Maria Niedoba
Years of service: 01.09.1970 – 31.10.2000
A second home for many years
When I think back to the time I spent at the refinery, it is the people I remember above all else. It was they who created the atmosphere of this place and made work more than just a daily chore. There was no unnecessary rivalry or envy. People got on well with one another; they visited each other after work, helped one another and were happy to share their experience.
When I watch my grown-up children at work, I realise just how much the world has changed. Nowadays, individual success is often what counts, while knowledge is kept to oneself. It was different at the refinery – the older workers taught the younger ones, and experience was passed on with kindness. That is precisely why my memories of those years are so precious to me.
My career was almost entirely linked to the refinery. After finishing school, I worked sorting oil, but after just two weeks I moved to the telephone exchange. I worked there for four years on shifts, looking after communications across the whole plant. Later, the late Mrs Kuczerowa suggested that I move to the Administration Department. I became her deputy, and in time I took on the role of manager. For the next few years, I also managed the Workers’ Hotel, which remained part of the refinery. All in all, my working life was linked to the refinery for nearly 50 years.
A witness to great changes
For me, the most moving memory is still the refinery fire. At the time, I was starting my first year at vocational school. It was impossible to get close to the scene of the tragedy, but what I saw afterwards has remained etched in my memory. There were bent rails, damaged structures and signs of the force of the elements everywhere. It was hard to believe that, just a moment earlier, the place had been teeming with life and hundreds of people had been working there. For the residents of Czechowice-Dziedzice, this was no ordinary fire. Many felt as though the heart of the town had been wounded.
For several years, I watched as the refinery slowly recovered from the tragedy. More production lines were brought back online, production gradually returned to its normal rhythm and, with it, hope returned. It was an extraordinary time, showing just how much strength people have when they work together to rebuild their workplace. Over the years, further changes took place. The most difficult period came with the reorganisation. One by one, facilities not directly related to production were gradually taken out of service. For many employees, it was a painful moment, as it marked the end of an era.
People you never forget
I was lucky enough to work with many exceptional people. I have very fond memories of all the directors, but Director Alojzy Wasyl holds a special place in my memory. He was a man who put people first. During his tenure, social facilities were developed, staff accommodation was built, a health centre operated, and there were even plans to build a hospital co-funded by the refinery. He made sure that the company’s success was reflected in the daily lives of its employees and their families. I still remember the phone call from a colleague telling me that all staff would receive an extra bonus of 20,000 zlotys. It was in the old currency, but the gesture itself showed that people mattered.
We also remember those who, day in, day out, carried out work that was less visible but extremely important. The company auditor, Stefan Kępa, commanded widespread respect; his mere presence was enough to spur everyone on to work even more meticulously. I have fond memories of the plant dispatchers and of many of my colleagues in administration.
Director Ryszard Chrapek also holds a special place in my memories. He was an exceptionally elegant and classy man. As I was leaving work one day, he came over to give me a bouquet of roses. That gesture moved me more than any official expression of thanks, and to this day it remains one of my fondest memories.
My husband, Wacław Niedoba, was also associated with the refinery for many years. He started work in the Organisation and Work Standards Department, later served in the fire brigade, and then worked as a transport driver. He transported engine oils produced in Czechowice-Dziedzice to the ports of Gdańsk, Gdynia, Szczecin and Świnoujście. He recalled that when he started work in the early 1970s, the Oil Refinery in Czechowice-Dziedzice was the largest refinery in Poland, and that the engine oils produced there for the Fiat 125p and Fiat 126p were supplied to customers throughout the country.
The town and the refinery – one story
The refinery was much more than a place of work. It organised leisure activities for staff, ran holiday centres, supported social initiatives and gave people a sense of security.
I have very fond memories of the “Chemik” holiday centre, where we used to go on family holidays and where we held gatherings, parties and team-building events. It was a place full of life and happy memories. When I went back to see it again years later, all that remained were the ruins of one of the buildings. It was a very sad sight, and it made me realise just how much had changed since those days.
Nowadays, when I think of the refinery, I don’t picture the plant or its buildings. I see the people with whom I spent almost my entire adult life. It was thanks to them that the refinery became my second home for many years. And that is precisely why memories of it remain so vivid, despite the passage of time.