Stanley Yagelski
Hall of Fame – 2003
Stanley Yagelski (1930-2019) of Chesterton, Indiana played the concertina for over sixty years. As a young man, he played in polka bands around Michigan City, Indiana and took time off from performing for military service in Korea.
Stanley continued playing his concertina as a hobby and helped organize many concertina jams during the late 1960s and early 70s for broadcast on WIMS Radio 1420AM. After one of these jams, and at the request of several local concertina players, he founded and was the long-time president of the Saint Joe Concertina Club. The Saint Joe Concertina Club started out as a social group but soon became a performing group and they became a popular attraction at music events and festivals. They played public and private events throughout South Chicago, Northern Indiana, and Southwestern Michigan. At their peak, the club featured as many as twenty concertina musicians playing on stage at any one time. Stanley was the frontman for the group, promoting polka music and the concertina that made the group so popular.