When you think of the most creative people in history, the list goes on and on.  There's Thomas Edison, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Walt Disney to name only a few. In fact, creative people are everywhere and they don't necessarily have to be famous. There's an 82-year old man in McKean who's been expressing his imagination for most of his life. 

His name is David Rastatter. When you visit with him, you don't have to wait long to find examples of his creativity.  You see it when you approach his property on West Road.  He designed and built his house back in the mid-1960s. The house is beautiful in its simplicity. Black and white with a focus on the large slanted roof and vertical windows. It’s very unique.

"It's the only one in the country that I know,” says David."

David did have help from his father-in-law with the construction of the house but he needed no help with the interior decorating. He designed and built the furniture including a very attractive sofa. The cushiony arms and seats do not sit on legs, but on a large slab of smooth dark wood. The piece of wood was hard to find.

"We had to go to Jamestown to a big warehouse there to find that,” remembers David.

The walls inside the house have a Japanese decor and include other examples of David's creativity. The oil paintings on the walls are his work. He signed up for painting lessons a few years ago.

"I went to, I think, only two classes,” he says. “Then I just tried it and improved on my own as I went along."

David now teaches his granddaughters how to paint.  David also has restored some classic antique cars including a '69 El Camino and a '64 Buick Riviera. And yes, there is creativity in restoring classic cars. David has a '58 Chevy Impala. If you look closely, he has installed Cadillac taillights and a Buick grille.  It's that Chevy that's won most of the 80 trophies David has collected at car shows.

"They could give me a slip of paper.  It wouldn't have to be a trophy.  I just enjoy someone's acknowledgment of my accomplishment,” he says.

There’s one more thing. David also has drawn-up three invention ideas he had. They include a design that converts a boat into a camper and a design that turns a station wagon into a camper. None were patented. However, they are examples of a lifetime of creativity by David Rastatter.

David's working career began in the printing business including the printing of large billboards.  He also ran a successful upholstery business from his home.  In later years, he drove a school bus.