John 'Stanky' Stankovic, the Nanticoke-born polka musician whose band performed all over the United States and around the world, died early Christmas Day. He was 89.
Stankovic and his wife, Dorothy "Dottie" Wegrzynowicz Stankovic, were well known to Northeast Pennsylvania television audiences from their appearances on WVIA's popular 'Pennsylvania Polka' broadcasts.
WVIA to rebroadcast Stanky documentary
To mark the passing of International Polka Association Hall of Famer and Nanticoke native John 'Stanky' Stankovic, WVIA-TV will rebroadcast the 2006 documentary 'John & Dottie Stanky: Rags to Riches.'
This special presentation will air on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. and again on Sunday, Jan. 11 at 3 p.m.
His band, Stanky and the Coal Miners, performed for generations of fans at venues ranging from weddings to World's Fairs, from cruise ships to China, even at a U.S. Air Force base in South Korea.
His passing was announced Christmas night with a poignant post on the band's Facebook page.
"Every night, Stanky ended the performance with the song ‘I don’t want to go home, I don’t want to go home,' but today Stanky was called safely home," the post read. "He will be greatly missed by his family, friends and fans!!!"
Daughter Deborah Horoschock spoke about what made her father and his music so beloved.
"Polka music is a happy music," she said. "It kind of peps everybody up, puts them into a really good mood."
"He was a very much a perfectionist, but he actually put a product out there that was different than other bands, and he just did it the Stanky way," she added.
Reached on Saturday, Horoschock said calls have been coming in "absolutely non-stop, all day long" since news of her father's passing began to spread.
"My dad's going to be remembered uniquely by each individual," she said. "He was just a very unique guy."
Musical career began early
Stankovic was born at his parents' home on Phillip Street, in the Hanover Section of Nanticoke on May 4, 1936, according to his obituary.
A talented athlete, Stankovic played baseball for the Nanticoke League and Wilkes-Barre Barons.
"He really liked playing sports," Horoschock said.
Stankovic tried out for the Cleveland Indians, "but didn't make the cut," she said.
"He began a humble career as a ragman," Stankovic's obituary said, but there was another career waiting in the wings.
Stankovic's father, an immigrant coal miner, encouraged him to learn how to play the accordion, telling the young man he would never starve if he did.
He took that advice to heart. By the age of 9, he was performing at house weddings. Gigs at local bars and clubs followed.
His band was originally called the Tip Toppers, but the name was changed to Stanky and the Coal Miners as a nod to Stankovic's dad, and to the miners who were members of the group in its early years.
Stankovic also considered joining the Pennsylvania State Police, his daughter said, but chose to continue as a musician instead.
It was another moment that changed the course of his life: The band would record over 20 albums, becoming known for such hits as their signature tune, "Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie," which would be the title of his 2006 memoir. Many of those albums were released under the Stan-Dot label, which he launched with his wife, Dottie.
While he didn't become a trooper, Stankovic did devote himself to public safety in another way: He was a volunteer firefighter for Nanticoke Fire Department Engine No. 4 and was honored for 60 years of service in 2022.
Keeping it in the family
Like his father before him, Stankovic encouraged his daughters to learn music at an early age.
Horoschock learned the trumpet. Her sister, Kimberly Bukowski, learned saxophone and clarinet.
They still play with the band.
"It's in our blood," Horoschock said.
Stanky and the Coal Miners performed all over the U.S., on five continents, and on the high seas aboard cruise ships.
It was an educational adventure for the entire family.
"Me and my sister in high school and grade school were traveling the world," Horoschock said.
"You learn history about Germany, or Pearl Harbor. We actually saw where this all happened," she recalled. "We had to go up in front of the class and explain what we saw. And so we actually were, like, teaching what we saw to our fellow classmates."
More often, the gigs were closer to home, but still involved a lot of travel.
"We basically lived out of our luggage bag. We would travel maybe from Pennsylvania to Connecticut one day, then back down to Buffalo. And then we come home, that was our weekend," she said.
And there were gigs at polka and folk festivals around the nation — Montana, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Arizona, to name a few states — sometimes alongside diverse groups including Cajun bands, Zydeco bands and Native American bands.
"It was a very interesting life," Horoschock said.
But it was one of Stankovic's standing gigs that will be remembered by generations of TV audiences.
For over 25 years, he and Dottie were regulars on WVIA's "Pennsylvania Polka" broadcasts, on which she served as a co-host, and he served as producer and performed with the band.
The shows, which featured couples dancing to live polka music, were wildly popular. They developed a loyal following not just in Northeast Pennsylvania but wherever they were re-broadcast.
They also opened the door to appearances with other public television stations, such as this performance on Binghamton, N.Y.-based WSKG.
An award-winning career
Stankovic was inducted into the International Polka Association Hall of Fame in 2019 and performed at IPA's annual convention in Buffalo that year.
In October of this year, Stankovic and his brother Joe — a fellow musician and bandleader who heads Joe Stanky and the Cadets — were inducted into the
Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame.
"John played polka music for over eight decades, a span of time during which he led the Coal Miners, played the accordion, and sang in both English and Polish," a Facebook tribute from the hall stated.
"John’s brand of polka was more in line with the genre’s traditional sound, featuring brass and woodwinds coupled with a strong, percussive backbeat," the tribute added.
Such recognition was appreciated, but not at the heart of what kept Stankovic performing for decades, his daughter said.
"He just didn't look for the praise and the honor. He just wanted to go out and make people happy," Horoschock said. "He just wanted something basic, something that people could carry home with them in their hearts."
