Griffith’s 7th Oktoberfest brings out the music lovers and fans
‘She parties all the time, and she’s 90’
There’s a band for every fan and Theresa Kalinowski will not be denied.
When her dance partner, 93-year-old John Petrunich, wasn’t charming the women congregated in front of Griffith’s Central Park stage into two-stepping Polish-style with him, Kalinowski and he Petrunich were front and center showing the younger generations how it’s done during the town’s Oktoberfest Saturday afternoon. After all, Petrunich, of East Chicago, and Kalinowski, 90, of Chesterton, won a polka contest five years ago, so they have a reputation to uphold, she said.
It didn’t matter much to Kalinowski that her dance partner was encouraging other women to give him a whirl, though. According to her daughters, band leader Eddie Korosa Jr. and his Boys from Illinois are all she needs to cut loose and have a ball.
“We’re 100% Polish, so when Eddie’s playing, we try to get her wherever he is,” daughter Nancy Ragan, of Portage, said.
“She parties all the time, and she’s 90,” daughter Cindy Rousseau, of Griffith, added. “We celebrated her birthday this summer, and all 12 of us kids were there. She has 24 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.”
“And two more on the way,” Kalinowski added before she and Petrunich hit the dance area again.
In its seventh year, Griffith’s Oktoberfest saw its best night ever Friday night, Town Council President Rick Ryfa, R-3rd, said. Things were so good, several draft beers were tapped out by Saturday when the fest reopened.
“It’s something different, because there aren’t a lot of other authentic Oktoberfests around,” Ryfa said. “We’ve got the food — one booth over there is doing schnitzel — but we’re always looking for different vendors who make good German food, too.”
Fran Wisniewski, who lives across the street from Central Park, and her mom, Antoinette Wisniewski, were planning on bringing their food back home because of the rain hanging in the air. For them, Oktoberfest brings back memories of gatherings on Chicago’s South Side, where the bands played every weekend.
“We used to live in Hegewisch, and she would go to all the Polish dances on the weekends,” Fran Wisniewski said of her mom as Antoinette watched the people polkaing from afar. “This is wonderful, but I like when the (Northwest Indiana) Symphony’s here because of the music.”
Petrunich is much like his dance partner Kalinowski in that he dances all the time. And he wasn’t going to sit down for a second.
“I love it! It keeps me in shape,” Petrunich said as he dragged Kalinowski back out.