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Rosie was born in
a small Polish village in the summer of 1927. Along
with her six siblings, Rosie led a normal childhood until
1939 when Nazi troops began systematically cleaning out
Polish communities and sending the captured off to
concentration and labor camps. Rosie and her sisters
managed to evade their captors for years by, among other
tactics, hiding in the forests and sleeping high up in the
trees, tying themselves to the branches. After her
father was killed in combat in 1943, Rosie was finally
forced to turn herself in as a trade for her brother so he
could be released to help run the household. She was
taken to Germany and performed a number of forced labor jobs
such as working in a candle factory and doing chores for the
families of Nazi solders off at war. American forces
eventually liberated her labor camp and soon the war was
over - but while Rosie finally had freedom from the Nazi's,
she would soon learn that her old life with her family would
never be the same.
Poles and other Eastern Europeans freed after the war would
have to make a difficult decision - return to their homeland
which was falling under the heavy hand of communist rule, or
stay in Germany and try and make a life in the ravaged
country. Unable to make contact with any members of her
family back in Poland, Rosie chose to stay, doing whatever
work would come her way and mostly just for food. She would
meet the man who would eventually become her husband -
another displaced Pole who had joined the American army as
part of the post-war relief efforts. As their family
grew to include three children, Rosie and her husband knew
they would need to find a way to America to provide the life
they dreamed of. Finally, in 1952, their immigration request
was granted and Rosie packed her entire family's possessions
into a single suitcase and boarded a boat bound for New York
City.
Initially, Rosie's husband had hoped to use his talents as a
musician to provide for his wife and children.
However, even with his dreams of playing in the NY symphony
within reach, he sacrificed on behalf of his family - a
musician's wage simply wasn't going to put enough food on
the table so he sought work that would. Six weeks is
all it took for Rosie to realize that New York City was
simply too big, too overwhelming, and she and her husband
sought the help of the Polish immigration-assistant offices
who found them a spot with a community in Denver, CO.
Denver's distinct seasons closely resembled that of their
Polish homeland's, so their decision to move to a city
within a state they had never heard of proved to be a good
fit. Both Rosie and her husband quickly found work -
she in flower shop and he at the Armor meatpacking plant...
even finding some time to pursue his music passions on the
weekends within their Polish circles.
In June of 1961, Rosie found a job that would become her
home for the next fifty years. She had known some
people who worked at Colorado Serum Company and suggested
she apply. Majon Huff, Colorado Serum's patriarch who
showed up to work every day until his passing in 2010, found
a spot for Rosie in the print shop where she helped make the
company's catalogs. It would be the first of many
positions Rosie has held at the company, working in nearly
every department, and performing tasks such as bottling and
equipment sterilization. For the majority of her
career at Colorado Serum, Rosie worked as a laboratory
technician preparing diluent solution for Brucella Abortus
vaccines. Rosie takes pride in the fact that she never
shows up to work late - a dedication, she says, matched by
the company never missing a pay date in her fifty years of
employment. What Rosie recalls of her years at
Colorado Serum is the fond memories that included company
picnics in the mountains, the parties hosted by Majon's
mother, Mabel Ba, and, perhaps what she cherishes most, the
countless early morning coffee chats with Majon at his desk
before the workday would begin.
As for Rosie's family back in Poland, in 1952 they were
finally able to contact her through the Red Cross thanks to
the paper-trail from the immigration process. As it
turns out, Rosie was the only member of her family that
didn't return to Poland after the war. But it would
take nearly another 40 years before the Berlin wall would
come down and communism to release its grip on her native
country before Rosie could finally return home and visit her
family. She was fortunate enough to see her mother
before she passed away, and Rosie still keeps in contact
with her remaining sisters. Rosie admits that her life
hasn't always been easy but she counts her many blessings -
including a family that has blossomed to include five
children, eleven grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.
Thank you, Rosie, for all your years of loyalty and hard
work at Colorado Serum and for sharing your story with us.
Congratulations on 50 years... and a life well-lived. |
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