Dance Hall Preservation Art Contest Winners Announced

Fourteen Fayette County students accepted Texas Dance Hall Preservation’s challenge to create art depicting the county’s rich dance hall history. “They were all amazing entries,” TDHP President Deb Fleming said. “It was great to see dance hall history come alive through the eyes of these young, talented artists.”
      First place went to Allyson Hoffman, a junior at Fayetteville High School, for her colored pencil drawing of Sengelmann Hall. Second place went to Hector Aguilar, a sophomore at Round Top Carmine (RTC) High School, for his drawing of antique cars outside a dance hall. Third place went to Justin Hickman, a senior at RTC, for his drawing of a band playing at the Chicken Ranch Dance Hall layered on top of a Fayette County Record newspaper. Alyssa Hayden, a RTC junior, received honorable mention for her 3D representation of Sengelmann
Hall.
      The art was displayed at the TDHP fundraiser on Nov. 12. Each contestant received a signed print of Cat Spring Agricultural Hall by Fayetteville artist Pat Johnson, and a Polka On! goodie bag from Texas Polka News and polkabeat.com. The four winners also received cash prizes and a Polka On! tote bag, along with a one-year subscription to the Texas Polka News.
      The winners shared why they entered the contest and their future plans.

First Place

Second Place

Third Place

Honorable Mention

Alysson Hoffmann, TPN Publisher Theresa Parker, Alyssa Hayden at Nov. 12 dance hall fundraiser

Hector Aguilar, second place; Justin Hickman, third place

ALLYSON HOFFMANN, First Place
I decided to enter the contest so that I could grow as an artist. I wanted to do Sengelmann Hall because of the detail in the architecture. I have been to many Fayette Co. dance halls, like the
SPJST hall in Fayetteville, Swiss Alp, and a few others. I think it’s important to preserve
the dance halls because it’s a part of our Texas history. Buildings like these are no longer constructed. I plan on pursuing a career in art.

HECTOR AGUILAR, Second Place
I am new to Fayette County, so the art competition seemed like a good way to learn about the history of the area. I have never been to a dance hall in Fayette County, but after researching
them I want to go and hear some good music! Preservation of the dance halls is very important because it is the same as preserving the culture and the heritage of the people here.

JUSTIN HICKMAN, Third Place
I entered the competition because I love living in Fayette County and the dance halls are a big part of growing up here. I have been to just about every dance hall in Fayette County. I really enjoy dancing and listening to good Texas country music. Maintaining the dance halls in Fayette County is important because it is a major piece of the culture and history of this area. I would like to attend TSTC after high school to become a diesel mechanic.

ALYSSA HAYDEN, Honorable Mention
I entered the dance hall competition because I admire antiques and history. This gave me a chance to express my appreciation on a larger scale. My piece allowed me to create a representation of Sengelmann Hall without using conventional drawing tools. I have been to Zapp Hall, RoundTop Rifle Hall, Carmine Hall, and the Round Up Hall! Preservation of the dance halls is important because it gives people a glimpse at how things used to be. My goal is to major in International Business and Marketing.

La Bahia Turn Verein to Host Fiddle Fest

By Gary E. McKee
From November 2015 issue of Texas Polka News

If you were to drive by the beautiful, wooden dancehall between Carmine and Burton on the old La Grange-Burton highway (SH 237) on any Wednesday evening you would see a dozen or more cars parked under the massive live oaks. If curiosity compelled you to stop and stick your head in the door, you would see several tables with groups of four people playing cards. The card game would be called Pitch, a trick-taking game that dates back to the 1800s.

This is not just a group of people who like to play cards. They are members of the La Bahia Turn Verein (pronounced TOORN-fair-ine), carrying on a 136-year-old tradition of promoting community social life. Founded on July 5, 1879, LBTV presently has 40 members, and is a branch of a national and state Turn Verein.

What Is a Turn Verein?
The failed 1848 Revolution in the over 40 dukedoms that made up Germany compelled many of the dissenters (Germans, Slavics, Hungarians) to evacuate Europe and seek asylum in the United States. One of the causes of the revolution was the belief that people that spoke the same language should be of one country, not the numerous separate kingdoms that constituted Germany. The model for this was the French Revolution that united all French speakers under a democratic government.

The German refugees brought to Texas many of their traditions, particularly the Vereins (a voluntary club of like-minded people.) The three main Vereins focused on music, target shooting, and physical fitness. These types of activities needed a home, which led to the building of physical structures such as the LBTV hall and many other similar social centers.

The gymnastic clubs (Turn Vereins), founded in Berlin in 1811, were the most blatantly political. Founder Freidrich Jahn adapted the word Turnen signifying the medieval order of knights and its intensely physical tournaments. The first Turn Verein had 200 members who performed gymnastics to increase their physical and mental strength, communal spirit, and character. They also undertook long marches by torchlight, practiced fencing, and crossbow shooting with military precision. By 1848, there were over 300 Turn Vereins with 90,000 members.

Texas Turn Vereins
In Texas, one of the earliest destinations of German immigrants was the fertile lands between the Brazos and Colorado Rivers and a hundred miles inland, roughly a triangle between present day Brenham, La Grange, and Sealy.

The La Bahia TurnVerein was founded with the purpose of “the physical and spiritual development of the members and the promotion of social life.” (FYI: the community’s name comes from the La Bahia Trail, which was previously the El Camino Real de los Tejas. There was a La Bahia German School about 4 miles away. The Brenham organization wasnamed the Alamo Turn Verein, and others had community names, such as Mill Creek and Round Top.)  

Amazingly, the bylaws and minutes of all the LBTV meetings since 1879 have been preserved. Originally, all transactions were written in “High German.” In 1943, the correspondence and minutes began being recorded in a German/English dialect, and in 1954, all the minutes were translated and recorded in English, signifying the decline of the population of German readers.

To join the LBTV, one had to be an 18-year-old male and have an unblemished reputation. A training period could be begun at the age of 15, if your father was a member. Then a two-thirds vote was necessary to be accepted. While physical exercise was a focal point, the hard-working farmers were generally too tired to go exercise and over the years all that was required was to do 12 chin-ups on the gymnastic bar to be a member. These bars are still in the hall.

Building and Rebuilding
Five years after organizing, the LBVT built a hall as a focal point for functions. Three years later, the hall burned, but within a month quarrymen were at work breaking rocks for the foundation on the new hall. The LBVT prospered, and on its 5th anniversary celebration they invited the Brenham fire department and a number of their “gallant fire ladies” who attended in full uniform.

Disaster struck again in 1901 as a suspicious fire destroyed the hall including, “music, library, fixtures, and furniture.”  The hall had been insured for $850 by Hanover Insurance of Hanover, Germany. That same day the verein met, voted to post a $100 reward for the arsonists, and to begin building a new hall. (Not sure if the arsonist was caught. Subsequent issues of the paper are missing.)

The 1902 hall was larger as attendance and membership had increased dramatically. In 1910, the LBTV celebrated another anniversary with a program that offered “all kinds of clean and healthful amusements” followed by a baseball game and then a grand ball.

Pentecost Day was observed in 1923 during which a Fayetteville Band provided music. Over the years, the hall was enlarged, out buildings constructed, heating, plumbing, and electricity installed until it reached its present state of simplistic grandeur.  

One of the cool upgrades was a bank of metal fans in the shape of airplanes that was installed in the early 1930s when the hall was electrified.

The Turn Verein has done an excellent job keeping this 114-year-old hall in fine shape. Various members have been instrumental in managing and guiding the hall over the years. At present, Roy and Carol Schmidt are coordinating ongoing efforts by the Turn Verein to keep everything painted, the immense roof from leaking, and the indoor plumbing functioning among myriad other tasks.

The list of bands that played the hall seems endless and contains the usual list of suspects, including the Bacas, Lee Roy Matocha, Kreneks, Hi Toppers, Blume’s Orchestra, the Original Triumphs, contemporary country bands, and the upcoming Fiddle Fest.

Buzzard's Roost view
Billy Koerth has been a LBTV member for over 50 years. As a trainee, it was his job to sweep the floor during intermissions at the dances. He remembers that there was a set of bleachers on the edge of the dance floor that was referred to as the Buzzard Roost. Dancers paid 50 cents admission and those who watched from the Roost paid a dime. All present members of the Verein agree that the hall was packed every time there was a dance.

Due to the great condition and beauty of the hall, it has become a favorite wedding reception and music event venue. The hall is booked with an event every weekend through March.

Let's Fiddle On!
This month, on Saturday, the 7th, the hall will be the scene of the Second Annual Festival of Texas Fiddling presented by Texas Folklife and Texas Dance Hall Preservation. The event kicks off Friday evening at 7 pm, with a party at nearby Airway Pavilion in Round Top. The Pettit Brothers from High Hill will provide the music for dancing.     

Next day, workshops and showcases will provide a full spectrum of fiddling including Texas Old Time, Texas Polish, Creole, and Tejano/Mexican style. The evening will swing to a close with a dance by the national award-winning Western Swing trio Hot Club of Cowtown. See schedule and buy tickets.

Well, if you're still standing in the doorway on that Wednesday night at the LBTV hall, several heads will turn away from the card tables and welcome you in. Roy will point out where to help yourself to liquid refreshments and snacks, and ask if you would like to join in on a game of Pitch. I know it worked for me.

Texasu Polski

By Gary E. McKee
From November 2015 issue of Texas Polka News

“The next song goes out to Bennie and Kathy Bronikowski: The Chappell Hill Special.” This dedication is a regular at many polka dances, however few dancers understand the significance of the song. The song gives a nod to the town of Chappell Hill, one of the approximately dozen Polish settlements in Texas, located between Brenham and Hempstead, Texas. 

In the mid-1800s Polish immigrants began to arrive in Texas. The primary areas of settlement were Panna Maria (southeast of San Antonio), Brenham, Bremond, and Chappell Hill to name a few. They brought their Catholic religion, culture, and music to the new world. Their Polish music, which is string-instrument based, has been handed down orally from generation to generation.

The original music typically consisted of a fiddle, a bowed bass, and an occasional clarinet. As time went by guitars, drums, and accordions were added. Brass horns were never fully accepted into Polish music as the popular feeling was that it Czechanized the music. This isn’t a negative comment on Czech music, it’s just that horns were not popular in the old country and they were protecting their roots.

The Polish Oberek is a traditional dance that can only be described as a real fast waltz with a lotta foot-stepping in a highly spirited fashion.

Regional Flavors
As with all music there are regional interpretations influenced by geography and politics both in the old country and new world. There are basically two flavors of Polish music in Texas. One is the Chappell Hill type, which infuses a rhythmic sound into the mix. The other is the Bremond style, which reflects the music that would be found in the villages of central and southern Poland.

A master of both flavors, Brian Marshall’s fiddle whips up a dance crowd with its distinct sound. What is constant in Polish music is the presence of a fiddle (or two or three) in Polish polkas. Brian commented, “All Poles play a fiddle, but some shouldn’t.”

Tradition dictated that a fiddler was hired for entertainment at functions and it was up to the fiddler to provide accompaniment.

Brian’s father was a guitar player in a band in the 1950s and ’60s that played mostly Country & Western music, but would bust into Polish music when the crowd was right.

His grandfather, Ed Marshall, was a fiddler in the 1940s and ’50s, but was equally well known for his stage presence as a Druszba (emcee) at Polish weddings and public events. 

It's a Family Tradition
In the tradition of a family band, Brian’s two teenaged sons, Jakub and Michal, have been performing with their father for years on clarinet and fiddle. At the Polish Festival in Bremond (June 26-27, 2015), Brian’s cousin, Ronnie Kasowski played guitar, and his son Jake, was thumping the bass fiddle. On drums was Chuck Bolin, who is married to a cousin, so it was truly a family band. Thank you Brian Marszalek (Marshall) for posting and sharing information on your heritage.

Brian has performed all over the U.S. including the Lincoln Center in New York, National Folk Festivals in Maine and Massachusetts, the Festival of Americana fiddle tunes in Washington, to name a just a few. He is now signed with Arhoolie Records, a music label that specializes in American masters of roots music.

Brian will conduct a workshop and perform Polish fiddle music at the 2nd Annual Festival of Texas Fiddling on November 7th. This festival is an opportunity to see multiple styles of music performed on the same instrument.

See You in Cat Spring

Polkabeat.com is proud to partner with Texas Dance Hall Preservation to present a dance to benefit Cat Spring Hall and Texas Dance Hall Preservation. 

The very popular Ennis Czech Boys kick off the event at 3 p.m. and will play for the dance until 6:30 p.m. and then at 8 p.m. the legendary Western Swing band, The River Road Boys will take the stage until midnight. 

CAT SPRING AG. HALL DANCE - MAY 3RD
CAT SPRING HALL http://www.catspringagsociety.org 
ENNIS CZECH BOYS (3PM) www.ennisczechboys.com
RIVER ROAD BOYS (8PM) www.riverroadboys.com 

RESERVED SEATING & ADVANCE TICKETS AT 
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/606843
OR $15 AT THE DOOR

FOR FURTHER INFO: www.texasdancehall.org
OR STEPHEN DEAN  (512) 567-7570
POLKA BEAT http://www.polkabeat.com

Texas Polka Festival & Symposium Coming to Schulenburg

Austin, Texas – January 15, 2014 – Texas Dance Hall Preservation, Inc. and Texas Folklife announce their partnership to produce the Texas Polka Festival & Symposium to be held in Schulenburg on February 22, 2014.  With support from a Humanities Texas grant, the event will feature the state’s European polka traditions of German, Czech and Polish heritage.  The Festival & Symposium will be held at the historic Sengelmann and Turner Halls in Schulenburg and will feature esteemed Texas polka musicians and exhibits and discussions on European history, dance hall architecture, food, music and dance in Texas. 

Bands performing include The Boerne Village Band (German), Brian Marshall (Polish), Czech Melody Masters, Mark Halata (Czech), and special appearance by Santiago Jimenez Jr. (Texas-Mexican.)  The program will include a showcase of up and coming polka accordionists in the state as part of the Big Squeeze Accordion Contest produced by Texas Folklife.  Other polka master musicians will be presented in panel discussions on the history of the music and efforts to preserve and promote polka in Texas.

A symposium portion of the program, sponsored by Humanities Texas, will include discussions by scholars and lay cultural workers on the history and culture surrounding polka music in Texas.  Confirmed speakers include Patrick Sparks and Steve Dean of Texas Dance Hall Preservation, Inc. (TDHP), Dawn Orsack and Lori Navar of PolkaWorks moderating a panel on food, John Novak and Frances Burton on documenting Texas Czech songs, and Dan Margolies and Cristina Ballí on sustainability of Texas polka music.  More speakers are being added to the program and updates can be found at www.texasfolklife.org.

The festival and symposium will take place in two historic dance halls in Schulenburg.  Activities will begin at 10:00 AM at Turner Dance Hall, with a welcoming of accordion music and kolaches to view an exhibit on Texas dance halls.  Panels and music presentations will then move over to Sengelmann Hall (531 N. Main Street) at noon for the rest of the program, to last until 9:00 PM.

“We are very excited to partner with Texas Folklife to produce this unique event in Texas,” says Patrick Sparks, co-founder and president TDHP.  “We want to nurture a living culture of dancing across Texas to sustain our historic dance halls.  This event will further our appreciation and understanding of Texas polka music and culture, but will also just be a lot of dancing fun.”

Presentations at Turner Hall are free and admission to the festival at Sengelmann Hall is $15.  Tickets can be purchased at www.texasfolklife.org. 

The Texas Polka Festival and Symposium is supported by the members and Board of Texas Dance Hall Preservation, Inc. and Texas Folklife, by a grants from Humanities Texas and Texas Commission on the Arts. Additional support is provided by regional businesses including Sengelmann Hall and Texana Country Inn.

About Texas Dance Hall Preservation, Inc.

Texas Dance Hall Preservation is committed to saving historic Texas dance halls and the authentic music and culture that is still found in them.  We accomplish this mission by: Developing informational programs to promote public awareness and use of Texas dance halls as living venues for community assembly, music, and social dancing;  keeping an inventory of all traditional dance halls in Texas, including those that have been lost;  documenting and publishing the history of Texas dance halls;  serving as a clearinghouse for information that can aid the preservation of Texas dance halls;  providing assistance to list dance halls on the National Register of Historic Places or to complete grant applications for preservation projects; providing financial, technical, or organizational assistance for the restoration, rehabilitation, and preservation of historic dance halls. 

About Texas Folklife

Texas Folklife is a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to presenting and preserving the diverse cultures and living heritage of the Lone Star State. For more than 25 years, Texas Folklife has honored the authentic cultural traditions passed down within communities, explored their importance in contemporary society, and celebrated them by providing accessible and joyful arts experiences. It is located in Austin, Texas, in the SoCo neighborhood—one of the city’s vibrant commercial and arts district.