Martin Gorecki
Polish Socialist assemblyman and brewery union leader from Milwaukee.
Martin Gorecki (October 20, 1871 – 1928) was a Milwaukee brewery worker, Polish community leader, and politician who served a single term as a Socialist in the Wisconsin State Assembly.
Born in Bydgoszcz (then Bromberg) in the German Empire’s Polish-majority Province of Posen, Gorecki attended public schools and moved to the United States at eighteen. He settled in Milwaukee in 1902, took a job at the Schlitz brewery, and joined the Beer Bottlers’ Union, later transferring to Brewers’ Union Local 9. He represented both unions as a delegate to the Federated Trades Council. Gorecki became a leader of the Polish School Society, an anti-clerical group that pushed for public education and Polish-language instruction in public schools; under his leadership, the society also served as a recruiting base for Socialists. He helped organize five Polish Milwaukee branches of the Social Democratic Party (Wisconsin’s Socialist party) and co-founded *Naprzod* (Forward), a weekly Polish-language Socialist newspaper.
Gorecki ran for the Assembly in the Fourteenth Milwaukee County district three times before winning. In 1904 he placed second to Democrat John Szymarek; in 1906 he lost to Democrat Joseph Domachowski; and in 1908 he lost again to Domachowski. In 1910 he was elected Milwaukee alderman-at-large for a two-year term. In 1912 he won the Assembly seat, succeeding fellow Socialist Michael Katzban, and served on the committees on insurance and banking, and on public welfare. He did not seek re-election in 1914, and was succeeded by Socialist George L. Tews.
In 1915, Gorecki launched a Polish-language humorous newspaper called *The Cymbal*. His son John Gorecki married teenage dancer Marianna Michalska—later famous as shimmy dancer Gilda Gray—around 1915, when she was fourteen or fifteen. The couple divorced in 1923; they had a son, Martin Gorecki (born 1913), who became a bandleader and emcee under the name Martin Gray. Gorecki’s will was filed for probate in December 1928, naming John and a widow referred to only as “Mrs. Martin Gorecki.” By then he was obscure enough that his hometown newspaper’s headline identified him simply as Gilda’s first father-in-law, with no mention of his labor or political career.
- Born
- October 20, 1871
- Birthplace
- Bydgoszcz (Bromberg), Province of Posen, German Empire
- Died
- 1928
- Occupation
- brewery worker, politician
- Party
- Socialist
- Assembly term
- 1912–1914
- Spouse
- Mrs. Martin Gorecki (widow, name not given)
Lore & Background
Gorecki immigrated to the United States at age eighteen and settled in Milwaukee in 1902, working at the Schlitz brewery. He joined the Beer Bottlers' Union and later Brewers' Union Local 9, serving as a delegate to the Federated Trades Council from both unions. He became a leader of the Polish School Society, an anti-clerical organization promoting public education and Polish-language teaching, which under his leadership served as a base for recruiting Socialists. He helped organize five ethnic Polish Milwaukee branches of the Social Democratic party and established the weekly Socialist Polish-language newspaper Naprzod (Forward).
Gorecki ran for the Assembly four times before winning. He lost in 1904, 1906, and 1908, then was elected a Milwaukee alderman-at-large in 1910. In 1912 he won the Assembly seat from the Fourteenth district, succeeding fellow Socialist Michael Katzban, with 1,519 votes. He served on the committees on insurance and banking, and on public welfare, and did not seek re-election in 1914.
In 1915, he started a Polish-language humorous newspaper called The Cymbal. His son John Gorecki married teenage dancer Marianna Michalska (later famous as Gilda Gray) around 1915; they divorced in 1923 and had a son, Martin Gorecki (born 1913), who became a bandleader and emcee under the name Martin Gray. Gorecki's will was filed for probate in December 1928, and by then he was obscure enough that his hometown newspaper referred to him only as Gilda's first father-in-law.
Reader's Guide
Martin Gorecki's significance lies in his role as a bridge between Milwaukee's Polish immigrant community and the Socialist movement in the early 20th century. The article shows he was a brewery worker who leveraged union and ethnic organizations to build political power, notably through the Polish School Society and the newspaper Naprzod. His electoral persistence—losing three Assembly races before winning—reflects the gradual rise of Socialist representation in Milwaukee's Polish wards. His legacy is complicated by his family's later fame: his son's marriage to Gilda Gray, a celebrity dancer, overshadowed his own labor and political record to the point that his obituary identified him only as her father-in-law. This obscurity underscores how personal notoriety can eclipse grassroots political work, even for a figure who helped institutionalize Polish-language Socialist organizing in Wisconsin.
Did You Know?
- Gorecki worked at the Schlitz brewery and was a member of the Beer Bottlers' Union and Brewers' Union Local 9.
- His son John married Marianna Michalska, later famous as shimmy dancer Gilda Gray, when she was 14 or 15.
More in Brewing Processes, Part 3 1-20
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced