Martin Gorecki (October 20, 1871 – 1928) was a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

worker, ethnic Polish leader and politician from

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

who served one term as a

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

Background

Gorecki was born in Bydgoszcz (Bromberg) in the Polish-majority

Province of Posen The Province of Posen (german: Provinz Posen, pl, Prowincja Poznańska) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920. Posen was established in 1848 following the Greater Poland Uprising as a successor to the Grand Duchy of Posen, w ...

of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

, on October 20, 1871. He attended public schools and immigrated to the United States at the age of eighteen. In 1902 he settled in Milwaukee, worked in the Schlitz brewery, joined the Beer Bottlers' Union and was later transferred to Brewers' Union Local 9. He served as a delegate to the Federated Trades Council from both unions. He became active as a leader of the Polish School Society, which was an

anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

organization devoted to

public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

and the teaching of the

Polish language Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In a ...

in public schools, and under his leadership served as a base for recruiting for the Socialists. He was active in organizing the five ethnic Polish Milwaukee branches of the Social Democratic party (as it was known in Wisconsin), and in establishing the ''Naprzod'' (''Forward''), a weekly Socialist

newspaper.

Public office

In 1904, Gorecki ran for the Assembly in the Fourteenth

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous coun ...

district (the 14th

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of the City of Milwaukee), coming in second, behind

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

John Szymarek John H. Szymarek (March 4, 1875 - ?) was an American businessman from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who served two terms (1903-1906) as a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Background Szymarek was born in Poland on March 4, 1875, and ca ...

, with 1623 votes for Szymarek, 975 for Gorecki, and 855 for

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

John J. Derwort. In 1906, he tried again, losing to Democrat

Joseph Domachowski Joseph A. Domachowski (November 26, 1872 – July 2, 1942) was an American politician. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Born in Poland, Domachowski emigrated to the United States and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1881. Do ...

by 1004 to 915, with the Republican a distant third at 460. In 1908, he challenged Domachowski again, losing with 2,001 for the now-incumbent Domachowski, 852 for Gorecki, and 736 for Republican Stanislaus Molszewki. In 1910 he was elected a Milwaukee

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

-at-large for a two-year term. In 1912 he was elected to the Assembly from the Fourteenth district (which now added to the 14th Ward, the new 24th Ward), to succeed fellow Socialist

Michael Katzban Michael Katzban (September 11, 1876 – July 3, 1962) was a core molder and insurance salesman from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who served one term as a Socialist member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Background Katzban was born in Lemont, in Cook ...

. Gorecki won with 1,519 votes to 1,094 for Democrat Jacob Posanski and 609 for Republican John Phillips. He was assigned to the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

s on

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

and

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

, and on

public welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

. He did not run for re-election in 1914, and was succeeded by fellow Socialist George L. Tews.

After the Assembly; personal life

In 1915, it was announced that he had started a Polish-language humorous newspaper called ''The Cymbal''. His son John Gorecki married teenage dancer Marianna Michalska, later to become famous as "Gilda Gray", the

shimmy A shimmy is a dance move in which the body is held still, except for the shoulders, which are quickly alternated back and forth. When the right shoulder goes back, the left one comes forward. History In 1917, a dance-song titled "Shim-Me-Sha ...

girl, around 1915, when she was 14 or 15 years old; the couple, who divorced in 1923, had one son, Martin Gorecki (born in 1913), who was to become a bandleader and emcee under the name "Martin Gray". Gorecki's will was filed for

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

in December 1928; it included provisions for John and for a widow, who is referred to only as "Mrs. Martin Gorecki". By that point, he himself was obscure enough that the headline in his home-town newspaper referred to him simply as

Gilda ''Gilda'' is a 1946 American film noir directed by Charles Vidor and starring Rita Hayworth in her signature role and Glenn Ford. The film is known for cinematographer Rudolph Maté's lush photography, costume designer Jean Louis's wardrobe fo ...

's first father-in-law, without reference to his labor or political record."First Father-in-Law Ignores Gilda in Will" ''Milwaukee Sentinel'' December 23, 1928; p. 1, col. 8

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorecki, Martin 1871 births 1928 deaths Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Brewery workers People from Bydgoszcz Politicians from Milwaukee Polish emigrants to the United States Socialist Party of America politicians from Wisconsin Wisconsin city council members