Interview: Governor Tommy Thompson on signing Wisconsin’s polka state dance law in 1994
Governor Tommy Thompson in Zielinski Hall, Pulaski Wisconsin in a bill signing ceremony on April 29, 1994. Find more images from the event on the Pulaski Historical Society website.
In April, Wisconsinites have a special reason to roll out the barrel, put on their dancing shoes, and do the polka.
The law that made polka Wisconsin’s state dance was quietly enacted on April 21, 1994. The bill signing by Governor Tommy Thompson on April 29 in Pulaski, Wisconsin was more of a party fitting this lively dance tradition than a solemn ceremony in the state capitol.
To share his memories of that event, Governor Thompson visited the 98.7 WVMO radio studio in Monona, Wisconsin to speak with Stacy Harbaugh, the host of Polka Time with DJ Shotski. Their conversation explored the scene inside and outside Zielinski Hall in Pulaski, and why polka music is so deeply entwined with Wisconsin’s traditions.
Shotski: Tell me what the polka dance law signing event was like.
Thompson: Inside Zielinski Hall was really something because we had the speaker of the assembly, John Gard, there, the author of the legislation Senator Gary Drzewiecki. I think he had two boys and his daughter dressed in Polish garb and they were there for the signing. And the city turned out.
I mean, the city turned out and they had the flags and the American legion was there and performing and escorting, and the fire officials, the policemen. I think everybody in Pulaski showed up in Zielinski Hall or on the street because it was a Polka Day celebration. And the capstone was signing the bill. So everybody was enthused and excited and fun loving.
And then everybody went outside. Some danced in Zielinski Hall, but I wanted to go out and dance on the main street with the people and that was so much fun. I didn't think people even remember. I don't know if they do, but I can remember dancing with a lot of people, a lot of people from Pulaski. And then this woman, out of nowhere, came out and grabbed me, and said “Governor, we're gonna do one more Polka” and away we went!
Shotski: How did you feel about signing that law?
Thompson: The polka is more than a dance. It's, you know, it's tradition. It's culture. It's food. It's beer! To be able to sign this bill into law was, really, to me was sort of a capstone. It was bringing everything together: the culture of Wisconsin, the fun times, the exciting times.
Shotski: Where did the idea of making the polka our state dance come from?
Thompson: A young, second grade class here in Madison called the Charles Lindbergh class wrote a resolution and petitioned with letters, actually coming to the Capitol. You know, cute little kids coming up and saying “can we make the polka the state dance?” Because at that time there was a lot of different things, like what was going to be the state flower, what was going to be the state bird, was going to be the state animal: the badger. And of course, they wanted the state dance.
And these second graders came up — and it was their initiative — and of course there was Polish legislators and they loved the idea. Gary Drzewiecki was a state senator from Pulaski and from Green Bay and he jumped at the opportunity to sponsor it. And as it was going through the legislature people got excited. People would get up on the floor and do the polka, you know, when it was being debated, you know, just to add some enthusiasm to the fact that they were part of passing the polka because polka is part of the culture of Wisconsin.
Shotski: Why do you think polka endures as a part of Wisconsin’s culture?
Thompson: Polka music brings out bratwursts and beer, and brings to mind, you know, having a good time, good food, good company, and good dancing. And that's, you know, what it's all about. It's Wisconsin. It's fun and it's tradition. It's culture. It's heritage.
You can go any place in Wisconsin on a weekend, to a wedding. Sometime, somewhere, sometime during that event somebody's going to play “Roll out the barrel and have a barrel of fun” and we're going to do the polka, right? That's Wisconsin! Everybody knows “Roll Out the Barrel” and everybody sings along and everybody dances the polka. What can be more fun? More, you know, more interesting? And, you know, some people don't like it. They think it's a little crass, but I say, get out of our way. We're gonna polka right by you.
DJ Shotski is a passionate collector of records and lives in Madison, Wisconsin. She shares her collection with others — particularly Dutchman-style recordings from Wisconsin and the upper Midwest — at events and on Polka Time on 98.7 WVMO Sunday nights at 7 p.m. and on radio stations across Wisconsin.