On October 14 of this year, at the cemetery in Kruszyn, we said farewell to Edward Weselak – the village head, a councillor of the Gmina Bolesławiec National Council in its first and second terms, and a well-known and respected figure among the residents of the Bolesławiec municipality. His life story was colorful, filled with interesting events and numerous responsibilities.
Mr. Edward Weselak was born in 1926 in Zielona, in the territories of the former Soviet Union. From 1945 to 1947, that is, until he was called up for active military service, he was an authorized representative of the District Repatriation Office; then, from 1949, he served as the village head of Przybymierz near Nowogród Bobrzański.
From 1960, he held a seat on the National Council of the Cluster Commune in Tomaszów Bolesławiecki, and from 1962, for two terms, he was a councillor of the Provincial National Council. From 1986, he was a councillor of the Gmina National Council.
In 1973, when communes were established, he began serving as the village head of Kruszyn. As he jokingly emphasized, the residents of the village administration elected him village head “for life,” not wanting to hear of his resignation from the office.
From 1960 to 1975, he worked as a dispatcher at the Agricultural Cooperative in Kruszyn, and then, until 1983, at the Zielonogórskie Aggregate Mining Plants in Bolesławiec, from which he retired on a disability pension. In 1984, he transferred his farm, covering more than 5 hectares, to his son.
Always active, committed and conscientious, he enjoyed great trust and authority among the village residents. At his initiative and with his participation, many community projects were carried out. The most important included the following:
- rebuilding the school after wartime destruction; repairing and modernizing roads; constructing bus bays; renovating the village community center; installing street lighting; building the Kruszyn–Łaziska gas network; connecting the village to the water supply system; providing telephone service to the village administration; marking out and developing a village waste collection point; organizing house numbering and introducing street names; building a sports changing room for the Ludowe Zespoły Sportowe “Znicz”; designating new areas for housing and garden plots; tidying up the forest parks; rebuilding the cemetery and constructing a funeral home. For his work, he received departmental and regional honors, including the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Gold and Silver Crosses of Merit, the Gold Badge of Merit for Lower Silesia, the Badge of Merit for the Jelenia Góra Voivodeship, the Honorary Badge of the National Health Protection Fund, and the Badge of Merit for a Social Welfare Guardian.
Edward Weselak was respected and well-liked among the village community. He knew all the residents of the village administration and took an interest in their problems, even though Kruszyn is the most populous village in the municipality—a village settled by new residents every year.
He had a gift for thoughtfully resolving matters and problems and easing minor conflicts, while also possessing a great sense of humor, kindness, gentleness and modesty.
This is how he will remain in our memory.