Just the other day Katherine Cole told us about the squabble in Massachusetts over naming an official state rock song. She noted that Massachusetts already has a state song and an official state polka.
Now, as the Wall Street Journal reports, the state next door, Connecticut, is scuffling over whether to have an official polka of its own.
“Connecticut has an official state insect, a fossil and even a tartan. Why not a state polka song?
That is the question radio host Peter Danielczuk, known as the Connecticut Prince of Polka, is asking state lawmakers. He is pushing to get “Ballroom Polka,” written by Connecticut polka legend Ray Henry, adopted as the official state polka…
If Mr. Danielczuk’s campaign prevails, Connecticut would become at least the third U.S. state to bestow official recognition on polka. Neighboring Massachusetts named “Say Hello to Someone in Massachusetts” as its state polka in 1998, and Wisconsin designated polka the official state dance in 1993.
“Massachusetts has one, why doesn’t Connecticut?” says Mr. Danielczuk, 61 years old, who has hosted polka radio shows in Connecticut for more than 40 years.”
If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, here’s Ray Henry playing accordion with his band at a long-ago “Polkabration” party in Connecticut.