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Audio Recording Interview with Alvin and Jeannette Sajewski in their store about Polish music and traditions, Chicago, Illinois, part 3

Interview with Alvin and Jeannette Sajewski in their store about Polish music and traditions, Chicago, Illinois, part 3

About this Item

Title

  • Interview with Alvin and Jeannette Sajewski in their store about Polish music and traditions, Chicago, Illinois, part 3

Names

  • Kalčik, Susan J. (Collector)
  • Sajewski, Alvin (Interviewee)
  • Sajewski, Jeannette (Interviewee)

Created / Published

  • Chicago, Illinois, June 2, 1977

Headings

  • -  Polish Americans
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  Interviews
  • -  Illinois -- Chicago

Genre

  • Ethnography
  • Interviews

Notes

  • -  Alvin & Janette Sajewski, part 1
  • -  Part 3 of a 4-part interview with sister and brother Jania Sajewski (Jeanette Sajewski Terley or Jeannette Sajewski Terlikowski) and Alvin Sajewski in their music store, 1227 Milwaukee Ave; about the recent banquet honoring Sajewski, and about its program, which includes a list of people Sajewski family helped to record; Jeanette compiled the book; about the 9 children, 5 boys and 4 girls, and how they all worked in the store as children; they lived over the store, their dad Wladyslaw built a store at 1017 Milwaukee Ave. for the family, with a 12 room apartment that offered 5 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, a laundry room, kitchen, dining room; the store had custom built oak cabinets and they were moved to the current store, Jeanette says, "And we cherish these memories, it's been a whole lifetime, two lifetimes, dad's and ours"; why and how they talked Alvin into the testimonial dinner to celebrate the 80 years of Sajewski's store; Alvin talks about his trip to Washington, DC [to the American Folklife Center’s 1977 Ethnic Recordings in America conference], one of the happiest days of his life; about forgetting his heart medicine, about meeting Myron Surmach and their long acquaintance by mail; about a book of speeches also published by Sajewski for name days or other occasions; a model to teach public speaking; more about the Polish dance book (discussed in part 2), how Wladyslaw had gone to Poland to find such a book but could not, he returned and told his two colleagues they would have to write one, so one got the music ready and the other took little dolls in costume and set up a stage and moved them through the dances, in order to work out the figures of the dance, charts of which are drawn by hand; Alvin discusses how his father organized the first travel excursion to Poland after WWI in 1927, when Lindbergh was f lying across the ocean, they went by the ship Ile de France from Chicago, Wladyslaw had organized the Polish Businessman's Association and they sponsored the trip, which cost about $300, the wine on the ship was special because it was prohibition in the U.S.; their mother went on the second excursion; Alvin has never been to Poland and has no desire to go, he has no relatives there, and has little time for travel; Christmas is a rush time in the store and family members come to help out, otherwise he and Jeanette manage well; each of the other brothers grew out of the store, two became pharmacists; Alvin went to high school and business college but worked with his father all the time; the other siblings wanted to do other things; by 1919-1920, he was his father’s right hand man; Wladyslaw died in 1948 but was active until the end; he remembers that on a Saturday they finished in the store and were joking with each other, Alvin went home and his father went upstairs, then on Sunday they went to a Polish play at Holy Trinity school, and his dad died in his seat there, his head fell onto their mother’s shoulder, it was April 14, he was waiting for the curtain to go up, everyone there was a friend, a Polish radio announcer carried him out, he never regained consciousness; they had worked as a team and many times since, Alvin has felt his father’s presence in the store; especially when he has to make difficult decisions, mention the Polish National Alliance (PNA) building dedication on the coming weekend; Jeanette and Alvin show things from the testimonial dinner, one from the Polish Disc Jockey's Association; Jeanette tells how important it was to her to have this event; there are certificates from the International Polka Association, from the Polish American Press, document from the Pope, in Polish, an electric clock with the Polish musicians’ names on it, the bandleader Walter "Li'l Wally" Jagiello sent a floral piece; there were displays on a table at the hall with photos and records, catalogs from the early days, assembled by a brother and brother-in-law; discussion of the displays continues in part 4.

Medium

  • audiocassette, C-60

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Call number: AFC 1981/004: AFS 20789a
  • MBRS Shelflist: RYA 0787
  • Field Project Identifier: CH77-T264-C

Source Collection

  • Chicago Ethnic Arts Project collection (AFC 1981/004)

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Online Format

  • audio

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that some of the materials in this collection are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions, and are therefore free to use or reuse. For example, the fieldwork in this collection is in the public domain in the United States.

However, the Library has obtained permission for the use of other materials, and presents additional materials for educational and research purposes in accordance with fair use under United States copyright law. For example, some of the recordings contain copyrighted music, and not all of the performers and other individuals who were recorded signed releases for public use of their work.

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Credit line: Chicago Ethnic Arts Project collection (AFC 1981/004), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

KalčIk, Susan J, Alvin Sajewski, and Jeannette Sajewski. Interview with Alvin and Jeannette Sajewski in their store about Polish music and traditions, Chicago, Illinois, part 3. Chicago, Illinois, June 2, 1977. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1981004_afs20789a/.

APA citation style:

KalčIk, S. J., Sajewski, A. & Sajewski, J. (1977) Interview with Alvin and Jeannette Sajewski in their store about Polish music and traditions, Chicago, Illinois, part 3. Chicago, Illinois, June 2. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1981004_afs20789a/.

MLA citation style:

KalčIk, Susan J, Alvin Sajewski, and Jeannette Sajewski. Interview with Alvin and Jeannette Sajewski in their store about Polish music and traditions, Chicago, Illinois, part 3. Chicago, Illinois, June 2, 1977. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc1981004_afs20789a/>.