Music & Dance News September / October 2022 Page 9
Dain ’ s Dutchmen on MN Fox9 news segment Town Ball New Ulm
family members that took part in playing a concertina and other supportive instruments in situations where music could help celebrate , or even just to pass the time .
“ Mom and dad took us kids along to dances when we were little ” said Dain , describing some of the early influences on his musical involvement ..” we took in some events such as the Gibbon Polka Fest , Ellsworth WI Polka Fest , Fasching , Heritage Fest , various concertina jamboree sessions in or around New Ulm , but it was a norm at home too .”
“ The Dinner Bell Polka Hour from New Ulm ’ s KNUJ radio station was tuned in daily . My dad often played live recorded tapes of the Sellner Band , which they would have been my ancestry , during evening chores in the barn milking cows at our home . I remember how it sounded like they were all just having a ball , with the horns and clarinets blasting , the holler and chipper banter of the crowds , and the fun times I ’ d imagine they were all having at a barn dance as I ’ d watch him dance a part of a tune holding our puppy Daisy .. it created a cozy feeling inside when I heard an old time song playing in the barn .. My grandpa Seppie Moldan shared a particular story about the Rosa Polka that a previous family band played often .”
“ MaryAnna Schloegl played a number on the piano for her family that played in a rural polka band , known as the Sellner Band . It was a song she had learned as a young girl coming from her relatives immigrating from their native lands of southern Germany . Upon hearing the piece as perceived by the band , MaryAnna often scolded them saying it sounded NOTHING like what she had played on the piano for them !!” That ’ s the same arrangement Dain plays today as the Rosa Polka , five generations and more then 150 years later . Another rendition of the
Dain ’ s Dutchmen continued
same tune was said to have been captured from the Sellner Band performing the Rosa Polka in Essig MN . Fezz Fritche of the 6 Fat Dutchmen recorded what he heard of the song as played that day as the Essig Polka . Over time , the same tune had three different compositions and had been morphed into different songs . It ’ s these types of stories that have been present since the beginning of this generation of the band , and that Dain enjoys
sharing with his followers .
When Dain was 6 years old , his dad took him to Christy Hengel ’ s concertina manufacturing house in New Ulm , MN . “ It was Easter Vacation weekend from school , and we visited Christy ’ s . After several stories around building machines and a few unhurried phone calls related to his operations , he sent a green double reed Pearl Queen concertina home with dad for me to start practicing on , free of charge at the time . Christy allowed us to borrow the machine to try to ignite some interest first before having to purchase it .”
This concertina was later purchased for Dain by his aunt , Loretta Gerasch , and is owned by him today . On multiple occasions , sometimes for periods of years , this same concertina was borrowed out to others in a manner of returning the favor Christy Hengel shared to
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Guess who is teaching Lisa to play ?! ( 1994 )