenian Cleveland-style polka and waltz, he is the only Canadian in the Cleveland and Chicago polka halls of fame.
Admire him in concerts at Marineland in Niagara Falls during the summer and Kitchener’s and various other ‘Oktoberfests’ and dances throughout the country in the fall and winter months.
At the "Donauschwaben Klub" about 350 people vied for space
on the dance floor that evening. They obviously couldn’t make it all at the
same time but they took turns and all went well.
From Polka to Rock 'n Roll
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The traditional dinner buffet served the usual tasty great
Schnitzel and ‘Chicken Paprikash’ that was a ‘new’ offering by a ‘new’ chef
and quite delicious. I know – I tried it!
One of the reasons for the large audience could be the fact
that Walter mentioned in one of his previous gigs that he would be at the
‘Donauschwaben’ this Saturday. It pays to advertise! Ergo if you want a full
house – hire a great band and provide some great entertainment!
Appreciation
On the following Saturday the club hosted the annual ‘Appreciation Night’ for all the people that were actively involved in running the club and volunteering their time and efforts to ensure that the club and ongoing events run smoothly.
Free food and drink made this a
memorable event for the participants. Schnitzels, Roast Beef and other delectable items were displayed on a U-shaped buffet i
n the great hall.
Since the invitation to this event included also the spouses of the
participants, the hall was comfortably filled.
Brigitte Wecker, president of the club, lauded the
contributions of the various participants and volunteers and asked them to
stand up for applause by the guests.
She also asked the board of directors to come on stage for a deserved round of applause.
This concluded the official part of the evening and Mike
Nemeth, the resident DJ, started playing music for the guests, which filled
the balance of the evening with dancing.
This event also enables the participants to meet the many
other volunteers that toil in the background and are hardly ever in the
public eye or otherwise recognized. It obviously takes a lot of effort by a
lot of people to ensure the club’s continued success. Congratulations, you
must have done something right!
Now here is something that went wrong! Something that has been dear to my heart for over 25 years! Our carefully nurtured German carnival – or Mardi Gras – is going down the tube! There are hardly any viable carnival societies left in our area. In an area that encompasses Toronto, Mississauga and environs – an area that holds over 3 million people, many of German heritage, it is impossible to maintain a functioning carnival!
Where have we gone wrong? Where are the Harmonie, Old Severin, 1. Torontoer, Allemania? Treue Husaren, Toronto, cannot stage its wonderful "Fest in Blau-Gold" anymore, for lack of members. Oakville also just threw in the towel for the same reason.
Well, the answer is simple. We have neglected to guide any "Nachwuchs" to keep these wonderful traditions alive. I remember when – many years ago at a meeting in Hamilton – I pleaded to change the official language from ‘only German’ to mostly English, the language of our children who were born here and considered themselves Canadians.
I vividly remember the heartfelt complaints of some of our ‘girl guards’ and their remarks that their boyfriends – who had come to participate in our events – couldn’t understand a word of what was going on and refused to come again!
"When in Rome, do as the Romans do" – is not an unfamiliar phrase. But we were too complacent do think about the future and to face our own mortality. We will no live forever and it looks as if carnival is dying with us!
Well, we finally switched to the local lingo, albeit it appears to have been too late. The girls still dance at our events and are sometimes appreciated for their efforts – and sometimes treated abominably, at times they are even ignored. They hardly ever bring their boyfriends anymore and who can blame them – although in some rare cases these boys have caught the spirit and are now actively participating. But not enough of them have been recruited to make a real difference. If anyone has an idea how this can be changed, please tell me! It was not enough that we at Echo Germanica sang their praises. Heck, we get hell for publishing in English, the only language that does these kids any good if they want to show it to their friends, because they are proud of their heritage. Perhaps someone out there would rethink the purpose?
I am wondering about our famous annual "Manöverball". With the closing of the hotel in Hamilton we are faced with the fact that we have to do it all in the Germanica Club this year. The logistics involved are very difficult since the Seniors, Juniors and Kinder Guard all have to perform on the same day. That doesn’t allow for inviting people to participate – only the girl’s relatives will come and some of the other member- societies will send a small delegation.
The BDKK – the head of carnival in Canada, is quickly running out of funds since the ‘dead’ societies do not pay any membership fees anymore!
Our next and last event of the season is the annual costume ball of the 1. KG Hansa at the Hansa Haus on February 25. Always a colourful event, so be sure to come!
The following Wednesday is "Ash Wednesday" – the end of the ‘2004/2005 Season’ - where all we can hope for is a fish dinner somewhere and a washing-out of the - now empty - purses in the fountain of the town square. But we do not even have one of those!
With a distressed Alaaf and Helau and a small Ahoi …
I remain as always
Dick Altermann
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