In the previous episode of Momentos Musicales, I introduced you to Edmund Chester, one of the chief architects of La Cadena de las Américas, a radio chain networked together through shortwaves and Pan American cooperations.
Edmund Chester was described in a book written by his youngest daughter, Carolyn Chester, as the Kentucky Pan American, a perfect description for one who would successfully navigate support and cooperation among over one hundred radio stations in the Americas – this at a time when such cooperation was imperative as the world stood at the brink of World War II.
Carolyn Chester Lamb described her father as, “A regular guy. You know, he was he was just… Irish/English from Kentucky. His father was a railroad engineer. His older brother was a fireman, and they just they were from good roots, you know, good Catholic family. And there was a time where trains were taking people places, now there's planes that can take you places. So that opened up a whole new world… he taught himself Spanish, and had the opportunity to go to Cuba, and the rest is history.”
Edmund's story is one of success in the world of media, both as a journalist for the print media and then the broadcast medium of radio.
“He was already establishing the Spanish version of AP,” said Carolyn Chester Lamb, “and he already knew all those people, and so Paley got word of him and who he was, and [William S.] Paley, [ed. the founder of CBS], wanted to compete with NBC, and so he was covering the 1939 Chilean earthquake. [At the same time] he met my beautiful mother, and fell in love with her.”
“The Good Neighbor Policy was coming into place. And there were warnings about World War II going to happen. So anyway, Paley kept trying to hire my father, and my father at the time said ‘no.’ But the final straw was when he said, ‘Look, I heard you found a beautiful Chilean woman that you want to marry. You need to marry her. Come to New York, settle down, and pack your bags for good, and help me with this adventure.’ So that's when all of that started. He got wooed by Paley. I guess Paley made an offer he couldn't refuse, sort of speak, and so that's when he left Latin America and settled down in New York. As soon as he got there, almost, I mean, they were staying at a hotel at the beginning. But as soon as he got there, he started in October. By November, he was on a seven-week trip with Paley, Paley's wife, and also Paul White with CBS.”
As Edmund tired of his work with AP, Bill Paley began to court Edmund into joining the CBS radio network.
In the early 1940s, we find Edmund Chester on a tour of South American capitals. He was accompanied by his new boss, William Paley of the CBS network, and Paley's wife. Their task was to cross the T's and dot the I’s on contracts.
One of Edmund Chester's prize discoveries was the Trio Los Panchos.
Through it all, the intertwined lives of Edmund and Nena Chester was a love story, most often underscored by their favorite love song, “Besame Mucho.”
Carolyn Chester Lamb: “I still remember they would they would see each other… They weren't near each other. She was in the kitchen. He was in the den, and maybe there was people and party went on, and ‘Besame,’ they would dance, and they were in love until the end.”
