Culture

By Gediminas Indreika. Over the many years of creative work in America, Vytautas Kazimieras Jonynas decorated more than 80 buildings, most of which were sacred spaces. His decorative elements were renowned for their originality and imagination. Their expression in stained glass, sculpture and mosaics conferred a distinctiveness and unique character …

Audronė (Audrey) Kižys. Next time you visit Chicago’s historic Bridgeport neighborhood, make it a point to stop in at Bernice’s Tavern. There you will find more than just a shot of Lithuanian history. Located at 3238 S. Hasted St. only a few miles southwest of downtown Chicago, Bridgeport was the …

by Thomas Latour. Karolis Požėla died in Chicago, Illinois in 1954. More than 3,000 people attended his funeral. In the 1930s and 40s, Požėla, better known in the wrestling world as Karl Pojello, was a name recognized around the world and familiar to every Lithuanian in Chicago. He was born …

On October 14 the National Lithuanian American Hall of Fame (NLAHF) will induct four illustrious Lithuanian Americans into its ranks: former President of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus; U.S. Senator Dick Durbin; founder of Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture, Stanley Balzekas Jr.; and philanthropist, statesman, entrepreneur, Juozas Kazickas. The ceremonies together with a celebratory …

Detour: A Side Trip Through Chemotherapy and Poetry evolved from nine months of emails as the author entered the world of Stage IIIB cancer treatment. Starting on her first day of chemotherapy, she describes the process with keen observation and some humor, delving into an arsenal that includes religion, philosophy, …

By Carol Luschas. Between 1864 and 1914, over 400,000 people emigrated from the Baltic region. Pennsylvania became home to one of the largest concentrations of Lithuanians in the United States. Many Lithuanians settled in the small coal mining town of Mahanoy City in northeastern Pennsylvania. As the Lithuanian population grew, …

Tomas Vengris. A boy stares out the window as an old Soviet car rattles over uneven streets. He hears his mother’s voice, recounting her childhood memories: running through endless fields of wildflowers on her father’s beloved estate, swimming in the silver moonlight, dancing under the falling blossoms of the apple …

by Eugenijus Jovaiša. Aestians is the name given to people living to the east and south of the Baltic coast in the general region of Klaipėda by the Roman historian Tacitus. The history of the Aestians or aisčiai, our ancestral people, is a fascinating puzzle full of charming details of …

Rytis Satkauskas. Lithuanian emigration studies usually deal almost exclusively with Europe, the Americas, and Australia, where strong Lithuanian communities were formed over the years. There is, however, the virtually unknown story of a Lithuanian enclave in the Far East, specifically in the City of Harbin in Manchuria. The community had …

Vilius Žalpys. On Oct. 1, 2015, I flew out of Portland, Oregon, to visit with family and friends in Los Angeles, California, and attend the annual Lithuanian Days Festival at St. Casimir’s Parish in LA. I intended to spend the week in and around LA. As I was filling out …