Chester Roistacher

Growing up in New York Chester Roistacher

It is fortunate in that out of interest and curiosity, I began documenting my mother's life at an early age. While I was in the Navy, my mother came to visit me at Newport, Rhode Island in 1943. I asked about her early life in Europe and of her meeting with my father and I wrote down her responses. When the tape recorder came into prominence in the 1950's, I continued recording my mother, my aunts and uncles and my cousin Harry, whose memory and gift for recall of events was spectacular. These recordings were later transcribed to the computer and formed the basis for the background of our family history. Growing up in New York City must begin with my mother and father, my aunts and uncles and their description of their emigration from Europe to the United States. As a child I was surrounded by these aunts and uncles and I received much love, understanding and great support from them. They are now all gone, but they live deep in my heart and memory. They are also vividly present in my old photographs. Why did they emigrate? What were their lives like in Europe? What were their lives like in their first years after arriving in New York City without the language and with such dramatic changes from their other life in Poland? What were their hopes and their dreams like?