POLKA STAR HONORED BY NOTRE DAME

Marv Herzog, a member of the International Polka Music Hall of Fame in Chicago, was given an award Friday night at the Notre Dame German Dance recognizing his upcoming 50th anniversary as a polka entertainer.

Herzog's first accordion will be enshrined in a Frankenmuth, Mich., museum in January.

The dance at the Bavarian Halle is the high school's biggest fund raiser of the year.

Herzog's four-piece band plays more than 100 dates a year, ranging from Baltimore to Arizona in a 40-foot former Greyhound bus. Herzog's wife Teresa also sings with the band.

An accordionist who doesn't read music, Herzog has recorded more than 30 albums in his career.

Herzog, 63, was sidelined last summer with a heart ailment but has bounced back quickly.

He says polka is only popular with older people in some areas of the country, but that youth polka clubs exist in Baltimore. His band goes beyond standards like "Beer Barrel Polka" and the "Pennsylvania Polka," though.

"We play modern songs, too, like `Achy Breaky Heart,'" he said. "...You have to build up the younger generation."