Barbara Gronet

Galicia was the first Polish-American royal band... it was the first one. He said, we will take the whole band to Poland, we were selling sweets, chocolates, just like that - from pub to pub, here in Detroit. A dollar each. To get enough money, for a ticket to Poland. And we did it. Sometimes sweets, and even kisses, because we were all walking from pub to pub, dressed in our folk dress. I give you a kiss for a dollar. Beause we are going to Poland. Children would never do it nowdays. Teenagers would never do it. Beause parents will give them the money. Ours would have given too, because they knew that it was worth it. But we simply saved enough money, and we went to Poland. We were the first band, our trip was organized by Polonia association from Warsaw, the small town was called Grówno. And there were probably only five houses in the whole town, a music school, a local Ruch newsagents and a grocery store. And that was it, the whole of Grówno. And that’s where they put us. They didn’t know what to do with us. We wanted to learn the Polish dances and the singing. So they found some choreographer, and she came and just taught us. And it was simply awesome. I remember one lady, an older lady - and she said: I never thought that I ever see my Polish children back in Poland. And she died soon after. And I mean soon, like in a few hours. When we went over again, 2 years later in ‘73, then it was different. Then they had teachers all ready, and it was in Lublin. Also at a music school, the teachers were prepared for us, they already knew what we were after. In Poland there were always these kinds of bands, but on a much smaller scale. Like everything, everything grows together. (I hope) that it won’t start drifting apart now. Because those were the best times.