In Rememberance

Chester my neighbor was such a wonderful person and treated everyone like they mattered and he was never to busy to say hi or talk. I thought I would share some of his history.

Chester Ratajewicz

Chester Ratajewicz 85 of 227 Bolard Avenue Cambridge Springs died Friday morning October 30 2009 after a brief illness. He was born to the Lt.Colonel Kladian Ratajewicz and his wife Stanislana on April 24 1924 in Russia. He spent his young childhood with his family and extended family in Russia and in Poland.

After the beginning of WWII he together with his mother,sister and other family members, moved throughout areas of Russia,Poland, and Germany for survival reasons.His mother was able to keep them together and alive throughout the war by moving them with the German front, often living in work camps. As a result of these movements he spoke fluent Polish, Russian, and German.

He had a personal knowledge of how family,friends,acquaintances and those he did not know,met the challenges they encountered to survive in Europe during WWII. His last work station was an electrician in the train yard in Germany.

In 1950 Chester was sponsored by the Polish National Alliance to come to the U.S.
He arrived by boat in New York City on March 3,1950 and after processing immediately traveled by train to Cambridge Springs Pa. He began employment upon his arrival as a furnace tender/electrician at the former Alliance College. After settling inot the community, he gained sponsorship for the remainder of his family- his mother,sister Lucy and her husband Leon Rymaszwski, and a niece to move from Germany to the United States as well.

This is turning into a long blog post I think we will make it two parts. So stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow.