Polka Music in Space?

Board members of The Polka Lovers Club of Texas Museum, located at 275 W. Fairgrounds Rd., La Grange, Texas within the Czech Village, of the Ciy of La Grange Fairgrounds are excited to invite members and the public to the Third “Happy Music for Happy People” Open House and Event. Renovations and upgrades continue, making this a good time to check them out.

The event is in conjunction with the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center’s (TCHCC) Slavnost “May Fest” celebration. The museum will open on Sunday, May 18 at 10 a.m. and will conclude at 4:00 p.m. Refreshments will be available during the Open House.

The main attraction for this year’s event is the launch of a new exhibit: A Tribute to “Putting Polka Music into Space” Gene Hackemack, also known as “Squeeze Man”, will be presenting a program on how Polka Music in Space evolved.

“I play a squeeze box and grew up with Polka music, mainly Czech and German style”, says Gene Hackemack, now of Brenham, Texas. For a few years he had a restaurant in New Ulm and entertained customers by strolling around with his accordion. He also played with groups all over central and south Texas.

“I love Polka music. It makes everyone happy. My mother listened to it all the time and finally, she bought me an accordion and told me I had to learn to play it.”

“As soon as I graduated from Burton High School, near Brenham, I joined the USN Hospital Corps School Program and later ended up in the Marine Corps. Both Boot Camps were a breeze compared to farm life.”

The USN Hospital Corps opened the door to the much later NASA Medical Operations Team. He became a medical corpsman and served 13 months in Vietnam. Later he was stationed in Okinawa. After his discharge in 1967 he went to work for NASA. “I was there during the Apollo days when they made the first lunar landing. I performed physicals on just about every astronaut that came through there. One of the astronauts was Don Thomas from Cleveland, Ohio. The exam was to prepare him for his Mission Specialist training job aboard the space shuttle Discovery, STS-70, deploying a tracking satellite. During the exam, we got to talking about Polka music when he suddenly professed ‘Cleveland is the Polka Capitol of the United States’.

When he realized I was a Polka Enthusiast, he asked ‘Would you wake me up aboard the Space Shuttle with the “Beer Barrel Polka?’ Shezammm! I replied; I sure will try! Immediately, I contacted my accordion player from ‘Hackemack’s Hofbrauhaus’, Jason Keepers; together, we recorded Don’s request on a cassette tape. I gave the cassette to Astronaut Story Musgrave, the Mission Control CAPCOM (Shuttle Communications Specialist), on duty the morning of July 18th 1995 in the Mission Control Room.

Gene reported “There were approximately six astronauts aboard for that mission. Each one could request his own wake up song. We woke Don Thomas with the Beer Barrel Polka. A humorous report from Astronaut Story Musgrave while playing the Beer Barrel Polka for Astronaut Don Thomas and his crew, “I wish you could have seen six astronauts dancing out of their sleeping bags.’

NASA, through Don, gave us each a plaque thanking us for The First Polka in Space Wakeup Music, which is an awesome souvenir to have; and, they included some patches that were actually flown on the mission. Those I have hanging on a wall in my house.”

The mission was SPS 70. Astronaut Thomas wrote a book called Orbit of Discovery about his experience on the space shuttle Discovery. He completed 4 flights, spent 44 days in space and orbited earth 700 times.

The song, Beer Barrel Polka, was composed in 1920. The son of the composer lived in Prague, Czech Republic at the time. Due to the publicity generated about putting the Beer Barrel Polka into space, he heard about it and invited Gene to Prague. Gene and his wife went and were royally entertained.

“It was quite a treat. The composer’s son, Josef Vejvoda, was a reputable businessman in Prague and owned a restaurant among other business ventures. We were introduced to dignitaries and attended a lively music concert. Many photographers surrounded us the entire time and our picture was placed in his restaurant” “Skoda Lasky Restaurant” in Zbraslav, near Praha, Czech Republic.” proclaimed Hackemack.

The Museum will open at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. Snacks and beverages will be available throughout the event schedule. Po.L.K.of A. & Hoelscher Haus Video’s will be playing during the morning hours. At approximately noon, entertainment by Gene Hackemack & Jason Keepers will delight attendees and will provide dancing opportunities for enthusiasts.

The launch of the new Exhibit: A Tribute To “Putting Polka Music Into Space” will begin at 2 PM sharp and will be led by Gene Hackemack. You will hear first-hand the real story and soundtrack that enhances the presentation. Questions are welcome. Upon completion, an Entertainment Finale will take place.

Times may vary due to the many activities taking place in the Czech Village. Attendees are invited to take part in all the goings-on. Check out the PLCTM Facebook Page for up-to-minute reports.

The Polka Lovers Club of Texas Museum is located at 275 W. Fairgrounds Rd., La Grange, Texas with a mission to preserve, promote and educate polka music and dance. For more information go to plctm.com.