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Audio Recording Interview with Konstanty and Collette Siemaczko in their home, Chicago, Illinois, part 4

Interview with Konstanty and Collette Siemaczko in their home, Chicago, Illinois, part 4

About this Item

Title

  • Interview with Konstanty and Collette Siemaczko in their home, Chicago, Illinois, part 4

Names

  • Kalčik, Susan J. (Collector)
  • Siemaczko, Kanstanti (Interviewee)
  • Siemaczko, Colette (Interviewee)

Created / Published

  • Chicago, Illinois, June 3, 1977

Headings

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

Genre

  • Ethnography
  • Interviews

Notes

  • -  Kanstanti & Colette Siemaczko, part 4
  • -  Part 4 of a 5-part interview with Collette and Konstanty (Konstanti) Siemaczko in their home; Konstanty Siemaczko is a well-known choreographer for several Polish American youth dance groups; about how Christmas and the end of the year are their busy times, they were especially busy during the Bicenntennial year and were always asked for dance demonstrations; fieldworker notes an interruption in the tape at this point; about how recent immigration from Poland has helped bring in new interest in Polish dancing, Chicago Polish Americans do want to teach their children; Collette notes how and what is taught affects the children's interest, she wanted her children to know two languages as she did not, she reads Polish but is not confident of her speaking ability, while her children are bilingual; Collette was made member of the Legion of Young Polish Women recently, this is an unusual honor as they only take women of Polish descent (Collette is Irish and Czech); the women in the group take political positions, they once protested the television series on six American families that featured a Polish American stereotype; Collette says she was in a Polish intellectual community in England and also is familiar with the folk arts of Poles, whe cannot understand the stereotype of the dumb Pole; the Legion runs a big debutantes ball where the Polanaise and Mazur dances are performed; a man showed Collette the basics of beading but she is mainly self-taught, she has books with patterns for costumes and designs for the motifs; the Siemaczkos. have a extensive library on folk arts with the emphasis on Polish arts, and friends are always looking for additional books; the woman who lives next door does Polish crocheting and lace, she is from an area of Poland where lace is work, Konstanty describes Polish lace as "baroque"; Collette also makes Easter eggs; she is interested in all folk arts, and she shows the fieldworker some eggs into which she has painted, scratched, or etched designs; Collette took up eggs when she couldn't sleep at night, she gets designs from Easter cards and books; it is customary to trade eggs with friends; the Siemaczko children are all in Polish Scouts and carry on traditions; Collette shows the fieldworker an egg made from yarn, evolved from the making of egg shapes from rushes; about Polish shops along Milwaukee Ave.; Konstanty likes to teach dance to piano music as one can slow down, repeat, etc., he uses a book with 300 steps and positions; Collette shows the fieldworker her amber collection; Konstanty has been back to Poland once in 1968 on a visit, it used to be a problem to travel there but not anymore, while there, he saw some dancing and describes one program, also describes helping a man who wanted to learn dances and then went on to form his own group; Konstanty happy to teach, his purpose is to promote traditions not to hold on to them, he has trained many others who became teachers in turn, his younger son and older daughter teach dancing; the Siemaczkos describe their own Christmas traditions, Collette cooks Polish food, saying that it is like French in many ways; in 1931, when Collette was born, Konstanty was at a Polish Scout jamboree in Prague, he was 12 years old and marching at the end of the line, on the route, he saw many Czech scouts and thought the women were very beautiful so decided that when he wanted to marry, he would return and marry a Czech girl, he did finally marry a Czech girl although "it took a war to do it"; he knew two Czech presidents, one he met in the concentration camp; the couple discuss some of the organizations they belong to and the Polish newspapers they get; they show the fieldworker some embroidery and the axes used in the Polish Highlander dances, a cabinet maker who lives on their street made the handles while Konstanty and friends made the metal parts; about a man at the corner store who makes his own sausage at holiday time; the Siemaczkos show the fieldworker daughter me Nina's Polish school work; Nina arrives and recites the piece she is to perform the next morning at Saturday school.

Medium

  • audiocassette, C-60

Call Number/Physical Location

  • MBRS Shelflist: RYA 0790
  • Field Project Identifier: CH77-T267-C
  • Call number: AFC 1981/004: AFS 20792b

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, Kanstanti Siemaczko, and Colette Siemaczko. Interview with Konstanty and Collette Siemaczko in their home, Chicago, Illinois, part 4. Chicago, Illinois, June 3, 1977. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1981004_afs20792b/.

APA citation style:

KalčIk, S. J., Siemaczko, K. & Siemaczko, C. (1977) Interview with Konstanty and Collette Siemaczko in their home, Chicago, Illinois, part 4. Chicago, Illinois, June 3. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1981004_afs20792b/.

MLA citation style:

KalčIk, Susan J, Kanstanti Siemaczko, and Colette Siemaczko. Interview with Konstanty and Collette Siemaczko in their home, Chicago, Illinois, part 4. Chicago, Illinois, June 3, 1977. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc1981004_afs20792b/>.