DRAUGAS NEWS Lithuanian World Wide News in English

Mary Umans Jakubauskas’s first feature-length documentary film on the Lithuanian DP experience is nearing completion. Her film consists of numerous interviews with Lithuanian Americans. They as children fled Lithuania with their parents in 1944 in the final stages of WWII. Now, adults, her subjects recall what it was like to …

Cooking Lithuanian by Ona Daugirdienė. Christmas Eve or Kūčios is a sacred day. Family members hurry home to be with their loved ones, debts are repaid, neighbors make peace, animals speak at midnight and well water turns to wine. The table for the evening meal is covered with a snowy …

Lithuanian American Community Public Affairs representative Danele Vidutis submitted a report on the October 30th conference held at the Lithuanian Embassy, which was sponsored by the LAC Public Affaris Committee and the Lithuanian American Youth Association. The following is an edited version of her report. MEETING AT THE EMBASSY More than …

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 Jonas Daugirdas. (updated 24 Dec 2018 with section on diphthongs).  PART 1: Pronunciation of consonants d, t, and n. Many children of Lithuanian families who were raised in America pronounce certain consonants when speaking Lithuanian in a way that makes their spoken Lithuanian quickly identifiable as non-native. One little …

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, …