{"id":4392,"date":"2016-12-30T19:07:53","date_gmt":"2016-12-31T01:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/?p=4392"},"modified":"2016-12-30T19:07:53","modified_gmt":"2016-12-31T01:07:53","slug":"dainava-60-years-and-going-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/dainava-60-years-and-going-strong\/","title":{"rendered":"DAINAVA \u2013 60 Years and Going Strong"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aldas Kriau\u010di\u016bnas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Drone
Drone shot of Thorn Lake \u2014 Camp Dainava\u2019s Lake Spyglys. (Photo: Adam Bursua, Dainava 60 Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Within five hours of arriving at Camp Dainava, in Manchester, Mich., to mark the camp\u2019s 60th birthday bash this past Labor Day weekend, I feasted on cold beet soup, joined in singing Lithuanian freedom fighters songs, and waided through thorns and thistles to reach the natural springs feeding the camp\u2019s own Thorn Lake, known as Spyglys.<\/p>\n

In short, it was what I had been anticipating for months. Anyone who has ever been to Dainava will understand what I mean, and will nod in quiet agreement. Therein lies the contrast between my American life and my Lithuanian life \u2013 one is a place where I live and work, and the other is where I thrive. And for almost fifty years, I have thrived with each visit to Dainava. Let me share some of the highlights from this ama\u00adzing celebratory weekend.<\/p>\n

We arrived just before noon on September 3rd and stopped at the \u2018STOK\u2019 sign where three energetic volun\u00adteers checked us in and issued souvenir T-shirts. Soon, we were raising the United States and Lithuanian flags near the dining hall and proceeding to lunch. As expected, Lithuanian soul food was on the menu. We then had a choice of different activities \u2013 swimming, games, chatting, or taking a hike on the nature trail. An old friend of mine, Marius Gra\u017eulis, joined in the hike. Marius and I were part of a team that helped to clear a nature trail in the early 1980s. During the hike we noted a memorial to Pranas Pranckevi\u010dius , a great supporter of the nature trail and an advocate for Dainava\u2019s natural habitat. Pranas passed away in 2015, but his service and dedication to Camp Dainava will long be remembered.<\/p>\n

\"Lukas
Lukas Laniauskas SJ.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Later that afternoon, we had a group sing-along under the sprawling oak at the bottom of the hill. I remember that as a young camper, Masses were often celebrated under this very oak. I was so happy that they provided copies of the words to the songs \u2013 while I mostly remembered all the songs, having the words let me sing with greater confidence. The songs covered a wide range of topics: nature, love, patriotism, youthful optimism, life-long friends…<\/p>\n

From the oak, we made our way up to the Hill of Crosses. Few people may know or remember, that a Hill of Crosses in the late 1970s was started on the other side of the lake, just past the pine forest. It was ultimately decided to establish it at its current location. We gathered there to remember the founders who helped found Camp Dainava. Those in attendance were given a flower or plant stem. As we came foreward we placed the plants in a large basket symbolic of the founders who came together 60 years ago to create this camp.<\/p>\n

In the evening we lowered of the flags and proceeded to a grand dinner (more Lithuanian soul food). We had time to prepare for the evening program.<\/p>\n

I spent the time reading the results of an online survey that the weekend\u2019s organizers had administered in the previous months. The results were printed on large posters and placed on easels for all to see. About two hundred people had responded to the survey and considered various questions focusing on what were the greatest needs for the future of the camp and how should those needs be paid for. The funniest idea (from a young respondent), was to build a water slide\/water park at the lake. The most unexpected serious idea for me was the need to improve the security of the camp during times that kids are camping there. My favorite idea was to install several hot-spots at the camp so that adults would find it easier to stay connected to work while they volunteer at the camp. The most popular idea was the need to improve the bathroom\/shower facilities at the main building, the so-called White House.<\/p>\n

\"New
New campers on the way!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Highlighting the evening program was the Dainava Men\u2019s Ensemble, led by Darius Polikaitis. While I have read about the group before, I never actually heard it. Well, it was worth the wait. They started off with the resounding \u201cRamov\u0117n\u0173 Mar\u0161as\u201d followed with a number of folk and partiotic songs. There was also a Lithuanian version of the Beach Boys hit \u201cCalifornia Girls.\u201d During a break in the program we witnessed a colorful fireworks display from across the lake. The show lasted 15-20 minutes. My father commented that they must have spent a lot of money to bring in professionals for such a show. Turns out he was wrong. Like all the amazing things at Dainava \u2013 the show was put together entirely by volunteers. The second half of the concert had a mix of songs, translated into Lithuanian, and some English songs. Also, what I thought was particularly nice, was that the ensemble invited other, younger musicians to join them on stage. It was a bridging of generations of musicians.<\/p>\n

Sunday also had a packed program. The morning was a review of Dainava: past, current, future. Appropriately, the presentations were done by Juozas Polikaitis (who has been involved with the Camp since its founding) and his daughter Rima Birutien\u0117 (who I have known since we were little kids at the camp) who has headed the Lithuanian Heritage Camp for over 20 years. The historical overview focused on the Camp\u2019s founding and its initial years. Literally hundreds, if not thousands, of people came together and volunteered their time to get the camp established.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cDainava\u201d
\u201cDainava\u201d means \u201cLand of Songs\u201d and, apparently, guitars too!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pranas Baltakis will be remembered as the man who made the lake swimmable. When the camp property was purchased, local experts determined that the lake bottom was too muddy and the sides were too steep to sustain a beach suitable for swimming. Mr. Baltakis was not convinced. So, that winter, he drilled holes through the ice, took samples and measurements, and basically created a three-dimensional model of the lake. With the model he created a plan. His plan was to drain part of the lake, scrape the mud off the edges, make the beach area a more gradual slope, and then put sand down (there was a natural sand pit on the campsite). The experts took a look at the plan and for the second time said it couldn\u2019t be done.<\/p>\n

Like any good Lithuanian, Mr. Baltakis ignored the experts and proceeded with his plan nevertheless. He installed four diesel-powered pumps to lower the water level by nine feet. He lived in a small pup tent for three months to manage the project and keep the pumps operating. The lake le\u00advel fell, the mud dried and was removed, an excavator evened out the steep sides, and sand was brought in. What was called impossible was made possible by a person who cared. And his reward \u2013 the satisfaction of having a beach which has now served us for almost 60 years !<\/p>\n

Vacys Lelis is another person I recall from my younger days. He asphalted the roads in the camp, as previously they had been mere gravel roads. He worked in a road construction company and was able to use the company equipment for the project. I can just imagine the conversation \u201cHey boss \u2013 can I borrow this million dollar asphalt spreading machine for the weekend?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cultural
Cultural evening.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Those and other stories captured how a farm purchased from the University of Michigan by the Lithuanian Roman Catholic Federation of America became the Camp Dainava that we now know and love. What was also interesting is that many of the founders felt that if the camp lasted at least 20-30 years, it would all be worthwhile.<\/p>\n

The annual Member\u2019s Meeting took place that afternoon. Attendance was about 50 individuals \u2013 something not seen in a long time \u2013 with a mix of young and old. The Board of Directors, made up of volunteers, provided an overview of the past year and plans for the future. Some of the plans include implementing the ideas collected by way of the survey. Later in the afternoon, we all came together to celebrate Mass in the pine forest chapel. The celebrant was Fr. Lukas Laniauskas, SJ, who was ordained a priest just over a year ago and celebrated his first Mass at Dainava in June 2015. I had heard many positive remarks about Fr. Lukas, but wondered if this was just hype as he was the first Lithuanian-American Jesuit priest ordained in fifty-plus years. Any doubt was dispelled at the start of his sermon. \u201cClickety-clack,\u201d he said, \u201cclickety-clack.\u201d In our minds, he created the image of a young woman, who looked out the window of a train. As the train moved forward, clickety-clack, clickety-clack, she saw desperate, broken lives roll pass. When she got off the train, she vowed to make a change. That person was Mother Theresa, who on that same day as our Mass \u2013 September 3, 2016 \u2013 was cannonized by the Catholic Church as St. Mother Theresa. Father Lukas asked each of us, through what window do we see the world, what desolation do we see around us, and how are we going to improve what we see?<\/p>\n

The rest of the day included a slide show, a dance, and a wonderful bonfire. While I\u2019ve only mentioned a few people in this overview, I would like to acknowledge the dozens of volunteers (with more names than ever can be mentioned)who came together to make the weekend possible.<\/p>\n

The tradition of volunteering and sacrifice, so vital to the foundation of Camp Dainava, will secure the next 60 years of the camp\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

\"Participants
Participants of Camp Dainava\u2019s 60 year anniversary weekend gathered on the Hill of Crosses to remember the camp\u2019s founders.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Three
Three cousins (from left) Vitas Sirgedas, Eligijus Lelis and Vidas Neverauskas remembered Camp Dainava\u2019s founders with wildflowers. Their parents spent most of their adult lives caring for the camp and now passed the torch to them.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Campers
Campers made their way through thorns and thistles to reach the natural springs that feed Lake Spyglys. Somewhere among them is the article\u2019s author, Aldas Kriau\u010di\u016bnas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"More
More music!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aldas Kriau\u010di\u016bnas. Within five hours of arriving at Camp Dainava, in Manchester, Mich., to mark the camp\u2019s 60th birthday bash this past Labor Day weekend, I feasted on cold beet soup, joined in singing Lithuanian freedom fighters songs, and waided through thorns and thistles to reach the natural springs feeding the camp\u2019s own Thorn Lake, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":4395,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[204,122,68,66,67],"tags":[208],"class_list":["post-4392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-culture","category-diaspora","category-events","category-folk-songs-dance","category-music","tag-kriauciunas-a"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4392"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4418,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4392\/revisions\/4418"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}