Pinkowski Files

Donna Chmara and Henry C. Talarsky
The breadth and scope of Donna and Henry's lives are all the more pronounced given their humble beginnings. Donna is a survivor of World War II in Europe. Her husband Henry is a survivor of the Great Depression in the United States.
Donna was forced to leave Poland when she was 10 weeks old. While Germany invaded western Poland in 1939, the Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland, including her town of Naliboki, and part of her family was deported to Siberia. Then in 1941, Germany betrayed its Soviet ally and occupied Polish towns like Naliboki. Hostilities between the two invaders raged for two years, as well as food raids upon local residents. Then on May 8, 1943, Soviet partisans unleashed a massacre that killed 128 people and burned part of Naliboki. Donna was born 20 days later. Then the Germany army burned the rest of the town that August, and deported Donna's family to Germany for slave labor.
The war ended in 1945, but the family remained homeless for five years in refugee camps. The ordeal ended when Donna's uncle, who had migrated to the United States before World War I, opened his heart and sponsored the family of eight. In 1950, Henry Mara, his wife, and two children took into their home the parents, Michal and Helena, and their six children: Henry, Chester, Janka, Mary, Wacek, and Donna.
Over the decades, the family pursued the opportunities their new country offered, created successful lives as contributing members of American society, and never forgot the values of their European roots.
Donna holds a Bachelor of Arts degree as well as teaching and administrative certificates from The College of New Jersey. She represented the college in her sophomore year as a foreign exchange student on full scholarship at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada. She holds a Master of Arts degree in English with a major in medieval literature from Tempie University.
Donna is an educator and writer. She served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Turkey where she taught English as a Second Language, and taught English at Trenton Central High School and The College of New Jersey. She was Communications Director for the NJ Association of School Administrators, Coordinator of the Provisional Teacher Program, Director of the State Board of Education, and Personnel Director for the New Brunswick School District. She is now seeking a publisher for her newly finished book entitled, "Breaking the Silence. Polish Christian Narratives of World War II" She speaks Polish, basic Turkish, and has a reading knowledge of Russian and French.
Henry was born in the town of Honey Pot in northeastern Pennsylvania where he had a carefree childhood until he lost his father at age nine during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Mother Agnes struggled to support herself and her son, boarding Henry out when she could find a live-in housekeeping situation. Henry knew loss and loneliness for one so young, yet his inner strength was forged during those early years. Determined to become the man of the house. Henry began working by age 12. He and his friends played after school and on weekends in front of Thomas' Drugstore in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. Mr. Thomas would occasionally step outside and ask one of the boys to deliver a prescription. The task was accepted eagerly because the child might be rewarded with cookies or even a big nickel tip.
Henry saw a chance to earn an income that would lighten his dear mother's load. As the boys played between deliveries, Henry picked up a broom and began sweeping the sidewalk in front of Mr. Thomas' establishment. Next, he would clean a window or shovel some snow. Before long, Mr. Thomas invited Henry inside to stock shelves or make deliveries in every kind of weather. As he stood in the rain, regular customers might offer a generous 15 cent tip which he eagerly shared with Mother Agnes. By the time Henry started GAR High School (Grand Army of the Republic), he worked summers and week-ends and got an education in dealing with people and their varied personalities. And when Mr. Thomas and his bride went on their honeymoon for a month, he asked Henry to work full-time at a whopping $5.00 a week!
After high school. Henry joined the Army and became a military policeman in army camps located in Virginia, Tennessee, and Alabama. Making good use of the G.I. Bill, Henry earned his Bachelor of Arts degree and teaching credentials at Bloomsburg State Teachers College (University of Bloomsburg.) He then worked for 45 years - 12 in industry and 33 in education. He taught job-related skills at the School for Epileptic Children in Skillman, NJ. He taught grade 8 in Harlingen, NJ, then spent most of his career as a history and social studies teacher and an association activist in the Edison School district. For many years, he also served on the Board of Directors for the Titusville Academy.
Donna and Henry share many interests and values. They participate in interfaith and multi-cultural projects that promote peace. When they travel, they like to teach in other countries to learn about other cultures and to have people meet everyday Americans. They especially enjoyed teaching in Poland and Donna recently participated in a good-will tour in Southeast Asia to meet teachers and students. Besides their work on behalf of Polonia here, they support humanitarian efforts in Poland. Most notably, since Donna's home town was annexed as part of Belarus after the war, they fund a scholarship to help children in Naliboki attend universities m Poland. And their greatest joys are daughter Andrea, son-in-law David, grandson Hayden age 7, and Brenden age 5.
Our honorees are members of the National Peace Corps Association and local affiliates, People to People International Trenton Chapter, Coalition for Peace Action Princeton Chapter, the Polish Arts Club of Trenton, Holy Trinity Church in Helmetta, NJ, American Council for Polish Culture, Kosciuszko Foundation, and the Hamilton Township Senior Center. They feel that, "Despite the hardships, life is full of miracles. Open your heart and miracles will come to you in the form of Mother Nature's beauty, and especially, in the people that God places on your daily path."
Source: The Polish Arts Club of Trenton, Annual Polonaise Ball Program, April 30, 2011 -- where Donna and Henry were recognized for their efforts on behalf Polonia and Polish culture.

President, Polish Arts Club of Trenton, New Jersey at the 2006 Pulaski Day Parade in Philadelphia