History of Our National Anthem ‘Mack’ in McDonald’s of Springfielddraugas.org/news/samplelh.pdf · History of Our National Anthem ‘Mack’ in McDonald’s of Springfield Knitting

In this issue:A Song Fest to Be Remembered

Busy As a Lithuanian BeeHistory of Our National Anthem

‘Mack’ in McDonald’s of SpringfieldKnitting in Lithuania

SUPPLEMENT TO DRAUGAS NEWSSEP / OCT 2015 VOL 3 (S5)

These beehives, carved by Teofilis Patiejūnas and Ipolitas Užkurnis, arefound at the Lithuanian Museum of Ancient Beekeeping in Stripeikiai.

Sculpted Beehives

LithuanianPortraits

September / October 2015 LITHUANIAN HERITAGE 1

FEATURES

A Song Festival to Be Long-Remembered 6by Rimas Černius, with photographs by Jonas Kuprys and Arvydas Zabulionis

A photo album of some of the memorable performances at the 10th North American Lithuanian Song Festival, including the lyrics, with an English translation, to the “Singing Revolution” cantata.

A Day in the Life of a Lithuanian Beekeper 13by Vereta Rupeikaitė

“I eat my peas with honey. I’ve done it all my life. It makes the peastaste funny, but it keeps them on the knife!” (Ogden Nash)

History of Lithuania’s National Anthem 16by Zigmas Tamakauskas

Written in 1898 by Vincas Kudirka, the “Tautiška Giesmė” becamethe official national anthem of Lithuania in 1919, a year after Lithua-nia declared its independence.

20Who Put the ‘Mack’ in McDonald’s of Springfield?by Sandra Baksys

John Makarauskas changed his surname to Mack a full 16 years be-fore he went into fast food. He had no way of knowing he would oneday be the man responsible for bringing “Mack-fries,” “Mack-cheese-burgers” and “Big Macks” to Springfield.

Knitting in Lithuania 24by Donna Druchunas

What makes knitting Lithuanian? Is it the special techniques that areused? A unique way to hold the yarn and needles? Certain combina-tions of colors?

History of Lithuania (Book Review) 28by Donatas Januta

This 327 page book, available online only, is the work of four Lithuan-ian historians that chronicles the country’s history from the first writtenmention of Lithuania’s name in 1009 to membership in the EuropeanUnion in 2004.

Recipes (Baking with Honey) 29

Cover Credits:FRONT and BACK COVERS: 10th Song Festival. Photo by Jonas Kuprys. INSIDE FRONT COVER: Bee Hives at Lithuanian Museum of Ancient Bee-keeping: Photo by Wosyl, Wikimedia Commons.INSIDE BACK COVER: Bill Walton and Fr. Lukas Laniauskas, S.J. Photo byJonas Kuprys. THIS PAGE: Beekeeper. Photo by Kzenon. Shutterstock.

page 6

page 13

page 24

Volume 3, Number S5

Sep / Oct 2015

You have arisen, our homeland, Lietuva!

Those of us who had the opportunity to attend or, even better, toparticipate in the 10th North American Song Festival in Chicagoare still recovering from the unique experience. The four-hour

performance was breathtaking, inspiring, and draining (in a good way).A 90-min video excerpt is available on the Web, thanks to LithuanianRadio and Television, and they promise that a telecast of the entirefour-hour performance will be archived by the time that this issue ofLithuanian Heritage has reached our readers. In this issue we post somespectacular photos from the Song Festival, and one can view many moreon the Draugas News facebook page. We also are publishing the movinglyrics, along with an English translation, to one of the centerpiece com-positions performed at the Festival, the “Singing Revolution” cantata,written by Rugilė Kazlauskaitė.

The Monday after the Song Festival, July 6th, is celebrated as State-hood Day in Lithuania, being the anniversary of the coronation of KingMindaugas in 1253. It has become a tradition for Lithuanians livingabroad, no matter where they might be living, to come together on thisday and sing the national anthem. In downtown Chicago, several hundredLithuanians gathered in a flash mob at Cloud Gate (“The Bean”) nextto Lake Michigan, creating a happening that was given television coverageby Fox News. So, it’s perhaps appropriate that we describe in this issuehow the Lithuanian national anthem came to be written by VincasKudirka, and how its use was revived after the restoration of independ-ence in 1990. In addition to the Lithuanian words and the Englishtranslation posted on the Lithuanian government Web site, we’re pro-viding a slightly modified, singable English version that perhaps stillneeds to be fine-tuned.

Recently two Lithuanian Americans were successful in obtainingcrowdfunding support to help prepare and launch their books. SandraBaksys is a writer-historian whose book chronicles the experiences ofLithuanians in Springfield, Illinois. Donna Druchunas’s book is aboutthe continuing traditions of Lithuanian knitting. Both authors kindlyagreed to write articles about their area of expertise for this issue ofLithuanian Heritage. When I was in Lithuania last year, one of Ona’s rel-atives, Prof. Ramutis Rindzevičius, who happens to be a well-respectedbeekeeper, treated me to some very unique and delicious honey fromhis hives. We’re very happy to present here an article about beekeepingin Lithuania, a blend of the latest science and old traditions.

Jonas Daugirdas, Acting Editor

2 LITHUANIAN HERITAGE September / October 2015

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Lithuanian Heritage is published by the Lithuanian Catholic Press Society (DRAUGAS),4545 W. 63rd Street, Chicago, IL 60629-5532. Lithuanian Heritage is available only as a bi-monthly (six times per year) supplement to Draugas News (http://www.draugasnews.org).Please consult our website or the back page of this magazine for subscription information.Copyright 2015 by the Lithuanian Catholic Press Society.

L A B A S

PUBLISHERLithuanian Catholic Press Society

Chicago, IL

ACTING EDITORJonas Daugirdas

COPY EDITORRita Bureika Kaufmann


Cheesemaking (some tips)I read Ona Daugirdas’ article first

thing when I received my LithuanianHeritage magazine today. Being ahobby cheesemaker myself, I foundit interesting. But I also have a fewhelpful hints. You see, my wife is fromthe Upper Peninsula of Michigan, andwe both enjoy the Finnish freshcheese called juustoa (squeaky cheese).She gets the Finnish American Re-porter and I get your magazine. Therecipes for juustoa are easy and simple,and as old as the hills, yet I had troublemaking it. Over and over again, thecurds came out too grainy and fine.And it never properly “squeaked”when I bit into it after the broilingprocess. I started reading up on howto make cheese and learned to makebrie, blue, Port Salut, cheddar, andmore. This helped me be able to fi-nally make juustoa properly.

1) Do not use homogenizedmilk. The homogenizing processyields a poorly developed curd and itcan become fine grained and falls aparttoo easily. Organic creamline milk isthe best... the kind of milk that sepa-rates the cream on top. 2) Use whole milk. Whole milk is abit more forgiving when makingcheese. After you master it, you canmove to 2%, but never skim milk. 3) You can cheat the process if yourmilk is ice-cold by warming the milkon the stove very gently to roomtemperature, and no warmer. Usea thermometer and stir to avoid over-heating the bottom. 4) Do not skipthe buttermilk. It contains the cul-tures needed to start the process(hence the names “cultured butter-milk” and “cultured sour cream”). 5)Do not be tempted to check theprogress of gelling before Ona’s rec-ommendation of 2 days. 6) Whencutting the curds and separating thewhey, be very very gentle and very

very slow. Like bread, overmixing ru-ins it. And finally, 7) Yes, never uselemon juice or citric acid. If youdo, you might as well boil the milkand make ricotta cheese. The “sour-ing” comes from the cultures that existin the buttermilk and the sour tastecomes from the production of lacticacid as the cultures ferment the milk.

DAN BUTKUSMadison, WI

Editor’s response:Dear Dan:Many thanks for the tip about using ho-mogenized milk. Much of the contro-versy over “raw milk” in the UnitedStates has to do with the possibility(quite low, as I understand it) that un-pasteurized milk might contain danger-ous bacteria. However, pasteurizationhas nothing to do with homogenization,and one can buy pasteurized, but non-homogenized milk. Ifound some locally atour grocery store in theChicago area under theOrganic Valley label:

An example ofpasteurized, nonho-mogenized whole milk.

Japanese graves in SiberiaReading about Chiune Sugihara

made me think of another Japanese-Lithuanian collaboration, that of An-tanas Petrokas, who in 1989 organizedthe Committee “Ad Patria” for the re-moval of remains and social aid toLithuanians deported to the SovietUnion. Mr. Petrokas himself was exiledto the Irkutsk region of Siberia as achild. The Committee organized ex-peditions looking for Lithuanians andtheir remains and assisted relatives inreturning them to Lithuania from var-ious districts of Siberia and from nearthe Arctic Circle. Every summer he

and a group of young people wouldcrisscross the areas where Lithuanianswere sent noting names and locations.

In their travels they also cameacross Japanese graves and similarJapanese searchers. It seems that Japanwas the only other country looking fortheir dead in Siberia, so soon cooper-ation has developed between the twogroups. The Japanese were very grate-ful to Mr. Petrokas for his help andpresented him with a video recorder, avideo player and a television set, thingsthat were beyond his means to buy inthose days in Lithuania. With it he wasthen able to photograph graves andvideotape descendants of deporteesstill living in Russia. Unfortunately Mr.Petrokas died and then conditions inRussia changed, so there are no or-ganized searches any more.

TADAS STOMMATega Cay, SC

Editor’s response: Dear Tadai:Many thanks for this interesting infor-mation. I knew about the searches inSiberia related to deported Lithuanians,but had no idea that similar searcheswere being carried out by the Japanese.I would like to comment on your lastsentence, that organized searches andexpeditions to Siberia have ceased.There are annual expeditions to Siberiabeing organized from Lithuania by the„Misija Sibiras“ group (www.misijasi-biras.lt). This organization began itswork in 2005, and has now organizedno fewer than 12 trips for young Lithua-nians to visit Siberia, to meet withLithuanians and persons of Lithuaniandescent still living there, and to helppreserve and care for gravesites ofLithuanians who perished there.

We welcome letters and commentsfrom our readers. Please address cor-respondence to: Lithuanian Heritage,c/o Draugas News, 4545 W 63rd St.,Chicago, IL 60629; Fax: 773-585-8284.email: [email protected] Include your full name, address, andtelephone number or email address. Letters may be edited for space or clarity.


As of this Fall, the Republic ofLithuania has a new ambassador tothe United States. His ExcellencyRolandas Kriščiūnas is from thecity of Panevėžys. He studied Busi-ness Informatics at Vytautas MagnusUniversity in Kaunas, then com-pleted European Union Studies atthe Hague. He completed Master‘sStudies in Economic Sciences atOhio University and ManagementStudies at the Swedish Institute inStockholm. His work experiencewas mostly in Economic Analysisand Finance. Here’s hoping he cangenerate a lot of new overseas in-vestment in Lithuania and helpmaintain critical U.S. support duringthese uncertain political times.

Vilma Mazaite is a sommelier. Foryou beer drinkers who don’t knowwhat a sommelier is, he or she is anemployee of a restaurant with ex-tensive knowledge of wine and foodpairings, and who usually orders andmaintains stocks of wines at high-end restaurants. Vilma currentlyworks at laV, a French-themedrestaurant in Austin, Texas, “inspiredby Provence,” which has been

named one of “America’s 100 BestWine Restaurants” by Wine Enthusi-ast magazine. Vilma was recentlywritten up by the New York Timesblog in July 8 of this year, where shewas quoted as remarking, “Once youhave something really good that youhadn’t before, you remember every-thing that happened around it: withwhom you drank it, when you drankit. I don’t think any other beveragedoes that. A cocktail will never dothat.” At the restaurant, Vilma hostscourses, for women only, where theycan sample new varieties and flavors.This year, she was named one ofFood & Wine magazine’s “Somme-liers of the Year.”

Vaidas Šukys opened his Lithua-nia-themed restaurant in the SanFrancisco area, in Alameda, CA, inOctober of 2013. He was the sub-ject of a feature article in DraugasNews in January of 2014. Cabbagerolls, cold beet soup, and cepelinaiare among the signature dishesserved. Vaidas told Draugas News,“The idea was that the design anddecor would take you straight to OldVilnius, into one of the old town

squares. One wall is made of hori-zontal one-cut wooden boards, theother wall is made of bricks; towardsthe kitchen is a mural with a detailof Vilnius’ Old Town and on theother side is a wooden bar decoratedwith an old wheel from a horse car-riage.” The restaurant has becomea frequent meeting place for SanFrancisco area Lithuanians.

On June 19th, Vytautas Žalys, Lithua-nia’s ambassador to Canada, be-stowed the Knight’s Cross of Ged-iminas on Gabija Juozapavičiūtė Petrauskienė for her services to Lithuania. What did Gabija do to de-serve this august honor? She was the Chair of the Lithuanian Canadian Community in 1991-92. At that time, along with Vytautas Bireta, she organized a funding drive to raise a million dollars to help the newly resurgent Lithuanian republic. The money was used for various projects including buying and furnishing a building in Brussels to house Lithuania’s repre-

Vilma Mazaite (twitter.com/vmazaite)

Vaidas Šukys and the Mama Papa Lithuan-ian Restaurant and Tea House. (demenis-photography.com)

Gabija Juozapavičiūtė Petrauskienė

Rolandas Kriščiūnas (usa.mfa.lt)


sentatives and financing trips toNorth America by Vytautas Lands-bergis, Chair of the reactivatedLithuanian Seimas (parliament) andGediminas Vagnorius, ParliamentChair at the time. Funds were spentto provide equipment to ensure thecontinuing ability of Lithuania tocommunicate with the outside worldin the event of a feared blockade, aswell as to support the minting of litascoins enabling a prompt changeoverto the new national currency. In 1991Gabija was appointed as a consultantto Lithuania’s prime minister, and, to-gether with the Canada InternationalDevelopment Agency, she prepareda plan designed to strengthen the ad-ministrative capabilities of the newgovernment. On a personal note, I(Jonas Daugirdas) still rememberGabija in her role of organizing the3rd and 4th World Youth AssociationCongresses in South America (1975-76) and in Europe (1979), both ofwhich I attended.

Dr. Agnia Grigas is an energy andpolitical risk expert, specializing inRussia, Eastern Europe and thepost-Soviet space. She is the authorof “The Politics of Energy andMemory between the Baltic Statesand Russia” (Ashgate 2013) and afrequent media contributor (CNN,CCTV, Forbes, Bloomberg, Reuters,BBC, The New York Times, The Huff-ington Post). Ms. Grigas is a fellowat the McKinnon Center for Global

Affairs at Occidental College. Sherecently (9/17/2014) coauthored anarticle in Forbes magazine on “FiveRussian Myths that have HelpedPutin Win in Ukraine.”

Marius Markevicius,who was re-sponsible for bringing “The OtherDream Team” to the big screen, isnow working on a film based on thebest selling novel by Ruta Sepetys,“Between Shades of Grey”. Pub-lished in more than 40 countries and26 languages, “Between Shades ofGray” tells the story of a 15-year-old aspiring artist who is deported

to Siberia during Stalin's cleansingof the Baltic region during WWII.As detailed by the Hollywood Re-porter, Markevicius said, “It’s amaz-ing that the atrocities of Stalin andthe Siberian mass deportations arestill a relatively unknown and untoldpart of history. We hope to changethat with this film. I'm also thrilledto once again collaborate with BenYork Jones on this adaptation. Benhas an incredible ability to captureraw emotion and young love in hiswriting, and those two elements willbe the key drivers in our film.”

The Baku European Games tookplace recently (June 2015) in Baku,Azerbaijan, and included 6,000 ath-letes from 50 countries, competingin 20 sports. Lithuanians took homeno less than 7 medals: 2 golds, 1 sil-ver, and 4 bronze. The gold medal-

ists were Henrikas Žustautas andAndrius Šidlauskas.

Baku European Games, June 2015.

Henrikas Žustautas. Gold medal: CanoeSprint. (FB/zustautas1)

Andrius Šidlauskas. Gold medal: 50 m.breastroke.

Andrius Šidlauskas. (photo by VytautasDranginis / LTOK)Agnia Grigas, PhD

Marius Markevicius (indiewire.com)


A Song Festival to BeLong-Remembered

Lithuanian song festivals in North America arespecial and rare events. The first one took placein Chicago’s Coliseum in 1956. This year the

10th Lithuanian Song Festival took place at the UICPavilion in Chicago on July 5th. It was a truly festiveevent. Memories of the festival will linger with singers

and audience members alike for a long time. Thanks tophotographers Jonas Kuprys and Arvydas Zabulionis,here are some memorable moments from a very specialsong festival. You can view a 90-minute extract filmedby Lithuanian Radio and Television at this link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8eT1XCTzz0

by Rimas Černius with photos by Jonas Kuprys and Arvydas Zabulionis

Young Lithuanians dressed in traditional national costumes get ready to present the flags. (Photo by J. Kuprys)


All

rise

as t

he f

lags

of

the

Uni

ted

Sta

tes

of A

mer

ica,

Can

ada

and

Lith

uani

a en

ter

the

UIC

Pav

ilion

. (P

hoto

by

A. Z

abulio

nis

)

Clo

se

to

1,40

0si

nger

s fr

om a

tot

alof

65

chor

al g

roup

sca

me

to s

ing

at t

heF

estiv

al.

The

y tr

av-

eled

from

all

part

s of

the

Uni

ted

Sta

tes

and

Can

ada,

pl

usth

ere

was

one

gro

upfr

om

Eng

land

an

dfiv

e gr

oups

fr

omLi

thua

nia.

T

he a

u-di

ence

was

abl

e to

get

a cl

oser

loo

k at

the

sing

ers

than

ksto

a

larg

e sc

reen

that

sho

wed

stre

am-

ing

vide

o of

the

per-

form

ers.

(P

hoto

by

J. K

upry

s)

The

chi

ldre

n’s

chor

us to

ok a

n ac

tive

part

in th

e F

estiv

al.

Dre

ssed

in te

e-sh

irts

with

the

mas

cots

of t

he F

estiv

al–o

rang

e an

d ye

llow

bird

s ni

ckna

med

Mel

ody

and

Rhy

thm

–the

chi

ldre

n le

t th

eir

voic

es b

e he

ard.

(P

hoto

by

J. K

upry

s)


Two

solo

ists

fro

m L

ithua

nia

brou

ght

thei

r ar

tistr

y to

the

son

g fe

stiv

al.

Sho

wn

here

, sin

ger R

asa

Ser

ra a

nd m

usic

ian

Sau

lius

Pet

reik

is p

erfo

rm a

Lith

uani

an fo

lkso

ng "

Vaik

štin

ėjo

Tėvu

lis"

("M

y D

ear

Dad

Was

Wal

king

").

(P

hoto

by

J. K

upry

s)

Sol

oist

s R

asa

Ser

ra a

nd R

ima

Biru

tienė

joi

n th

e ch

orus

for

the

son

g “L

ek’

Gerv

ė”

("T

he C

rane

").

(Photo

by

A. Z

abulio

nis

)

Con

duct

or R

aim

onda

s K

atin

as f

rom

Lith

uani

a le

ads

the

chor

us i

n th

e so

ng "

Pa

da

inu

osi

m M

es

Sust

oję

"("

We

Will

Sin

g S

tand

ing

Up"

). H

ere

he c

omm

ands

the

chor

us (

and

the

audi

ence

too)

to li

edo

wn

like

little

bird

s.

Thi

s w

as o

ne o

f se

vera

l so

ngs

whe

re t

he a

udie

nce

was

abl

e to

sin

g al

ong.

(Photo

by

J. K

upry

s)


The

art

of

acco

rdio

npl

ayin

g w

as a

live

and

wel

l at

th

e F

estiv

al.

Sis

ter

Ignė

Mar

ijoši

ūtė

wel

com

es

a pa

rade

of

acc

ordi

onis

ts w

ho

acco

mpa

nied

the

cho-

rus

in

a m

edle

y of

cam

p so

ngs.

(P

ho

tobyJ

. Kupry

s)

The

Fes

tival

hon

ored

par

tisan

s w

ho g

ave

thei

r liv

es fi

ghtin

g fo

r Lith

ua-

nia’

s fr

eedo

m.

The

cho

rus

sang

the

song

"P

art

izano M

irtis

" ("

Dea

thof

the

Par

tisan

").

The

mus

ic w

as b

y F

aust

as S

trol

ia, a

bel

oved

cho

ir-m

aste

r w

ho p

asse

d aw

ay la

st D

ecem

ber.

Vio

linis

t R

ūta

Pak

štai

tė-

Col

e, a

ccor

dion

ist

Rim

as P

olik

aitis

and

rec

orde

r pl

ayer

Sau

lius

Pe-

trei

kis

acco

mpa

nied

the

song

. (P

hoto

by

J. K

upry

s)

The

sec

ond

part

of t

he F

estiv

al s

how

case

d th

e w

orld

pre

mie

re o

f a fi

ve-p

art c

anta

ta D

ain

uoja

nti

Revo

liuci

ja: "

Li-

etuv

a, T

u P

risik

ėlei

su

Dai

na!"

(The

Sin

ging

Rev

olut

ion

"Lith

uani

a, Y

ou H

ave

Aris

en w

ith a

Son

g!")

. The

com

pose

rw

as K

ęstu

tis D

augi

rdas

. T

he w

ords

wer

e by

Rug

ilė K

azla

uska

itė.

The

can

tata

was

illu

stra

ted

with

live

cho

reog

-ra

phy

and

scen

es p

roje

cted

on

the

jum

botr

on s

cree

n.

Her

e, c

ondu

cted

by

Kęs

tutis

Dau

gird

as,

the

cant

ata

begi

ns b

y de

pict

ing

a m

ajor

pub

lic a

nti-S

ovie

t mee

ting

that

took

pla

ce in

Lith

uani

a on

Aug

ust 2

3, 1

987,

nex

t to

the

mon

umen

t to

Ada

m M

icki

ewic

z in

Viln

ius.

(P

hoto

by

A. Z

abulio

nis

)


SINGING REVOLUTION “Lietuva, You Have Arisen with a Song!”Music: Kęstutis Daugirdas Lyrics: Rugilė Kazlauskaitė; Translation: Jonas DaugirdasI. Such long years of torment August 23, 1987Such long years of torment, heads bowed in suffering,In darkness and fear the nation survived,Doors locked up tightly, everyone frightened,Now softly roused by liberty’s cry.Deep in our hearts comes a trembling,There where still bleed the motherland’s wounds, The motherland’s wounds, the motherland’s wounds.The death and demise of our mothers and fathers, A truth frozen cold and stopped on our lips. But on the wind aloft a song is turning,Marija, your radiance streams from Heaven above.This hymn rends asunder the chains forged from false-hoods,Marija, protect against this terrible foe, this terrible foe.Such long years of torment, such long years of torment.II. To the morrow in hope we lift our gazeAugust 23, 1988In earth scarred by fire and ruination, oak trees growingonce again.Gagged and stilled, in oppression once silenced, gaggedand stilled, Voices ring no longer constrained.To the morrow, in hope we lift our gaze,Waiting for morning, to sweep the night away,And our homeland, we feel her once again, a joy in ourheart.A fence of steel, a wall made of iron, are overturned byvaliant song.The time has come to bury forever, this page of historyunduly prolonged.To the morrow, in hope we lift our gaze, Waiting for morning, to sweep the night away,And our homeland, we feel her once again, a joy in ourheart.Deep in our hearts comes a tremblingAs we give voice to our fatherland’s name,Lietuva, Lietuva, Lietuva.The moment is near, the time fast approaching, For each one of us to take up our role.All the world’s countries must know this: Pathway to freedom−our solemn goal!III. Balts on a pathway to freedomAugust 23, 1989Balts on a pathway, pathway to freedom, Balts on a pathway, pathway to freedom.Wake from sleep, o Baltija. Balts on a pathway, pathway to freedom, Baltija, arm in arm, hand in hand, arm in arm.

DAINUOJANTI REVOLIUCIJA “Lietuva, Tu Prisikėlei su Daina!”Kęstučio Daugirdo muzika Rugilės Kazlauskaitės žodžiai I. Tiek metų kentėta 1987 m. rugpjūčio 23 d.Tiek metų kentėta galvą nulenkus,Tiek metų tamsoj gyveno tauta.Baimė duris buvo užtrenkus,Bet tyliai bunda laisvės dvasia.Ligi gelmių suvirpa mūs širdys,Ten dar kraujoja tėvynės žaizda, tėvynės žaizda, tėvynėsžaizda.Apie tėvų kančią ir mirtį lai nesudrebės ant lūpų tiesa.Vėjai skraidina pirmą dainą, Marija, tu švieti aukštai iš dangaus.Per giesmę sutraukytos melo grandinės, Marija, apgink mus nuo priešo baisaus, nuo priešobaisaus.Tiek metų kentėta, tiek metų kentėta.II. Į rytojų keliame akis 1988 m. rugpjūčio 23 d. Šiandien iš šios išdegintos žemės naujai užaugo ąžuolai,Tylinčioj, priespaudos menėj, tylinčioj, vėlei suskambomūsų balsai.Į rytojų keliame akis, tikime baigias, baigias jau naktis,Ir tėvynę vėlei atradau savo širdy.Tų geležinių sienų galybę drąsi daina galėtų nuverst.Skaudų istorijos lapą laikas artėja amžiams užverst.Į rytojų keliame akis, tikime baigias, tikime baigias jaunaktis,Ir tėvynę vėlei atradau savo širdyj.Į rytojų keliame akis, tikime baigias, baigias jau naktis, Ir tėvynę vėlei atradau savo širdyj.Ligi gelmių suvirpa mūs širdys, tariame vardą Lietuvos.Lietuva, Lietuva, Lietuva, Lietuva, Lietuva.Laikas artėja, laikas artėja, neišsiginsim savo dalios.Visas pasaulis tegirdi: Kelias į laisvę–tautos valia!III. Baltijos kelias 1989 m. rugpjūčio 23 d.Baltijos kelias, kelias į laisvę.Baltijos kelias, kelias į laisvę. Bunda jau Baltija,Baltijos kelias, kelias į laisvę.Bunda jau Baltija, rankoje ranka.Bunda jau Baltija, rankoje ranka.Broli, sese, stovim už laisvę.Stovim už laisvę, stovim už laisvę, laisvę, laisvę,Baltijos kelias, kelias į laisvę.IV. Tu prisikėlei 1990 m. kovo 11 d.Tu prisikėlei, Tėvyne Lietuva, pražydusi ieva. Pakirsta, sužeista, kaip pavasaris balta.Tave išvydau, tu liejiesi upe, galinga ir šventa,Atkovota, sulaukta, trispalvė vėliava!Pragydo tauta didybės šviesoje, šviesoje.Aš giedu tavyje, atgimus Lietuva, Lietuva.


V. Tikėkime vienas kitu 1991 m. sausio 13 d.Tamsus debesis apgaubė dangų, baimė užtvindė gatves.Nejaugi su dundančia armija tankų tėvynę atims išmanęs?Beginklė ant sniego prieš vėtras nakties į aikštes išeinatauta.Prieš aidinčius šūvius tik žodžiai giesmės, prieš tankųpabūklus malda.Praplėšia naktį mirtis klykdama, sniegą nudažo krauju.Broliai stovėkit kaip stovi tauta, tikėkime vienas kitu,tikėkime!Lietuva, Lietuva, Lietuva, Lietuva...Tikėkime, broli, tikėkime, sese, tikėkime, tikėkime vienaskitu.Lietuva, Lietuva, tu prisikėlei, tu prisikėlei. Te stiprybę semia tavo sūnūs iš praeities, iš praeities.Tėvyne Lietuva, tėvyne Lietuva, tu prisikėlei, galingašventa!Tu prisikėlei, tu prisikėlei, tu prisikėlei su daina. Su daina!

Wakening, o Baltija, hand in hand, arm in arm.Brother, sister, stand up for freedom.Stand up for freedom, freedom, freedom.Balts on a pathway, pathway to freedom.IV. You have arisen, our homeland LietuvaMarch 11, 1990You have arisen, our homeland, Lietuva, a tree in glori-ous bloom.Axed and tarred, bent and scarred, like springtime, white anew.I felt you streaming, a river’s surging flow, so sacred, proud and strong.And our flag, battled for, long awaited ours once more. Erupting in song, in greatness and in light. I sing as part of you, reborn, o Lietuva, Lietuva.V. Let’s believe in each other January 13, 1991 Gloom and black clouds, roll over the sky and terror floods into the streets.Don’t tell me this thundering convoy of tanks, Will be taking my country from me!Unarmed in the snow in the dark stormy night, Comes the nation defending the square.With brave songs and hymns against whirling black shells, and with prayers against turrets of tanks.The night air is rended with screeches of death, The snow painted scarlet with blood.Brothers, stand up, as one nation arise; Believe in each other again, believe we can!Lietuva, Lietuva, Lietuva...Believe, O brother; believe, O sister; Believe in each other again, Believe we can, believe we can...Lietuva, Lietuva, you have arisen, you have arisen. From your past, your sons draw strength.Our homeland, Lietuva, our nation, Lietuva, You have arisen, sacred and proud!You have arisen, you have arisen, with a song. With a song!

The cantata honored the 14 Lithuanians killed on January 13,1991, when Russian soldiers and tanks tried to suppress Lithuanianindependence. (Photo by J. Kuprys)

The cantata commemorated the Baltic Way. On (August 23, 1989)almost 2.5 million people joined hands to form a human chain thatstretched from Lithuania through Latvia and Estonia - a living sym-bol of Baltic solidarity in their struggle for freedom. As the Festivalchorus sang, dancers and stage actors joined hands to form theirown Baltic Way in the UIC pavilion. (Photo by J. Kuprys)


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The humble bee, with its com-plex way of life and its sim-ple relationship with man,

has held fascination for millenia.This is especially true for anyonewho has a drop of Lithuanian bloodin his veins, because bees, beekeep-ing and honey are inseparable partsof our culture and cuisine since thetimes of our forefathers.

Ancient Lithuanian folklore haspreserved many riddles and proverbsabout bees such as: “a lady sits inthe dark house, she weaves withouta loom or heddles,” “a family ofthousands eats less than one man,”“hard work yields sweet fruit,” “hewho loves bees is loved by God.”The evocative Lithuanian word biči-ulis is derived from the word bitė(bee). It connotes not simply afriend, but someone with whom youhave a special camaraderie and rela-tionship. Beekeepers had very specialrelationships with one another. Ifbees left your hive and swarmedonto your neighbor’s property, youhad the option of asking for theirreturn. A beekeeper who graciouslyallowed his bees to depart, forgedan eternal comradeship or bičiulystėwith his neighbor. Even historicalanimosities were known to dissolvewith these “gifts” of bees. Theproverbial generosity of bees andtheir honey becomes replicated inthe generous and kind behavior ofneighbors.

Perhaps bičiulystė should de-scribe the attachment between manand bee as well. Beekeepers are pas-sionate—they love their bees. And

who knows, perhaps bees, who havecomplex communication and orga-nizational systems, love their mastersas well? The author has heard of acase where the beekeeper died, andthe bees left the hive and swarmedonto his grave, as if accompanyinghim on his final journey.

A Long Journey to Lithuania The honeybee is a highly sophis-

ticated insect that evolved from acarnivorous wasp over millions ofyears. It is likely that the proto-beeoriginated in the Far East, southernAsia, and Africa with the earliestrecorded bee found in Myanmar, en-cased in amber and dated to be 100million years old. According to JonasBalžekas, son of a famous beekeeperand head of the Apiculture sectionof the Agricultural Institute of theLithuanian Center for Agrarian and

Forestry Studies, "modern" honey-bees spread into Europe fairly re-cently—after the last ice age, about10,000 years ago. How they arrivedfrom those warm far-off lands toreach and prosper in northern Eu-rope has many explanations. Sufficeit to say, that it is a testament to thelittle bee’s tenacity and adaptibilityover millions of years.

Bees in Lithuania are first men-tioned in 13th century chronicles.As Jonas Balžekas recounts, the an-cient territory of Lithuania was cov-ered with lush forests and a greatdiversity of plants. Hives as we knowthem were not yet being used ashousing for bees. Cavity-nesting beeswould use tree hollows to live in,build their honeycombs and collecthoney. Beekeepers marked drevės(tree hollows) and according to ac-cepted practices of the day, har-

Beekeeper Jonas Balžekas inspecting his hives.

A Day in the Life of a

Lithuanian Beekeeperby Vereta Rupeikaitė

vested honey from the hives. Un-fortunately, this opportunisticmethod of beekeeping destroyed thebees. Once the honey had been har-vested, the bees were left with inad-equate food and shelter for the on-coming winter and did not survive.

Loss of the Forest BeesFor many hundreds of years,

Lithuanian bees were forest bees. Asthe ancient forests were cut downover the centuries, new plant cul-tures appeared, drastically changingthe natural environment. Withchanging conditions, the localLithuanian bee, also known as theDark European honeybee, didn'tadapt well and became unproduc-tive. Lithuanian beekeepers startedto prefer bees imported from othercountries. Bees were brought in

from Italy, Serbia, Ukraine, the Cau-casus countries, Carpathian moun-tain regions and other locations. Bee-keepers quickly noticed that thesebees were less aggressive and simplerto work with, but this conveniencecame at a cost to natural selectionand genetic diversity.

Introduction to ApicultureThe bee family consists of one

queen bee, the motinėlė (literally: lit-tle mother), approximately 1,000male tranai (drones) and 80,000 fe-male darbininkės (worker) bees.These are the numbers at summer’speak, although by wintertime only15,000 - 20,000 worker bees are left.The drones’ fate is even sadder. Bee-keeper Jonas Balžekas describes theharsh reality of their lives: “Thedrones are only needed to fertilizethe queen, then they are expelledfrom the hive and die of starvation.”

The queen stays in the hive ex-cept for one or two times during theseason when she leaves to becomefertilized by multiple drones. Thesperm is stored and continually usedto fertilize up to 2,000 eggs a day.These eggs hatch into worker bees(drones develop from unfertilizedeggs). Beekeeper Balžekas explains:“The queen is like an egg-laying fac-tory. Of course, if the bees becometoo numerous, there is not enoughroom in the hive and the queen de-cides to leave. The majority of thebees swarm away with her. This oc-currence is very unprofitable for thebeekeeper because it leaves the hivewith an unfertilized queen and veryfew bees. That year, honey produc-tion is practically zero.”

Even though a queen bee canlive for up to five years, the currentrecommendation is to replace herevery two years. Jonas Balžekas hasa very simple prescription: “Youcatch the queen and, in her place,you put in a newly bred one." Butwhere to get a new queen, you mightask?

The Miracle of Modern

ScienceBeekeeper Jonas Balžekas re-

lates: “For 13 years I have been sit-ting at a microscope, artificiallybreeding bees in a laboratory. Ifbreeding occurs naturally outdoors,artificially achieved desirable beecharacteristics can be easily lost.When a bee couples with unknowndrones, her purity vanishes. I wantto provide beekeepers with accli-mated, productive queen bees.”

Jonas Balžekas learned the deli-cate art of bee insemination in theUnited States. “About 25 years agoI visited a genetics laboratory inLouisiana and studied with Profes-sor John Harbo. My uncle, Monsi-gnor Simonas Morkūnas, providedfunds to buy equipment for my workin Lithuania. In a few years I wassuccessfully breeding bees and wassoon invited to work in Switzer-land,” the beekeeper recalls. Sincereturning from Switzerland in 2002,he has dedicated himself to this spe-cial science.

Likely the only bee-breeder inLithuania, he raises an average of1,300 queen bees during a single sea-son! “A juvenile bee can mature intoeither a worker bee or a queen bee.The worker bee larva is fed royaljelly for three days, but the queen isfed this very concentrated, potentfood for the entire growth period.This determines its evolution into aqueen and is the reason for its dis-tinctive size,” explains the specialist.

Competing with Chinese

HoneyTo the apiarists delight, beekeep-

ing is experiencing a renaissance inLithuania. Interest in this ancientskill is spreading and beehives areseen gracing many homesteads. In-terestingly, despite most Lithuanians’fierce preference for all things home-grown, a significant amount ofhoney is being imported. To no


A family of cavity-nesting bees. (www.real-beekeeping.com)

Working in his home laboratory, JonasBalžekas has bred thousands of bees.

one’s surprise, much of it comesfrom China. Sometimes cheaptrumps patriotism...

Local honey production is verysuccessful and reaches about 2,000tons per season. So while someLithuanians choose inexpensive for-eign honey for themselves, Lithuaniastill exports about 500 tons of deli-cious (and more expensive) honey toEuropean countries and to America.

Passing the Bee-keeping

TorchJonas Balžekas learned the art

of beekeeping from his father, adoctor of biomedicine, and hopesthat his own son Jonas will share his

life experiences and take over hiswork. It seems there is an unspokentradition among beekeepers that api-culture skills and knowledge are notso much taught as shared, and newconverts are often made by simpleexposure to the master’s enthusiasm.Ramutis Rindzevičius is such anapostle. By profession Ramutis is ascientist and associate professor atKaunas Technological Universityand a close friend of Jonas Balžekas.Both of their fathers were bičiuliaiand beekeepers, and now he himselfis a dedicated beekeeper.

A Lifelong Passion Ramutis Rindzevičius began

beekeeping in 1971, when he com-pleted his university studies. But thework was familiar to him from child-hood. He would help his father withthe hives. “I would carry the honey-comb frames, collect the honey. Thebees are docile now: they don’t stinglike the old species used to,” Rindze-vičius smiles, recalling his childhoodnear Kėdainiai. He then explains thatsmoke blown near the beehiveserves to minimize the chance ofstings from even peaceable strainsof bees. Smoke causes the bees tofeel danger, so they hurry and suckup as much honey as they can. “It ishard for a bee to curl up on a fullstomach, and bees that are not

curled up cannot sting. That is whyblowing smoke at a beehive is a wayto protect yourself against beestings. Similarly, the bees inside aswarm are not aggressive, becausein preparation for relocation theyhave also loaded up with honey andcannot curl up,” the beekeeper sayswith a big smile.

When Ramutis began beekeep-ing independently, he got his firstthree bee families from his father.He would go into the forests andheaths with Jonas Balžekas, Sr.where the hives were temporarilymoved to take advantage of seasonalblooming. “You get up in the morn-ing, decide to get some honey, openthe hive, slice off a chunk of hon-eycomb from the very middle andeat it. The bees ‘sew up’ that holevery quickly,” the beekeeper sharesa sweet memory.

Ramutis regrets that new bee-keepers face a stiff learning curve.Currently, there is no specialty train-ing program for beekeepers inLithuania. “If someone decides tobecome a beekeeper, he has to learnon his own by consulting other ex-perienced beekeepers, attending var-ious workshops, reading books.” Butmodern-day beekeepers have oneimportant advantage that the apiaristof the past did not. It used to be aminor tragedy if the queen motinėlėdied or was lost when the hiveswarmed. Now Ramutis and otherenthusiasts can rely on the expertiseof Jonas Balžekas to provide themwith replacement ‘pure-bred’ queenbees.

Beekeeping is one of the oldestcrafts in Lithuania. It has roots inancient traditions, it binds with thedeep ties of bičiulystė, and it featuresthe most unassuming of God’s crea-tures that generously reward us witha bit of sweet paradise.


The smoker is being prepared by Ramutisfor use on a hive.

Ramutis Rindzevičius may have spent his life in academia, but it’s obvious where hisheart lies.

Photos by Vereta Rupeikaitė except asmarked.


The History of Lithuania’sNational Anthem

The word himnas, which iswhat Lithuanians call their na-tional anthem, comes from

the Greek word hymnos, a holy andsolemn song used to worship thegods in ancient times. Here we willfocus on Lithuania’s current anthem,while mentioning songs that at onetime or another were possible candi-dates for national anthem status.

More than a century ago, theneed for a Lithuanian national an-them was satisfied by the first lineof Adam Mickewicz’s epic poemPan Tadeusz: “Lithuania, my home-land, you are dearer to me thanhealth…” During the years whenthe Lithuanian press was banned[1864 – 1904], a song by AntanasBaranauskas – “Nu Lietuva, nu Dau-guva” – was very popular. This songsounded like a national anthem. Itencouraged love of the homelandand burned with hatred for the czarand for russification with the words,“Anei rašto, anei druko mums turėt ne-duoda…” (“They won’t let us haveanything written, nor anythingprinted…”) Young people sang thissong with great enthusiasm, as thewriter Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantasnoted. The czarist government con-sidered this song to be hostile to thestate and tried to ban it. Then anappeal was made to the Lithuanianpoet Maironis to write new wordsto the same melody, so that the gov-ernment censors would not find itobjectionable. That is how the pop-ular poem by Maironis called “EinaGarsas” (“A Call to Arms is Sound-ing”) came into being.

Vincas Pietaris, the author ofthe well-known historical novel Al-

gimantas, suggested that the psalmof David – “Dievas Galybių su Mu-mis!” (“The God of hosts is withus!”) – be turned into a national an-them. The hymn “Marija, Marija”was also very popular with the peo-ple. The composer Česlovas Sas-nauskas wrote the music, and thewords were by Maironis. In our timeHis Holiness Pope John Paul II es-pecially liked this hymn.

Another poem that was a possi-ble candidate for Lithuania’s nationalanthem was “Kur Bėga Šešupė”(“Where Flows the Šešupė”) byMaironis. Česlovas Sasnauskas andAleksandras Kačanauskas wrote themusic for this poem. It containedthe expressive and patrioticline,“Pirmyn į kovą už tėvynę, užbrangią žemę Lietuvos!” (“Forwardinto battle for the homeland, for thedear land of Lithuania!”) This songeven had a subtitle that said, “Lithua-nia’s National Anthem.” The songcalled “Jaunimo Giesmė” (“The Songof Youth”) composed by JuozasNaujalis was also very popular. Ithad the line, “Užtrauksim naujągiesmę, broliai, kurią jaunimastesupras!” (“Brothers, let’s sing a newsong, that only the young will un-derstand!”).

The song “Lietuva Brangi”(“Dear Lithuania”), with music byJuozas Naujalis, was especially pop-ular during the years of Soviet oc-cupation. It became a substitute forthe national anthem of Lithuania.The song had been banned, but dur-ing the so-called “thaw” of theKhrushchev era, members of theUniversity of Vilnius chorus sang itlegally for the first time on a concert

stage. From then on, as it was beingsung, people would stand up out ofrespect for their homeland. Whenwe were students at the University,we encouraged people to sing it dur-ing social gatherings. This song lefta particularly strong impression oneveryone in the autumn of 1956, inthe context of the Hungarian revo-lution. During an evening event wehad organized, after a speaker haddeclaimed excerpts from the poem“Jaunoji Lietuva” (“Young Lithua-nia”), which contained the words“Jau slavai sukilo…” (“Now theSlavs have revolted…”), we joinedhands and warmly and supportivelysang “Lietuva brangi.”

A poem by Jurgis Sauerveinasentitled, “Lietuvininkai Mes EsamGimę” (“Lithuanians We WereBorn”), became a national hymn aswell. It was published in 1879 in aKlaipėda newspaper called Lietu-viškas Ceitungas. With some editorialchanges, this poem (set to music by

Zigmas Tamakauskas

Sheet music featuring the national anthem(Lietuvos Hymnas).

Stasys Šimkus) is now called the na-tional anthem of Lithuania Minor.

Vincas Kudirka in describing hissong, “Tautiška Giesmė” (“Nationalhymn”), said prophetically that hehad written an anthem for Lithua-nians. The “National hymn” wassung for the first time when VincasKudirka was close to dying. Thatwas on November 13, 1899, duringa concert in St. Petersburg held as afund-raiser for Lithuanian students.A year later, Kazys Grinius, a goodfriend of Vincas Kudirka, referredto the hymn as a national anthem inthe press. He sought to propagate itat family gatherings and variousmeetings. People would stand whilesinging this hymn, as is proper for anational anthem. The hymn wassung at a special concert on the eveof the first session of the Congressof Vilnius. It received an especiallyenthusiastic reception, and it re-ceived the respect appropriate for anational anthem. The chorus, underthe direction of the composer MikasPetrauskas, had to perform thehymn several times. In 1906 sheetmusic published at the behest ofcomposer Antanas Kačanauskas re-ferred directly to the national an-them or hymn of Lithuania. Thetitle was, “Lietuvių Hymnas. Žodžiaiir melodija V. Kudirkos. Fortepijonuipriruošė A. Kačanovskis.” (“TheLithuanian Hymn. Words and musicby V. Kudirka. Piano part preparedby A. Kačanovskis.”). The old sym-bol of national sovereignty - theVytis - decorated the cover of thepublication.

The singing of the Lithuaniannational anthem had a big impacton people in all parts of Lithuania.The Lithuanian writer Žemaitė de-scribed that impact in an article en-titled “Kanklės” published in Vilniusin 1907:

...a group of Lithuanians begansinging together, and everyone in theroom stood up in unison because it wasthe national Lithuanian anthem that

was being sung. The melody grabbedeveryone’s heart and emotions becausethey all remembered a time not longago when people would whisper thewords, “Lietuva, Tėvyne mūsų”(“Lithuania, our homeland”), in fear.At the same time, our hearts were filledwith joy at the realization that finallywe had achieved at least enough free-dom to be able to sing those words outloud in public.

Singing Lithuania’s national an-them fostered patriotism in thehearts of Lithuanians as well as hopeand desire to take part in the restora-tion of the country. It encourageddoubters to take the Lithuanian path.According to Jadvyga Čiurlionytė,the anthem composed by VincasKudirka influenced her brother, thefamous Lithuanian composer andartist Mikalojus Konstantinas Či-urlionis, and his whole family to re-cover their Lithuanian identity.

The Lithuanian national anthemresounded grandly at the Lithuanianconference in Vilnius in August of1917. This conference elected theLithuanian Council, which was em-powered to proclaim the reestablish-ment of the Lithuanian state. Thenational anthem composed by Vin-cas Kudirka was sung with great joyand solemnity on May 15, 1920, inthe Kaunas Musical Theater Hall.Here Lithuania’s Constitutional Con-gress held its first meeting. The pres-ident of the Congress, AleksandrasStulginskis, read the unanimouslyadopted Declaration of Lithuania’sIndependence as all the participantsstood at attention. That day is con-sidered the day when the “TautiškaGiesmė” (“National Hymn”) offi-

cially became Lithuania’s nationalanthem. It also became a symbol ofan independent Lithuania, and be-cause of its popularity, no formalcodification was necessary; it wasnot mentioned in any of the pre-war constitutions of Lithuania.

When the Soviets occupiedLithuania and after the so-called“election of the people’s congress,”Lithuanian radio was forced to trans-mit the sounds of the towers of theKremlin at 10 p.m. each evening; atmidnight it was required to sign offby playing the “Internationale.” How-ever, as it was being pushed out ofpublic life, the Lithuanian nationalanthem became a symbol of nationalresistance. This became especially ev-ident in August of 1940, at a confer-ence of Lithuania’s teachers held inthe Kaunas Sports Center. The teach-ers were required to sing the “Inter-nationale,” but instead they stood upand sang the Lithuanian national an-them. The servants of Moscow whowere seated at the head table did notknow what to do. Some stood, somesat, they felt as if they were out ofplace. Antanas Venclova, who wasthe People’s Commissar of Educa-tion at that time, wrote: “As many as10,000 educators participated in theteachers’ conference, or as many calledit - the teachers’ congress [...] The en-emies of the new order were afraid ofexpressing their views. However, as theconference was concluding, they founda way of reminding everyone of theirexistence - they got up and sang thenational anthem of bourgeois Lithua-nia.” That is how teachers demon-strated their patriotism and loyalty toLithuania. The Lithuanian nationalanthem was broadcast on June 23,1941, when Lithuanians revolted andtook over the Kaunas radio station.Many people listened to the Lithuan-ian national anthem then with tearsin their eyes.

During the second Soviet occu-pation, singing of the Lithuanian na-


tional anthem was permitted for awhile. However, in 1945 a commis-sion to “prepare a national anthemfor the Lithuanian SSR” was created.The commission was required tocomplete its work by January 1, 1946.However, the Soviet government de-layed adopting the alternative Lithuan-ian SSR anthem, which its lackeys hadcomposed, because it did not want toincrease tensions, especially becauseof the active partisan resistance toSoviet occupation going on at thetime. Meanwhile in Latvia and Esto-nia, where resistance was muchweaker, new anthems were adoptedin 1945. The Lithuanian SSR anthem,which sang the praises of the Sovietoccupation, was adopted in July of1950. Antanas Venclova wrote thewords. The music was by Balys Dvar-ionas and Jonas Švedas. After theatrocities of Stalin were made public,the anthem was revised: VacysReimeris wrote new words and Ed-uardas Balsys wrote new music for it.

Nevertheless, the national an-them composed by Vincas Kudirka,like other symbols of independentLithuania, continued to live throughthe entire Soviet occupation, and itengendered fear in those who hadplundered our country. The secretsinging of Lithuania’s national an-them strengthened the spirit of allLithuanians in Lithuania itself as wellas in distant Soviet labor camps.Lithuanians living in the free worldalso sang it with solemnity. Whatbeautiful memories we have of AllSouls Day, when in the evening alarge group of people would gatherin the old cemetery on Vytautas Streetin Kaunas and would sing the na-tional anthem of Lithuania boldly inan expression of hope that theywould be free of the Soviet yokesome day. We sang Lithuania’s na-tional anthem in Rasų Cemetery inVilnius on the evening of All SoulsDay in 1956 to greet the Hungarianrevolution and to protest the enslave-

ment of Lithuania. We always re-membered Lithuania’s national an-them during the Soviet years whenwe organized excursions called “Let’sget to know Lithuania better,” par-ticularly when one of these excur-sions took us to the grave of Dr. Vin-cas Kudirka in the town of KudirkosNaumiestis. We had a sort of legaljustification for honoring this greatman because his book “Laisvos Va-landos”(“Free Hours”) had beenpublished in 1976. The “TautiškaGiesmė” (“National Hymn”) waspublished there in two columns ofeight lines. I would always use a book-mark, so that I could open the bookto page 43 where the words of theLithuanian national anthem wereprinted. One of the more trustworthymembers of the excursion would de-claim it as a candle was lit and placedon Kudirka’s grave. We were over-come with feelings of solemn patri-otism, and, in a moment of silence,we joined our hearts to the roots ofa Lithuania that had not been be-trayed. We joined in with the exhor-tation of the broken Oak, which wasstill alive in spirit as we proclaimed,arise, arise, arise...

Despite the winds of occupationwhich continued to blow, the soundsof Lithuania’s national anthem wereheard ever more clearly as the yearswent by. People would sing it moreoften in public places. One memo-rable instance was in 1988. On Feb-ruary 14th, it was sung in the Cathe-dral of Kaunas, and on February16th, in the square in front of theCathedral of Vilnius. The nationalanthem rang out during the com-memorations of the deportations ofJune 1941, as well as during other im-portant events that the Sąjūdis move-ment had organized. Finally on Oc-tober 6, 1988, the “Tautiška Giesmė”(“National Hymn”) written by VincasKudirka received official recognition,and on November 18, 1988, it wasadopted as the national anthem. On

October 7, 1988, the sounds of theLithuanian national anthem accom-panied the raising of the three-col-ored flag of Lithuania over Gedimi-nas Tower in Vilnius. Two days laterthe Lithuanian national anthem wassung as our flag was raised above thebell tower of the War Museum ofVytautas the Great in Kaunas. Onthe evening of March 11, 1990, whenthe restoration of Lithuania’s inde-pendence was proclaimed, theLithuanian national anthem was sungwith solemnity.

It is good to remember the hon-orable history of our national an-them and its final triumph. Now the“Tautiška Giesmė” of VincasKudirka is officially named the na-tional anthem of Lithuania in sec-tion I, paragraph 16 of the Consti-tution of the Republic of Lithuania.In 2009 sculptor Arūnas Sakalauskascreated a monument to the nationalanthem. (The architect was RičardasKrištapavičius.) Arūnas Sakalauskasalso sculpted a monument to VincasKudirka, the author of the nationalanthem. This monument stands inaptly named Vincas Kudirka Squarein Vilnius. It is in front of the build-ing that houses the government ofthe Republic of Lithuania. When themonument was unveiled, Lithuani-ans from around the world sang thenational anthem as a sign of unity


Vincas Kudirka as pictured on the 500-litasnote issued in 2000. (Lithuanian Bank web-site, public domain)


and love for Lithuania. This singinggave rise to a new tradition whichunites Lithuanians: each year on thegovernment holiday commemorat-

ing the crowning of Mindaugas kingof Lithuania, all Lithuanians, nomatter where they may be, sing thenational anthem of Lithuania at onedesignated time.

On March 11, 2005, in a solemnsession of the Parliament of the Re-public of Lithuania, Professor Vy-tautas Landsbergis said:

....My wish is that each person whosings the Lithuanian national anthemwould hear the words of the anthemand understand what they mean. It is aremarkable anthem. No other countryhas anything like it. In part - it is asolemn promise; in part - it is a prayer.Listen to these words: “May light andtruth lead our steps.” Here in a generalway, using the concept of light, veryimportant things are being said. Some-body may recall the teachings found inthe Bible, the command to the people:‘Be children of the light.’

In some city schools in Lithuaniathe students were asked: what does

the national anthem mean to you?The answers were very impressive:

The national anthem is very im-portant for the people of Lithuania be-cause it symbolizes freedom and thedignity of our country, and it remindsus that we have to love our country.The national anthem maintains our pa-triotism and our trust. When I sing thenational anthem, a pride in my countryand its history arises in my heart. Thishymn demonstrates that our country isunited, that it is most beautiful and sin-cere. The hymn unites us. We ought tosing it more often.

We would like the anthem tolight the paths of our lives, to helpus not to get lost in life’s byways.We hope that the Lithuanian na-tional anthem will be sung at leastonce a week in all schools, and thatthe symbols of our country will berespected with sincerity. Let us builda bright and just Lithuania!

Sculpture by Arūnas Sakalauskas locatedin Vincas Kudirka square in Vilnius.(www.vilnius-tourism.lt)

Translated by Rimas Černius. Adapted from an address given to commemorate the 90th anniversary ofthe Vincas Kudirka Public Library in Kaunas.

Lietuvos HimnasVincas KudirkaLietuva, Tėvyne mūsų,Tu didvyrių žeme,Iš praeities Tavo sūnūsTe stiprybę semia.Tegul Tavo vaikai einaVien takais dorybės,Tegul dirba Tavo naudaiIr žmonių gėrybei.Tegul saulė Lietuvoj(s)Tamsumas prašalina,Ir šviesa, ir tiesaMūs žingsnius telydi.Tegul meilė LietuvosDega mūsų širdyse,Vardan tos, LietuvosVienybė težydi!

Official English translation(Birutė Jatautaitė, 1994)Lithuania, our homeland,Land of worshiped heroes!Let your sons draw their strengthFrom our past experience.Let your children always followOnly roads of virtue,May your own, mankind’s well-beingBe the goals they work for.May the sun above our landBannish darkening clouds aroundLight and truth all alongGuide our steps forever.May the love of LithuaniaBrightly burn in our hearts.For the sake this landLet unity blossom.

Unofficial (singable) version(Jonas Daugirdas, 2015)Lietuva our home and nation,Land of valiant heroes!From your glorious pastYour sons draw strength, resolveand power. May your children walk the pathsOf honor and integrity,May they work for your well-beingAnd for all of mankind. May the sun above our landBanish cloud and shadow.Truth and right, radiant lightGuide our steps eternally. May the love of LietuvaBurn forever in our hearts.In your name, we proclaim:Unity and concord bloom!

The current official version of the Lithuanian National anthem. Note that the expression “saulė Lietuvos”was changed to “saulė Lietuvoj”, a subject of some controversy. The official English translation is written aslisted on the Lithuanian Parliament website (www.lrs.lt).


Anybody who’s eaten a Mc-Donald’s hamburger inSpringfield, IL has feasted

on a bit of local Lithuanian-Ameri-can history. The tale of McDonald’sfirst local franchisee involves aLithuanian coal miner aptly namedJohn Mack. John Makarauskaschanged his surname to Mack a full16 years before he went into fastfood. He had no way of knowinghe would one day be the man re-sponsible for bringing “Mack-fries,”“Mack-cheeseburgers” and “BigMacks” to Springfield. At the peakof the Mack fast food empire in the1980s, John’s family would own alleight of Springfield’s McDonald’srestaurants. What an unimaginablescenario that would have been to theboy from strife-torn, World War ILithuania who hustled to keep him-self, his family, and his fellow work-ing man from going hungry for mostof his adult life.

The Makarauskas family Starting in 1890, two to three

thousand Lithuanian immigrantsmade their way to Springfield-areamines via Scotland and Pennsylva-nia. John Mack’s father, Stanley, ar-rived in the United States to minecoal just before the outbreak of

World War I in 1914. He was notreunited with 10-year-old John andthe rest of the family until theyjoined him in Springfield in 1922.

John was forced to follow hisfather and older brother Michaelinto mining at age 14 after complet-ing sixth grade. A growing scarcityof local mine work combined withthe communal tradition of job-shar-ing incentivized families to maximizetheir headcount in the mines.

Already by the 1910s, frequentmine shutdowns and job-sharingmeant that most miners averagedonly 2-3 days of work per week.Even worse, mines shut down forthe summers, when there was noneed for coal and during protractedbiannual contract strikes. Unem-ployed miners typically resorted todigging basements and scythingcemetery grass for $1 a day. Wivesand mothers took in unmarried min-ers as boarders and kept backyard

Who Put the ‘Mack’ in McDonald’s of Springfield?by Sandra Baksys

Mack McDonald’s store ad for the famous 15-cent hamburger, circa 1957. (SangamonValley Collection, Lincoln Library, Springfield, IL)

John Mack. (1975 artist-rendering of photoportrait)

Makarauskas family in 1922: Left to right,back row: John Mack’s father and mother,Stanley and Agota, and Agota’s uncle; frontrow: brother Michael and John. (Familyarchive photo)


farms complete with chickens andrabbits to help support their cash-poor families.

Mine wars During the 1920s, increasing coal

mine mechanization led to mass lay-offs. This eventually culminated inone of the most important labor con-flicts of the 1930s, the so-called Cen-tral Illinois “Mine Wars” (1932-36),when mine owners tried to slashwages at the height of the Great De-pression. Here’s what happened: Ac-cording to Carl D. Oblinger’s history,Divided Kingdom: Work, Communityand the Mining Wars in the Central Illi-nois Coal Fields during the Great De-pression, in 1932, the United MineWorkers of America (UMWA) triedto fraudulently impose a contract thatCentral Illinois miners had roundlyrejected. This caused local miners toleave the UMWA en masse to form anew union called the ProgressiveMine Workers of America (PMWA).During a protracted strike by the Pro-gressives, the UMWA brought inscabs from southern Illinois and co-operated with mine operator PeabodyCoal and its paid saboteurs. In addi-tion, all the powers of the state, in-cluding local sheriffs and the IllinoisState Militia, were arrayed against theProgressives to break their strike in aviolent struggle that claimed at least

40 lives and injured hundreds.Lithuanian immigrants and their sonswere represented on both sides, butmainly, it seems, they were Progres-sives like John Mack.

Feeding striking miners’

familiesHaving begun to work as a

miner in 1926 as a boy of 14, Mackseems to have become somethingof a hero to the PMWA in his early20s by organizing and operating partof the commissary system that fedthe strikers’ families. According tothe State Journal-Register, one suchcommissary was operated in thebasement of Lithuanian immigrantSimonas (Sam) Lapinski’s Springfieldtavern. At the same time, many fam-ily-owned corner groceries, alreadyaccustomed to “carrying” strikingand underemployed miners on credit(or “on the book”), stepped up todo more of the same during the pro-tracted and bloody war between therival unions.

It’s not certain what kind ofcommissary Mack operated when hewas cash-poor and only in his young20s. It could have been somethingakin to today’s urban farms and foodpantries. On page 92 of Oblinger’sbook, miner Tom Rosko exclaims:“He carried them all [the strikers] inSpringfield, John Mack!”

From commissary to

groceryMack’s commissary activities

seem to have grown into a Mack gro-cery store operated from 1941-43 onFirst Street in Springfield. In 1943Mack closed the First Street store andopened a larger corner grocery at1501 Keys Ave. Dorothy Maka-rauskas, wife of John’s much younger,American-born brother Frank, re-members that the Keys Avenue store,which sold meat, bread, milk and drygoods, was Springfield’s first “self-serve” corner grocery. This meantthat customers picked up their ownitems and brought them to the cashier,instead of, as at other groceries ofthe time, the staff moving about thestore to fill customers’ orders. JohnMack was also a butcher, a trade thatno doubt proved handy both in hiscommissary and grocery activities.

Mack’s son Jim remembers thefinancial squeeze his father faced ashe continued to broadly extend storecredit well into the 1950s. To makematters worse, the first supermarketchains had begun eating the smallindependent grocers’ lunch.

McDonald’s founder Ray

Kroc enters the pictureThen one day, Ray Kroc drove

by the huge Allis-Chalmers con-struction machinery factory rightacross the street from the Macks’home. Kroc considered the real es-tate across from the factory’s maingate the perfect site for Springfield’sfirst McDonald’s restaurant (the na-tion’s 69th).

It was serendipity that broughttogether a new fast-food businessmodel based on churning out hun-dreds of ground beef patties a daywith Mack, a butcher able to providethe ground beef, but struggling tosurvive in the dying corner grocerybusiness.

The plan Mack devised withKroc was bold. It required movingJohn Mack’s younger brother Frank carries a block of ice to a customer's car from John’s

First Street grocery, 1943. (Family archive photo)


his family home to permit construc-tion of the new restaurant and park-ing lot. This would take money–lotsof it (including Mack’s McDonald’sfranchise fee).

The upshot: John Mack neededto borrow $100,000 in an era whencredit and large loans were extendedmuch more cautiously than they aretoday. Daughter MaryAnn (Mack)Butts recalls: “Mary, our mother, wasin the meetings with Dad when hewent to the banks. They literallylaughed at him and said, ‘You havea sixth-grade education, and youwant to open a restaurant?’ Mothersaid it was embarrassing, and she re-ally felt bad for him. The banks alsosaid, ‘Who would want to buy a 15-cent hamburger?’ They thought itwas ridiculous because that was kindof expensive back then.”

Who, indeed?John Mack refused to give up.

Illinois National Bank, where oneof the executives was proudLithuanian-American Augustus“Gus” Wisnosky (Vysniauskas), andwhere much of the Lithuanian com-munity did business, finally agreedto make the loan.

Teen hangouts Mack’s first McDonald’s restau-

rant across from the Allis-Chalmersfactory main gate opened in 1957.A second opened in 1961 on SouthMacArthur Boulevard. These weresmall, open-air drive-ups, withouteat-in capacity. Because customerswere expected to eat in their cars,the McDonald’s parking lots weremuch more extensive than those ofrestaurants.

In the 1960s and ‘70s, hot rodswould scoop a fast-food loop brack-eted on either end by one of thesefirst two McDonald’s. Despite pay-ing minimum wage, the McDonald’son South MacArthur became THE

place for teens to work. It also be-came such a popular hotrod and“hippie” hangout that the packedparking lot required its own bouncer.Many local youth–boys only, ini-tially–earned their first paycheck atone of these restaurants.

The ABCs of mass-pro-

duced foodIn the early years, all the burgers,

fries and buns were fresh andsourced locally. According to Mackdaughter MaryAnn, her father hada ground-beef patty-making ma-chine made specially in St. Louis sohe could keep his long-time KeysAvenue grocery employee FrancesTrello busy churning out fresh pat-ties for his new restaurants. “Cor-porate” dictated the lean meat andfat content of each patty, along withthe recipe followed by a local con-tract bakery that delivered fresh-baked buns daily.

Son Jim recalls that potatoeswere delivered in 100-pound bagson a rail car. They were peeled withthe help of a peeling machine, thensliced by hand into fries. After beingwashed and rinsed a total of threetimes they were then blanched atlow heat until finally ready to bedeep-fried. The soft ice cream forshakes was sourced locally, but theshake flavor mixes came from head-quarters. Many of John Mack’s kidsand grandkids worked in the familybusiness, including son John, Jr., anddaughter JoAnn (Mack) Shaugh-nessy’s husband and their daughterDebbie (Shaughnessy) Blazis. Themagic starting work age for most ofthe Mack kids seemed to be 15 –one year older than John when hefollowed his father Stanley into thecoal mines in 1926.

Premature death and fur-

ther expansionPaterfamilias John died in 1974

at the age of 61. “Dad didn’t have along life, and he only had a sixth

John Mack (last person on the right) at the ribbon-cutting for his second McDonald’s inSpringfield, 1961. (Sangamon Valley Collection, Lincoln Library, Springfield, IL)

Employees of the McDonald’s located at1825 South MacArthur Boulevard, 1964.(Sangamon Valley Collection, Lincoln Li-brary, Springfield, IL)

grade education, but he had guts,and he was really smart—very goodat math. He died a millionaire, andwe are very proud of him,” hisdaughter MaryAnn said.

After John Mack’s death, hiswidow Mary, sons Tom and Jim, anddaughter MaryAnn and her husbandGary Butts went on to open fivemore locations in Springfield. Thefamily considered this to be a supe-rior option to having “corporate”open a competing new location bybringing in a non-Mack franchisee.Not all of the new locations that“corporate” wanted were profitable,and son Jim remembers that grow-ing the business took a heavy toll

on the family over the years. But atleast if a new location cannibalizedexisting business, the business“gained” from a Mack restaurantwould still belong to a Mack. Finally,in 1989, after 30 years in fast food,the family sold all eight of theirSpringfield franchises and totally ex-ited the business.

A man who was ‘larger

than life’John Mack was a bigger-than-

life personality who “would light upthe place” when he visited one ofhis restaurants to sit down and enjoya burger, according to Don Gietl,who worked at a “Mack McDon-

ald’s.” Great corporate citizens, the“Mack McDonald’s” also sponsoredinnumerable local fundraisers andgave generously to Goodwill, amongother local charities.

The Makarauskas family organ-ized the creation of a Ronald Mc-Donald House in Springfield afterexperiencing a family tragedy.Ronald McDonald houses areerected near hospitals to provide ahome away from home for sick chil-dren and their families. John’sbrother Frank and wife Dorothy hadan 18-year-old son, Robert, who suc-cumbed to brain cancer. After John’swidow, Mary, visited a Ronald Mc-Donald house in New York City,near where young Robert was beingtreated at Sloan-Kettering CancerCenter, she dedicated herself to do-nating and raising the funds neces-sary to provide such a house for theSpringfield community.


Mack family in the late 1940s. Left to right, back row: daughter JoAnn, John and his wife,Mary; middle row: sons Tom, John, Jr., and Jim; front: daughter MaryAnn. (Family archivephoto

John Mack’s younger brother, Frank, assecond lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force,circa 1945. (Family archive photo)

For more information about Lithuani-ans in Springfield, please visit the au-thor’s blog at http://lithspringfield.com. The author’s “best of blog” book, titled “A Century of Lithuanians in Springfield, Illinois”, will be available this fall from Amazon.com.


Knitting inLithuaniaby Donna Druchunas

Photos by Dominic Cotignola

Iam an American of Lithuaniandescent, and I am a knitter. Sowhen I had a chance to visit

Lithuania in 2007, the first thing Iwanted to learn about was knitting.What makes knitting Lithuanian? Isit special techniques that are used?A unique way to hold the yarn andneedles? Certain combinations ofcolors? The styles of clothing andaccessories that are made? Thesewere the questions I was asking my-self as I flew over half of NorthAmerica, across the Atlantic andover most of Europe to make myway from Colorado to the countrywhere all four of my father’s grand-parents had been born.

On that trip, I only had five rainydays to explore Vilnius, the nation’scapital. In those few days I stumbledonto beautiful hand-knit accessoriesin Old Town at the tourist market,in fiber-arts galleries hidden in smallalleys spidering out from the towncenter, in museums, at a nationalfolk song festival featuring thou-sands of performers dressed in his-torical costumes, and in demonstra-tions of traditional crafts atCathedral Square. There were alsoyarn shops hiding in nooks and cran-nies around the city. Since then, I’vegone back to visit Lithuania five

times, staying from a few weeks to afew months on each trip, and havetravelled around the country.

Where Do You Find Knit-

ting in Lithuania?The year after my first short visit

to Vilnius, I had an opportunity tospend most of the summer inLithuania. After a month-long lan-guage course at Vilnius University, Ispent several weeks traveling aroundthe country to meet knitters,

weavers, farmers and yarn manufac-turers. Beginning in Vilnius, my hus-band and I—along with our friendJune Hall, who is also of Lithuaniandescent—traveled to cities, villages,and farms from Vilnius and Šiauliaito Mažeikiai and Palanga, and manyplaces in-between.

We visited many local art andhistory museums. Two that standout in my mind are the Šiaulių“Aušros” muziejus (Šiauliai AušrosMuseum) and the Mažeikių muziejus

Donna Druchunas

Woman knitting on Pilies gatvė in Vilnius.

(Mažeikiai Museum), where we wereprivileged to see collections of hand-knit mittens, gloves, socks and wristwarmers that were not in the ex-hibits open to the public.

In Mažeikiai, we also met Marija,an expert knitter who invited us toher home for home-baked apple frit-ters and coffee served in beautifulchina cups. She gave us a lesson inknitting and showed us the beautifulsweaters and socks she designed andknit for her family using an albumof charts she has compiled, withmotifs of rabbits, cats, stars, and

more. Maria gave June and me eacha pair of hand-knit slippers.

In Vilnius, I was privileged totake a knitting class at Mezgimo Zona(The Knitting Zone), a shop onPylimo gatvė. The teacher, IrenaFelomena Juškienė, taught us howto make beaded riešinės (wrist warm-ers) that were popular throughoutLithuania in the nineteenth century.

In Baisogala we met Dr. ŽilvinasAugustinavičius, a veterinarian andfarmer, who gave us a tour of a largesheep farm and introduced us toseveral knitters in the area. One eld-erly woman who designed all of herown patterns gave us each a pair ofgloves and showed us the book ofpatterns she drew on graph paper.

Throughout our trip we weregiven wonderful hand-knit gifts. Wealso had the opportunity to purchasemany more items from vendors inmarkets and at craft fairs, as well asfrom individual knitters we metalong the way as we drove fromtown to town. After this trip, Juneand I decided to collaborate on abook to share the beauty of Lithuan-ian knitting with knitters and readersaround the world. What follows is asmall bit of what we learned aboutknitting in Lithuania.

What Do Lithuanians Knit?When you walk down a city

street in Lithuania today, you see col-lege students wearing jeans andmini-skirts, business people in suitsand dresses, construction workerswith boots and hardhats, and a fewold women wearing 1950s-stylehousedresses and babushkas. But itis only since the end of the nine-


Hand-knit socks and mittens for sale in theVilnius Tourist Market.

Floral-patterned mittens in the MažeikiaiMuseum collection.

Marija giving June and Donna a knittinglesson in her home.

Sweater designed and knit by Marjia.

Donna with Irena Felomena Juškienė learning about riešinės at Mezgimo Zona in Vilnius.

teenth century that mass-producedgarments have been prevalent inLithuania. Before that, and even intothe early decades of the twentiethcentury, homemade clothing was therule, particularly in rural areas.

Well into the twentieth century,making clothing and household tex-tiles was an integral part of daily lifefor rural villagers in Lithuania. Smallfarms were self-sufficient; little orno money was available to supple-ment the household’s home produc-tion. All of the women and girls ineach family spun wool and linen intoyarn. Using a drop spindle or a spin-

ning wheel like a character in a fairytale, women made fine linen threadsand tested finished skeins to makesure they would fit through a wed-ding ring to prove the quality oftheir work. This linen was woveninto fabric for clothing and house-hold textiles, and some was knit intosummer gloves and socks. CoarseLithuanian wool was spun intostrong yarn to knit warm winterclothing and accessories, includingmittens and socks.

Traditionally in Lithuania knit-ting was not considered to be a veryimportant craft. It was a skill thatevery woman possessed, some withmore talent than others. Spinningand weaving were the arts that gavea woman prestige in the community.Even so, for holiday wear and forweddings and other special celebra-tions, special accessories were knitwith elaborate patterning and metic-ulous workmanship, which wouldmake most of today’s knitters inAmerica and Europe green withenvy.

Today women in Lithuania usepatterns from books or the internetto make sweaters, shawls, afghans,toys and a huge variety of fashion-able and kitschy projects just likeknitters everywhere else in the West-ern world; however, in times past,knitting was mostly used to makesocks, mittens, gloves and wristwarmers in traditional patternspassed down from grandmother to

mother, from mother to daughter.(On occasion knitting was used tomake sashes, hats and even sweaters,but these items were usually madewith other techniques.)

Because Lithuania was occupiedby several different nations duringthe twentieth century, the traditionalnational costume based on peasants’holiday clothing, became a verystrong and important part of theLithuanian identity. When theLithuanian language was suppressedby the Soviet Union and speakingout against “The Party” was danger-ous, wearing a pair of hand-knittedgloves might be the only way onecould display quiet resistance. Nowthat Lithuania is once again an in-dependent nation, on national holi-days and during summer music andcrafts festivals the streets and shopsare filled with people dressed in re-productions of traditional garments.Members of national song anddance troupes continue to spin yarnby hand and knit the beautiful ac-cessories that are part of theLithuanian national costume.

SocksTraditional hand-knit woolen

winter socks were made with woolyarn worked in a double-layered col-orwork pattern. Socks for men andwomen often featured geometricpatterns, with striped or solid heelsand patterned or solid toes. Yarnsmight be brightly colored or be leftin the wool’s natural shades of white,gray, brown and black. Today thetourist markets offer simplified ver-sions of these socks made fromheavy yarn, with patterning limitedto the sock leg and, sometimes, thefoot of the sock.

Linen summer socks featuredcolor patterns or lace stitches forwomen and girls and were knit plainfor men. Knitted socks sometimeshad ribbing at the top, but longerstockings were tied around the kneeswith woven bands. Women also knit


Donna buying socks from a street vendor in Vilnius.

Many knitters in Lithuania design their ownpatterns based on traditional weaving mo-tifs as well as modern ideas. This skilledknitter made knitting patterns of the Zodiacsigns.

“footless stockings” (leg warmers)for summer wear, not for warmth,but to keep their legs from gettingscratched when they worked in thefields.

MittensMittens and gloves carried spe-

cial significance in Lithuanian cul-ture. There was a time when manyLithuanians believed that gloves hadmagical or supernatural power, andfestive designs were knit as gifts onspecial occasions to protect andbless family members and lovedones, as well as to celebrate the ma-jor passages in life.

As magical as gloves may be,mittens do a better job of keepingfingers warm in extremely coldweather, and they were much morecommon for everyday wear. Nor-mally knitted in color designs usingtwo or more strands of yarn at once,these mittens were very dense andwarm. The oldest patterns were geo-

metric shapes, and later designs in-cluded many floral motifs. More rareare patterns of birds and elk andother animals. All of these designsdepict the beauty of the Lithuanianlandscape and recall the warmer daysof summer. The patterns on glovesand mittens were often larger andmore elaborate than patterns usedon socks. Many popular colorworkpatterns are adaptations of olderweaving designs.

Wrist WarmersIn the eighteenth and nineteenth

centuries, both men and women inLithuania wore woolen wrist warm-ers in all seasons. These wrist warm-ers were snug and tight and couldbe worn either under or over thecuffs on a shirt or blouse. Everydaywrist warmers were knit from left-over homespun yarn and made withany technique that struck the knit-ter’s fancy. Some were ribbed in onecolor or with stripes, some weremade with cable patterns or otherfancy texture patterns, a few weremade in lacy stitches, and some wereeven crocheted. But holiday wristerswere always made with special store-bought yarn and tiny glass beads,usually white but sometimes in othercolors. The wristers were made flatand either sewn closed or fastenedwith decorative buttons. Lace wris-ters and longer fingerless gloveswere made from bleached whitelinen to be worn at weddings.

Today beaded wrist warmers areamong the most popular knitteditems in Vilnius. Walking throughthe streets, you spy them for saleby women selling their wares onstreet corners, at booths in thetourist market and in upscale folk-art galleries.

ConclusionKnitting is fascinating not only

because it is beautiful and functional,but also because each stitch infusesa hand-knit project with the story of

its maker and details about the timeand place in which it was made. Thematerials and stitches chosen tell usabout what yarns and patterns wereavailable to the knitter. The gaugeand evenness of the stitching tell usabout her skill level, while the wear(or lack thereof) on the knitting givesus clues about whether it was madefor everyday use or just for specialoccasions. Ultimately, I believe whatmakes the knitting of Lithuania—orany place—special is the spirit of thepeople and the soul of the place.Here is what I discovered during myseveral trips: whether it is traditionalor trendy, kitschy or couture, comfyor chic, historical or contemporary,if it is made of wool or linen, it canbe found in Lithuania.


Mittens and socks for sale in the Vilniustourist market.

Woman knitting wrist warmers on a streetin Vilnius to sell in the tourist market.

Donna Druchunas is a writer andknitwear designer with passions forknitting, world travel and research.She has been visiting Lithuania,where her great grandparents wereborn, every year since 2007. Donnahas been designing knitwear andwriting for over a decade and is theauthor of award-winning knittingbooks. Her newest book, Lithuanian Knitting:Continuing Traditions (2015, DoubleVision Press), available throughhttp://sheeptoshawl.com/lithuani-anknitting, tells the story of knittingin Lithuania and includes 25 patternsfor socks, mittens, gloves and wristwarmers. Donna teaches an onlineclass on how to knit mittens and ahat with a Lithuanian reindeer motifat www.craftsy.com.


Lithuania’s History in English“The History of Lithuania,”

(2015 2nd rev. edition, 327 pp. Vil-nius, Lithuania), by Alfonsas Eidin-tas, Alfredas Bumblauskas, AntanasKulakauskas, Mindaugas Tamošaitis.The four authors cover Lithuania’shistory from the beginning of theancient Baltic tribes to Lithuania’s2004 membership in NATO and theEuropean Union. The book wascommissioned and financed byLithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Af-fairs. This revised edition was editedand translated into English bySkirma Kondratas and RamūnasKondratas, two Lithuanian-Ameri-can historians, who, in preparing thisedition, in both content and style,aimed at the English-speakingreader. The text is accompanied bywell-selected illustrations and maps.There are plans to publish the cur-rent edition in print, though for nowit is available only on the Internet:

http://urm.lt/uploads/de-fault/documents/Travel_Resi-dence/history_of_lithuania_new.pdf

The first chapter is devoted tothe Grand Duchy of Lithuania andthe second to the Union of Lithua-nia with Poland. The Polish-Lithuan-ian Commonwealth was created bythe Union of Lublin in 1569, whenLithuania was forced to choose be-tween a military defeat to Russia ora union with Poland. The bookvividly presents the pain and sorrowof the Lithuanian delegation, in hav-ing to make this choice at Lublin.

A similar sad day for the nationoccurred in 1792, when the King ofPoland capitulated to Russia, whichprecipitated the first partition, andeventually led to the third and finalpartition and absorption of Lithua-nia and Poland by Russia, Austriaand Prussia.

The chapter, “Lithuania Underthe Russian Empire (1793-1915),”covers the Russian czar’s oppression,russification, the 1831 and 1865 up-risings, the prohibition of the Lithuan-ian press and books, and the 19th cen-tury’s Lithuanian national awakening.

A separate chapter is devoted tothe interwar years, including the suc-cessful military battles and diplo-matic efforts that restored independ-ence in 1918. The economic, socialand cultural progress of the nation,despite the difficult relations withPoland over the Vilnius question,and the loss of Klaipėda, is fully pre-sented, with this period culminatingin the loss of independence at thebeginning of World War II.

The “nationalism” of Lithuaniain the 1920s and 1930s is contrastedfavorably with the nationalism of itslarge neighbors. German, Soviet andPolish nationalism was used as a ba-sis for aggression against other na-tions, while Lithuania’s nationalismwas defensive, a means by which torespond to its neighbors’ expansion-ist policies and actions.

The chapter “Lithuania: The So-viet and Nazi Occupations,” covers

the 50 years of occupation, includ-ing the 10-year partisan “war afterthe war,” and the consequences tothe country’s cultural, religious, eco-nomic and political developmentand survival. For someone who de-sires to read more about the mosttragic years of that period, I wouldrecommend “The Tragic Pages ofLithuanian History 1940-1953,” byVladas Terleckas (2014 Vilnius).

In the final chapter, “TheSinging Revolution,” the readerlearns how Lithuanians used Gor-bachev’s “perestroika” to form theliberation movement “Sąjudis,” andabout the events that led to the ulti-mate independence of the country.The most dramatic events of thisperiod include the 675 kilometerBaltic Way in 1989 formed by twomillion people joining hands acrossLithuania, Latvia and Estonia; Gor-bachev’s economic blockade ofLithuania in 1990; the January 1991military attack on Lithuania’s Parlia-ment and Vilnius’ TV tower whichkilled 14 civilians; and the suspensein waiting for other countries to rec-ognize Lithuania’s independence.

The authors note that theUnited States and other Westerncountries delayed recognizingLithuania’s independence becausethey feared that to do so would un-dermine Gorbachev’s “perestroika”reforms: “It was not easy for theWest to choose between ‘Gorby’ andLithuania.” The book notes thatLithuania’s achievement of inde-pendence significantly contributedto the demise of the Soviet Union.

The History of Lithuania pres-ents Lithuania’s history in a conciseand easy-to-read format. It is a bookwell worth reading by anyone withan interest in Lithuania.

Book review by Donatas Januta


Baking with Honey

Is there a Lithuanian on thisearth who doesn’t cherish amemory of mother or grand-

mother or a favorite aunt bakingmeduolis (honey cake)? Oh, thesmells of honey and cinnamon andcloves that filled the kitchen… Andthen that moment of delight whenyou were handed a piece of moist,dark-brown meduolis with a frostycold glass of milk… Almost heaven.

Meduolis is not a fancy cake –it’s just simple goodness: basic in-gredients, not too sweet, easy tomake. After a couple of days in anair-tight cookie tin, it’s even moredelicious. Could a napoleonas eversay that?

There are hundreds of recipesfor meduolis – it seems that everyLithuanian šeimininkė makes it herown special way (just like kugelis,šaltibarščiai and krupnikas). Lithua-nians are individualists. No discus-sion! But if you don’t have your ownfavorite recipe just yet, give thesetwo a try. And since there is nothingbetter than a good basic cookiewhen you’re prowling your pantryfor a bit of “something,” we are in-cluding a recipe for Honey Cookies.

Meduolis –Honey CakeThe classic spice and honey cake

of our memories. Honey tends to makethe batter heavy, sour cream lightens it– make sure not to omit it.1 cup honey½ cup brown sugar3 Tbsp. butter4 eggs, separated2½ cups flour2 tsp. baking soda1 tsp. baking powder1 tsp. cinnamon and ginger½ tsp. nutmeg, allspice, cloves1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 325°F. Heathoney, stirring until it comes to a boil.Set aside to cool. Cream brown sugarand butter until fluffy. Mix in 4 eggyolks one at a time, then add honey.

Sift flour with leavenings and allof the spices. Mix half of this flourmixture into the batter. Add the sourcream and mix in. Follow with theremaining flour. Beat reserved eggwhites into moderate peaks and gen-tly fold into the batter.

Pour batter into greased andfloured 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Bake50 minutes. Optional (but recom-mended): while still warm, brush cakewith a wash of 1 Tbsp. honey and 1Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Orange Honey CakeThis meduolis gets its subtle com-

plexity and depth from orange and cof-fee. It is baked in a loaf pan.½ cup honey2⁄3 cup brown sugar3 Tbsp. oil2 eggs1⁄3 cup frozen orange juice

concentrate¼ cup warm water1 Tbsp. grated orange zest2 tsp. instant coffee

dissolved in 1 Tbsp. warm water¼ tsp. salt1¾ cup flour1 tsp. baking soda1 tsp. baking powder½ tsp. cinnamon, ginger, allspice¼ tsp. cloves

Preheat oven to 350°F. Withmixer at medium speed, mix honey,sugar, oil and eggs. Add orange juiceconcentrate, water, orange zest, dis-solved coffee and salt. Mix well.

Sift flour with baking soda, bak-ing powder and spices and gently

mix into the batter. Pour into 9 x 5inch greased and floured loaf pan.Bake approx. 60-65 minutes. Checkfor doneness. Allow to cool com-pletely before slicing.

Meduoliukai–Honey cookiesRoll these cookies thicker than

you’re used to. They’re just better thatway.1 cup butter2⁄3 cup brown sugar¾ cup honey1 egg + 1 yolk, white reserved1 Tbsp. lemon zest4½ cups flour1 tsp. baking soda1 tsp. cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350°F. Creambutter and sugar until light andfluffy. Mix in honey, egg, egg yolkand lemon zest. Sift flour with bak-ing soda and spices. Add flour mix-ture to batter incrementally. Switchto mixing by hand as the dough be-comes stiff.

Divide dough in half and flatteninto 2 rounds. Wrap and refrigeratefor 1-2 hours. Roll out (remember:thick is best) and cut out with cookiecutters or rotary cutter to desiredshapes. Lightly beat reserved eggwhite and brush tops of cookies.We like to press in a blanched al-mond for decoration and crunch.Bake for 11-13 minutes dependingon size and thickness.

Let’s Cook with Ona Daugirdas

Lithuanian


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LITHUANIANCAKE for all occasions

RAGUOLIS2, 3, 5, and 10 lb. sizesShipped to all States30 Years ExperienceJoseph LiudziusNew Britain, CTTel: 860-223-2380Fax: 860-224-3341E-mail: [email protected]

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LITHUANIAN HOSPITALITY AT THE JESUNAS FARM IN NORTHERN WISCONSIN

An 828 acre working farm/greenhouse ownedand operated by a Lithuanian family producingorganic foods that are prepared for you in ourlodge. Explore the beautiful Northwoods, boat-ing, swimming, fishing, hunting, sightseeing, fallcolors, winter sports. Two nights minimum stay.Price includes meals, lodging, hiking trails, &more.

715-339-2823email: [email protected]

website: www.timberdoodleinn.comPeter Jesunas Family, Phillips, WI.


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