Volumn I - Issue III
Editor: Bernard Tirva
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Table Of Contents
1. 'Free Thinker' Sliupas Stirred Pious Countrymen
2. Son Follows Father's Lead
3. Sister County Pilot Program
4. Smile On
5. The Man From Red October, Part 2
6. Songs
7. Folktale(?)
8. Sports - Lithuanian Little League
"Free Thinkiner" Sliupas Stirred Poius Countrymen
By Ed Schreppel, For The Pottsville Republican & Evening Herald
Dateline: Saturday-Sunday, March 14-15, 1998
In the late 19th century, Shenandoah entered its golden age as an anthracite
boom town and Lithuanians, Poles, Ukrainians and Italians joined the
English, Irish and Welsh.
If there was a common thread that wove its way through the fabric, it was
strong religious beliefs.
Atheism wasn't tolerated and questioning the church or clergy wasn't
something done lightly or with impunity.
By 1894, Shenandoah was becoming known as the "capital of American
Lithuanians," a fiercely religious community proud of its homeland and
keenly aware of its poverty-stricken homeland's domination by its neighbors.
Father of his country
Enter Dr. Jonas Sliupas (1861-1944), who spent 33 of those years in the U.S.
He would go on to play a significant role in sowing the seeds for the February
16, 1918 proclamation of his homeland's independence that is still marked
as Lithuanian Independence Day by Schuylkill Lithuanian-Americans.
But when Sliupas came to America in 1884 at age 23, it wasn't to find a
better life by working in the mines but to further his single minded life
goal: Lithuanian independence.
A purist whose agitating had gotten him expelled from two countries, he had
little tolerance for anything non-Lithuanian.
William E. O'Brien, retired editor of the Evening Herald, used archives
compiled by Sliupas' only surviving son, Vytautas (now of California), to
write a detailed tow-part 1989 article about the Lithuanian patriot.
Dr. Sliupas blamed the absorption of the Lithuanian grand duchy into Poland
on like-minded clergy in each country, so he criticized Lithuanian priests
who advocated close union with Poles, O'Brien wrote.
He even helped to organize Lithuanian Catholic parishes so his countrymen
would not have to share churches with any other nationalities. A case in
point: the Lithuanians broke away from St. Casimir's in 1889 to form St.
George's, the oldest Lithuanian Catholic church in the nation.
Since he lived in Shenandoah in 1888 and 1893-94, "it's plausible that the
influence of Dr. Sliupas played a role in the breakaway, since he was an
activist in the Shenandoah Lithuanian community at the time," O'Brien wrote.
Nonetheless, Sliupas was known as a "free thinker" rather than for his
piety - the term, "Sliuptie," refers to someone at odds with the Lithuanian
church - and it was in that role that he became "a victim of one of the
most famous and distasteful episodes" in the town's annals, O'Brien wrote.
The "distasteful episode" involved a follower of Dr. Sliupas' pro-Lithuania
views, avowed atheist Matthew J. Andrukaitis, 48, who accidentally shot
himself on Saturday, March 24, 1894 while trying to remove a revolver from
a high shelf at Sliupas' South West Street office and apartments.
Andrukaitis' 20 year-old daughter wanted to summon the pastor of St.
George's Lithuanian Catholic Church, but "the dying man protested with an
oath and died without spiritual consolation," the Evening Herald reported.
This caused his wife and two other children, who lived on Bowers Street, to
abandon him, leaving his burial arrangements in Sliupas' hands.
Word spread through town about the incident, and a threatening crowd
gathered outside Sliupas' office. Police said they couldn't station an
officer permanently at the scene because of trouble elsewhere in the town.
With the funeral scheduled for Monday evening, the crowd hung around the
office. Some, encouraged by alcohol, shouted, made derisive gestures and
even threw objects at the building, according to a news account. A
jeering mob followed the funeral procession.
After police were criticized in the newspaper for failing to stop the mob, the
Borough Council conducted an inquiry. Both sides offered testimony, but
council found no reason to censure the police. Anti-Sliupas sentiment
lingered.
A Win In Libel Court
Later, five men Sliupas accused of fomenting the mob scene, sued him and
several friends for libel. A highly publicized case ... he was called an
anarchist, infidel and atheist ... ensued in county court.
Sliupas and the co-defendants were found not guilty but ordered to pay
court costs, a decision that drew criticism in metropolitan newspapers that
covered the trial.
Dr. Sliupas was born on Feb. 23, 1861, in Rakandziai, to a well-to-do
farming couple. After graduating from high school, he went on to the
University of Moscow to study philology and law, but became involved in
anti-czarist publications. A threat of arrest prompted him to transfer to
the University of St. Petersburg, where he received a three-month sentence
for further radical activities.
After his release, he continued his studies in Geneva, Switzerland, but
when he learned of an opening with the new Lithuanian activist magazine
Ausra, published in East Prussia and smuggled into Lithuania, he took a job
as co-editor.
Both the Germans and Russians considered the magazine subversive and it
wasn't long before Sliupas was ordered to leave that Prussian province on
the Baltic.
He briefly went back to Lithuania, then on to New York. Arriving on May
28, 1884, he settled in Brooklyn and worked as a laborer, but also was
involved with publications calling on Lithuanians to fight for liberty. He
organized societies and movements to advance that cause.
Education Over Piety
In one debate, on whether the church or schools should receive priority
among immigrants, Dr. Sliupas argued eloquently for schools, believing
education was the only way immigrants could improve their lot.
Thus began his reputation as a "freethinker" and the perception that he
split Lithuanian-Americans into two camps, Catholics and freethinkers,
O'Brien wrote.
Dr. Sliupas was among six men who, calling themselves "Lovers of
Lithuania," met in April 1886 in Brooklyn to create the Alliance of All
Lithuanians in America, aimed at uniting nine Lithuanian-American societies
then in existence.
Among the four groups that responded favorably to a proposed constitution,
were the St. Casimir's societies Of New York and Waterbury, Connecticut,
and the St. George's and Vytautas societies of Shenandoah.
With half of the support for the alliance coming from Shenandoah, the town
was chosen as the site for the group's Constitutional Congress on August 15,
1886. Sliupas was one of the eleven delegates who set goals for establishing schools, orphanages, nursing homes and aid for widows and orphans.
Later, a Lithuanian priest in Plymouth warned Catholics to avoid the alliance and suggested it had atheist leadership. He also discouraged Catholics from reading Sliupas' newspaper: Lithuanian Voice.
Six delegates attended the second convention in Shenandoah in 1887; none
showed up for an 1888 gathering at Plymouth. The group folded.
During his days as co-editor of Ausra, he met Sliupas me Ludvika Malinauskas, who wrote poetry for the magazine. When she came to America in 1885, the two
were married and their first child, Aldona, was born in New York.
Sliupas decided to move to Shenandoah in 1888, hoping his Lithuanian Voice
would find more success. The couple's second child, Kestutis, was born in
Shenandoah, but the paper's fortunes didn't improve.
Rebuked by Ludvika for sticking to the paper at the expense of their children, Sliupas left for the University of Maryland to earn a medical degree while his wife and children went to Lithuania to stay with her family.
She returned to join him in America in 1890 and he earned his degree in 1891. They settled in Wilkes-Barre, where Sliupas' medical practice thrived.
"But the first love of Jonas was still Lithuania," O'Brien wrote. "He moved frequently to keep up with Lithuanian affairs."
Those moves included Plymouth in 1892, back to Shenandoah in 1893-94, then
Scranton, New York, Philadelphia and back to Scranton through 1917.
He visited New York in 1906 to lead the first Lithuanian political congress in America. It drafted a memorandum calling for Lithuanian independence.
In 1914, at the start of World War I, Dr. Sliupas founded The American Lithuanian National Party and The Lithuanian National League of America, both aimed at helping the Motherland.
With the war nearly over in 1917, Dr. Sliupas left the United States. He went to Russia via Japan to confer with key Lithuanian political figures and establish a liaison between them and the groups he had founded in America.
An October 1917 Lithuanian Conference in Stockholm paved the way for the Lithuanian National Council's declaration of independence five months later.
Pioneer Diplomat
Working to garner support for the new government in 1919, Dr. Sliupas organized the Lithuanian mission to London and served as the first Lithuanian diplomat to Great Britain.
He served on the Lithuanian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference and as the first Lithuanian ambassador to the neighboring Baltic states of Latvia and Estonia, according to O'Brien's article.
He then settled down to teach literature and hygiene in Lithuanian high schools and medical history at the University of Kaunas. He founded several businesses, including the Lithuanian Steamboat Comapny and Birzai Railroad Company.
When the rise of Nazism again brought invasion and foreign domination,
Sliupas, then mayor of Palanga, aided Jewish refugees and the Lithuanian
underground until 1944, when he fled to Germany in the face of Soviet
troops. He died in Berlin on Nov. 6, 1944, three months short of his 84th
birthday. His cremated remains were moved to the Lithuanian National
Cemetery in Chicago in 1947.
Son Follow's Father's Lead
Sliupas' Love of Homeland Thrives Across Two Generations
By Kathryn Campozzi
Clews Staff Writer, Pottsville Republican and Evening Herald
Saturday-Sunday March 14-15 1998
The father loved his country. Dr. Jonas Sliupas was a fierce Lithuanian nationalist, devoting his life to speeches, pamphleteering and political organizing to bring freedom to his homeland.
The Son Loves the Land
Vytautas J. Sliupas, the patriot's youngest son, is seeking to raise almost $1 million to convert his family's reclaimed farm into an agricultural research center.
A foe of Czarist Russia, the patriot father was expelled from the country in 1884. He traveled to East Prussia, where he published a newspaper advocating
Lithuanian independence.
Obtaining his medical degree from the University of Maryland, he would
spend the next 33 years in the United States. This included two stints,
three years in all, in Shenandoah, which at the time was one of the United
State's largest Lithuanian enclaves.
When Lithuania gained her independence after World War I, Jonas Sliupas helped
write the new nation's constitution and served in various governmental and
diplomatic posts.
When Soviet tanks rolled in at the end of World War II to begin a 50 year
communist occupation, his country ceased to exist. His ancestral farm in
Auksuciai, in the Siauliai region in northwest Lithuania, was nationalized.
Vytautas, the patriot's only surviving son and a retired water resources engineer living in Burlingame, CA, near San Francisco, recovered the 126-acre farm four years ago.
"I wanted to do something for Lithuania, something useful, so I am pursuing
it," said the son, now 67, who last visited Schuylkill county in December.
Three years ago, Vytautas Sliupas established the non-profit Auksuciai Foundation for Lithuanian Agricultural and Forestry Development.
The younger Sliupas never farmed, but was introduced to agriculture via his occupation and membership with the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage.
After visiting the Dotnuva Academy of Agriculture - Lithuania's Central Academy of Agriculture - Sliupas found a need to help farmers in the area.
He developed several contacts at the University of California-Davis. Two in particular became interested in the idea: Calvin O. Qualset of the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Lawrence D. Clement of the university's cooperative extension in Solano and Yolo counties. Leland H. Ruth, President of Ruth Associates, an agricultural consulting firm, also took interest.
During the week of August 4-9, 1997, the four men visited Auksuciai to assess the farm's potential as an agricultural center. They received an enthusiastic welcome from local farmers bearing loaves of bread and samples of local beer.
"It was an amazing group of people," said Clement, who participated in a similar effort near Leningrad in 1996 through the Russian-American Farm Privatization Program. "They just need a push to get started."
A fuel shortage has many using horses to pull plows on small parcels. Where there is equipment, it is the type U.S. farmers used in the '60s. It is often too large, left over from the massive collective farms of the communist era. The farmers raise mainly crops, but there is a little dairy or beef.
As for the Sliupas farm, once part of a collective dairy, it no longer operates. The site is remote, no buildings remain. There is no access road, electricity or drainage.
"You don't have to be in Lithuania too long to realize that there's a need for farming education and learning," said Ruth (the family name was originally Rutkauskas). "They've gone through this long period of working under pretty difficult conditions."
For Vytautas Sliupas, It was a Reconnection with his Roots
He was born on October 24, 1931 in Palanga, a Lithuanian seaside resort where
his father would become mayor in 1933. His mother, Grasilda, was Jonas Sliupas' second wife. A widower, he had two older children, daughter Aldona and son Kestutis, with his first wife, Ludvika.
Aldona, born in New York, followed in her father's footsteps and became a doctor. Kestutis, born in Shenandoah, became a physics teacher and authored several publications.
Vytautas first came to the United States with his parents for a visit when he was 2 months old. They returned to the United States nine years later, just two
days before World War II broke out.
The elder Sliupas, thinking the war would end quickly, returned to Palanga. He continued as mayor until the Nazis ousted him for protesting destruction of Jewish and Lithuanian property and lives.
In 1944, Vytautas and his mother fled to Austria. His father left Lithuania in anticipation of a Soviet invasion and died in Berlin on November 6 of that year.
The war over, mother and son emigrated to the United States in 1947 with Aldona's help.
Vytautas studied mathematics at Ohio Wesleyan University for three years,
then obtained a bachelor's in engineering in 1953 at the Illinois Institute
of Technology in Chicago.
After earning a Master's from the University of Wisconsin in 1954, he worked for several small engineering companies in Chicago. He eventually joined Morrison-Knudsen International, a mammoth engineering firm, and spent a career on construction projects around the globe, from Liberia, Bolivia, East Pakistan (today's Bangladesh), to Thailand, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
"I covered - on business and pleasure - 126 countries," he said. Those included Lithuania, which he visited 12 times, 10 times since his retirement in 1987.
The same year, he established the Archives of Ausrininkas Dr. Jonas Sliupas, a non-profit organization that collects information about his father and Lithuanian history. "Ausrininkas" means "a person who is rising the dawn," from the word "ausra."
The archive has received more than 370 donations of books, photos, letters and the like - including some from Frackville, Shenandoah and Scranton - enough to fill three rooms in the home he shares with his wife, Vonda, 65, a retired registered pharmacist.
While Vytautas had the knowledge to organize an archival system, farming was another story, which is why he turned to the University of California
team.
Sliupas had mapped out last summer's trip in its entirety, introducing his three colleagues to many people, including Lithuania's Minister of Agriculture, Vytautas Knasys, a supporter of Sliupas' efforts.
"The man is very dedicated and very directed," Clement said of Sliupas. "He really wants to do this."
Clement, Qualset, and Ruth developed a seven-step proposal, ranging from studying the soil, repairing the drainage system, and developing a crop-rotation plan to hiring a manager and building the necessary housing, barns and outbuildings.
Step Seven: Start Farming
Over a five year time period, Sliupas estimates the cost to make the center a reality was $900,000. So far, he has raised $50,000 toward the $150,000 he needs to get started this summer.
He said he isn't afraid to ask for help and has spent much of his time talking to companies, philanthropic foundations, and agricultural/manufacturing firms.
He visited this newspaper in December, hoping to publicize his plea, then
went on to Washington, D.C. to visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
He hopes to spark interest among Lithuanian-American people and organizations.
Further Notes from Correspondence with Vytautas
Mrs. Alma Adamkus, wife of the President of Lithuania (of Mr. Valdas
Adamkus) is visiting her mother in Chicago. . . I talked with
Mrs. Adamkus by phone. She fully approves our project and agreed that her
name can be used as a "supporter."
Donations or correspondence should be addressed to:
2907 Frontera Way
Burlingame, CA 94010
Sister County Pilot Program:
County of Yolo
625 Court Street - Room 204
Woodland, California 95695
(916) 666-8195
(916) 666-8193
First District: Mike McGowan
Second District: Freddie Oakley
Third District: Tom Stallard
Fourth District: Dave Rosenberg
Fifth District: Lynnel Pollock
Board Of Supervisors, Country Administrator: Roy Pederson
Clerk of the Board: Paula Cooper
March 30, 1998
Telephone: 370 1 430955
Fax: 370 1 439940
E-MAIL
Mr. Zenonas Stundzia
Chief of Siauliai County
Vilnius St. 263 5414
Siauliai, Lithuania
Dear Mr. Zenonas Stundzia:
In the past several months you have heard of your interest in establishing a "sister-county" relationship with the County of Siauliai, Republic of Lithuania. Today we have taken the first step toward that goal. Why have we chosen the Siauliai county? There are at least three reasons: First, Lithuania is in the exact geographic center of Europe, an appropriate starting point for a sister-county relationship. Lithuania is also a country rich in history, culture and in democratic traditions.
Second, Mr. Lawrence Clement, our University of California Cooperative Extension Services Director, traveled to Siauliai last summer with his colleagues in connection with the "Auksuciai" farm project, and has established contacts in your county and has given us a very enthusiastic report. Third, we have met and heard a report from Mr. Vytautas J. Sliupas, P.E., (who lives in Burlingame, CA and whose father Dr. Jonas Sliupas was born in Siauliai, and whose grandson Viesulas Rokas Sliupas was born here in Yolo County), who has extensive ties in Siauliai and has volunteered to assist us. A sister-county relationship can offer opportunities to both sides. We can have international cultural exchanges (art, dance, music, chess clubs, service organizations, religious groups, collectors, etc.); there is opportunity for government exchanges (judicial judges, administrators, librarians, etc.); and there is the possibility of educational and scientific exchanges (between schools, colleges and universities). There is also the opportunity for mutual economic benefits.
A brief informative explanation about our Yolo County is in order. We are
located in the northern part of California's Central Valley, about 100 kilometers Northeast of San Francisco and West of our state capitol - Sacramento. Our county covers an area of 1,035 square miles (2,600 sq. kilometers) and has a population of 150,000 (of which 22,000 live outside
of our four cities).
The county seat is in the City of Woodland, established in 1861 as people
moved to California to search for gold. The City has a population of
43,000. At one time our city was one of the wealthiest cities in
California. Its stately mansions and beautiful Victorian homes reflect its
proud heritage and tradition of hometown caring.
The University of California, Davis (whose agricultural experts you have Undoubtedly met last summer in conjunction with the "Auksuciai" Farm Project), is one of our county's proudest learning and research institutions, especially in agriculture. Today our county is dominated by our diversified agricultural production and its related support industries. We grow and produce rice, corn, wheat, barley, various other grains, sunflower, safflower, beans, alfalfa, tomatoes, melons, sugar beets, vegetables, various fruits and nuts, almonds, walnuts, prunes, oranges, grapes and wines, cattle and calves, sheep and lambs, hogs, poultry, milk, wool, eggs, nursery products and many other. In 1996, our farmers produced over $312,000,000 worth of wholesale farm products. Climatically we are considered to be a Mediterranean type climate with wet winters and hot, dry, sunny summers. Our farmers depend heavily on irrigation. Visitors to our county enjoy numerous cultural, recreational and leisure experiences throughout the year.
On Tuesday, March 24, 1998 our County Board of Supervisors had an official meeting where Board member Mr. David Rosenberg presented a formal motion toward Establishing a "Sister-County" Relationship with the County of Siauliai, Republic of Lithuania. Then we heard reports from Messrs. Lawrence Clement and Vytautas J. Sliupas. As a result of their favorable presentations, the Yolo County Supervisors unanimously voted to authorize me to send you this letter to inquire whether your county (Siauliai apskritis) would be interested in a sister-government relationship.
Throughout California "sister-city" relationships are commonplace, but to the best of our knowledge there are no "sister-county" relationships with a counterpart in the world. Thus, our relationship would be a first for our State of California.
We ask you to consider our invitation and reply to us at your earliest convenience, assuming that your reply will be favorable, we then will establish a group comprised of our county's concerned citizens who will be empowered to develop this new relationship in a friendly, sisterly and mutually beneficial manner.
Sincerely,
Lynnel Pollock
For the Board of Supervisors of Yolo County, California
Lynnel Pollock, Chairman
Smile On
They are a band of volunteers. They are physicians, dentists, surgeons, and nurses. Every year they journey to Lithuania where children wait.
By Matt Weiland
February issue of CWRU: The magazine of Case Western Reserve University.
Tomas & Friends
It was a long journey for Tomas Auryla and his mother, Janina, one that not only brought them from Lithuania to Cleveland in October, but one that brought Tomas the chance of leading an ordinary life. For Tomas, a seventeen-year-old Lithuanian boy born without a chin and a portion of his lower jaw, Partnership in Hope has been more than a medical-care and educational mission, and even more than a means for reconstructive surgery.
It Has Been a Miracle
"He was basically a dropout from life," says Gintautas Sabataitis (GRS '70
and '76, psychology), Administrative Director for Partnership in Hope, the
Cleveland-based group that helped bring Tomas to Cleveland. "His speech was extremely impaired. He completed the ninth grade but was unable to finish school. He felt useless. His mother had tried time and again to get help
but could not. She was told to give him up to an orphanage, but she could not. And now, thanks to Partnership in Hope, he has a chance at a normal life."
On October 16, Tomas entered an operating room at University Hospital of
Cleveland. During an eight-hour operation, a team of oral and maxillofacial surgeons from the CWRU School of Dentistry repaired Tomas's upper jaw and created a lower jaw from his hip. After a period of recovery, Tomas would, for the first time in his life, be able to eat, talk, and smile without pain.
Tomas's operation, fairly routine in America, was neither technically nor economically feasible in Lithuania. Further, the surgery might not have taken place at all had not a ninety-three-year-old Cleveland woman, Paule Balciunas, raised $3,000 for air fare for Tomas and his mother. The Case Western Reserve surgeons donated their services, University Hospitals donated all hospital
services associated with the surgery.
Partnership in Hope was founded to help people like Tomas. Composed of
Cleveland health-care professionals, the nonprofit organization provides the people of Lithuania surgical and dental care not available in their country. The group focuses on Klaipeda, a member of the Sister Cities Program, which links Cleveland with developing cities around the world.
One primary goal of Partnership in Hope is to correct facial disfigurements affecting the young, from cleft lips and palates to post-traumatic skull deformities. With corrective maxillofacial surgery, a child born with facial anomalies can become one of the gang - a youngster whose physical appearance draws no derision. The child suddenly fits in, experiencing the peace and pleasure of anonymity.
"One of the main reasons we immediately began treating children with congenital disorders is their need is so apparent," says Jerold Goldberg, co-founder of the group. Former Chair of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the School of Dentistry, Dr. Goldberg was named dean of the school last fall.
"A facial deformity creates so many other problems for these children. People stare at them. Then, the children feel ostracized. Being able to correct the problem offers a new lease on life. Since we have been traveling to Klaipeda, we have seen things improve dramatically."
Partnership in Hope was established in 1995 by Dr. Goldberg (DEN '70), Dr.
Sabataitis, and John DiStefano, (ADL '70' DEN '72), a CWRU clinical professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery. Dr. DiStefano, who serves as medical director of the volunteer group, maintains a private practice in suburban Cleveland.
Drs. Goldberg and DiStefano are veterans of overseas volunteer efforts. They worked with Por Cristo, a Boston-based medical organization helping the poor of Ecuador. In 1993, on learning of a mission to the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius sponsored by the Lithuanian Children's Relief Organization of Boston, the two surgeons signed up. Partnership in Hope and its work in Klaipeda grew from the the doctors mutual commitment to return to Lithuania.
Physicians and dentists on the Partnership in Hope medical team not only contribute their time but pay their own way (or procure sponsorship) on the annual journey overseas. Most, such as Nick Gravino (DEN '88), sacrifice vacation time. Each May, the suburban Cleveland dentist leaves his practice to volunteer. The professionals take along their own instruments and supplies and secure items ranging from textbooks to X-ray machines for the Lithuanian health-care professionals with whom they are working.
In addition to Drs. Goldberg, DiStefano, Sabataitis, and Gravino, the Partnership in Hope team traveling to Klaipeda in May of 1997 included Morris Dixon, a pediatrician in the cranio-facial clinic at University Hospitals and a CWRU Professor of Pediatrics and International health. Also, pediatric dentist J. Mike Smith, an Assistant Clinical Professor at CWRU dental school, John Zak, a resident in the dental school's oral and maxillofacial surgery department, and Mary Beth Bobek, a Cleveland Clinic intensive-care doctor and pharmacist. A team of anesthesiologists was headed i[ by Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Eric Bloomfield and included Dr. Steve Ditto, in private practice at Lakewood Hospital, and Cleveland Clinic residents Mark Lesitsky and David Sfeir. Nurses accompanying the team were: Dolly Dreslinski, Lucy Caspio, Kathy Dobie, Rita Minkunas, and Maria Gruzdys. Most members of the health-care team were making their second or third trips with Partnership in Hope.
Fending For Themselves
Early on, the Partnership in Hope team faced the obstacles that accompany reaching out to a people who have been oppressed for three generations. The
patients' caution and skepticism kept the volunteers at arm's length. However, over time, as Lithuanians experienced the treatment and follow-up care administered by Partnership in Hope, the patients and their families began to warm up to the American crew, establishing associations and even friendships.
"There are so many stories and so many individuals who have touched the lives of our medical team," explains Dr. Sabataitis, a Cleveland-area psychologist in private practice. "There is one particular two year-old girl who was operated on in 1996. She could not speak nor could she eat. She was fed through a tube in her nose. Today, she speaks and eats normally. And on our trip last year, she brought me roses, said thank you, and gave me a big hug."
A native of Kaunas (Lithuania's second largest city, after Vilnius), Dr.
Sabataitis notes prior to Partnership in Hope, no medical organization in Klaipeda was providing cleft lip and palate surgery, relatively common procedures by American standards. Last May, the Partnership in Hope medical team performed 24 surgeries, including correction of major facial deformities. In addition, they provided dental care for forty children during their week-long stay. Many of the specialists on the team transported medical equipment to the City Hospital of Klaipeda: an anesthesia machine, a ventilator, a new monitor, surgical instruments, medications, and dental supplies.
"The people of Klaipeda haven't had a lot to smile about," notes Dr. DiStefano. "For a long time, there has been a sense of plodding for these people. They have been deprived of many things that we take for granted, basics such as heating oil and hot water."
"For example," he continues, "when I initially saw the City Hospital of
Klaipeda, I thought ... from the outside it is beautiful, a brand new
structure only twenty years old. Inside it was dirty, unkempt, devoid of basics like heat and toilet paper. Simple carpentry maintenance had not been done. Patients sat in their beds while their families took care of them."
Even in basic dentistry, he notes, the amenities Americans have come to expect are absent. "They go for periods of months where they can't get good silver fillings," Dr. DiStefano explains. "Local anesthetics including Novocain are often unobtainable. For many people, dentistry meant having teeth pulled because they can get anesthesia for that. When people smile, you see missing teeth and ugly gold or silver caps. These are not poor people. Some are university professors, doctors, and lawyers."
The failure of the Lithuanian medical delivery system was among the first realitites to strike Dr. DiStefano. "They can deliver small quantities of 1950s-caliber health care, yet there is only one MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine in the country. They only recently obtained a few X-ray machines. Coronary artery bypass surgery only recently became available - to the chosen few, mostly the rich. In the old Soviet system, any patient needing a complex medical procedure was sent to Leningrad or Moscow. Thus the local medical professionals had limited experience at attending to a host of disorders."
"People were conditioned to look toward the state to solve their problems,"
says Dr. Goldberg. "Since the Soviet withdrawal, people have been forced to fend for themselves. Particularly in terms of attending to medical problems. Since the Soviet pullout and prior to Partnership in Hope, Lithuanian medical professionals were closing clefts with techniques that hadn't been used in the United States in over thirty years."
To Teach, To Train
For the people of Klaipeda, one of the main challenges is catching up medically after a long absence of an efficient, modern health-care system. The campaign to get in step with Western medical technology begins with education, the second, though an equally vital component - Partnership in Hope.
Education is the key to the group's success. Partnership in Hope is not merely a vehicle for medical care but a sort of medical ministry.
"One of our primary goals has been to train professionals - to teach them how to fish instead of merely giving them a fish," says Dr. Sabataitis. "We operate, we train, we teach, we give lectures and seminars to the medical staff, all in an effort to deliver educational information, affording them the capabilities of administering medical treatment themselves."
The medical professionals in Lithuania who work with Partnership in Hope - often shoulder-to-shoulder with Americans, assisting in or observing procedures - are mindful of what's at stake: a million people in the region come to them
for treatment.
In addition to learning on their home ground, Lithuanian medical professionals, such as neurosurgeon Vytautas Bryksas, have traveled to Cleveland to observe and participate in medical procedures at University Hospitals. Today, several Lithuanian surgeons can now provide basic procedures, fixing such conditions as cleft palate.
"Teaching is vital to our project," says Pediatrics Professor Morris
Dixon. "The Lithuanian people are very conscientious and caring. They
simply need the equipment and training to help them catch up to the world
medical community."
Dr. Dixon cites a trip he made to the small town of Telsiai, about an hour
outside of Klaipeda near the Latvian border. "There was a school for developmentally disabled children," he explains. "The children, ranging in age from about six to fourteen, cam in on Monday morning and stayed until Friday evening, essentially living at the school during the week. What struck me the most was the affirmative air of joy, an air of possibility and achievement. These children were getting excellent care from their teachers and support staff. The facilities were clean, well-maintained, the people warm and friendly. The children appeared happy and content. The medical care in the country, however, is not as advanced. The people have it in them to develop an efficient and effective health-care system."
"One of the main challenges," says Dr. Goldberg, "has been identifying medical
professionals in the region who are motivated and dedicated to carrying the
ball. Vytas is one of the reasons this thing works," he says, referring
to Lithuanian Dr. Gryksas. The medical team has been training for three years.
Dr. Gryksas returned to CWRU last October for a third month-long training at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. He will attend to Tomas during the young man's recovery in Lithuania. Dr. Vryksas has been selected to head the City Hospital of Klaipeda's new DiStefano/Goldberg Oral and Maxillofacial Unit, dedicated during the Partnership in Hope visit last May.
As head of the unit, Dr. Gryksas will supervise training of other Lithuanian surgeons in the correction of cleft and skull deformities. "Vytas is not only talented and hardworking," says Dr. Goldberg, "but he is also extremely dedicated to seeing that things keep moving in the right direction. He will be the one who teaches."
In June, the Partnership in Hope medical team will return to Klaipeda for the fourth time. The group's goals are to equip a surgical intensive care unit at the City Hospital; equip the outpatient operating room in the DiStefano/Goldberg unit; and provide continued training.
"We always face the challenge of raising money," says Dr. Goldberg, "We must address problems of securing equipment and supplies, coordinating transportation of both materials and medical professionals to Klaipeda. One thing that has struck me the most about being involved in this project is the amount of generous support we have received from all quarters. University Hospitals, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve, various civic organizations, and women's clubs throughout
the Cleveland area have all contributed without hesitation.
"As I've gone around to specific specialists to ask for their services
without charge, everyone has been willing to commit right on the spot
without a second thought," he continues. "It's heartening to be reminded
that people are basically good at heart and that so many have contributed
to making this thing happen."
Among them, Nick Gravino considers his work with Partnership in Hope a way
to give back. Born in a small village in Italy, he emigrated to the United
States with his family when he was a child. He is grateful for his lot in
life. And so, despite the difficulty of leaving his wife and young children behind, he kisses them goodbye for a week every May.
"God bless America," he says. "WE don't realize how much we have, we take
for granted. Then, you come to Lithuania."
For more information on Partnership in Hope, including how to contribute, call:
440-845-0555 (Dr. DiStefano' office) or
440-845-9061 (Dr.Sabataitis' office)
The Man From Red October - Part Two
By Marijona Venzlauskaite Boyle
Myths always have a purpose, a rhythm, a reason, and a season. Gelezinis Vilkas, The Iron Wolf, is such a myth. To this very day, Vilkas remains the symbol of Vilnius, Lithuania.
Rather than bore my reader with usual childhood meanderings, my story will begin when Jonas completed basic military training. After graduation, he continued his studies at Leningrad Higher Naval Academy and in 1961 became captain of a high-tech Soviet Nuclear Submarine. During reconnaissance and surveillance missions in the Baltic, he carefully assessed his life, his goals.
Jonas spoke to no one of his work, everything in his life was top secret. His closed personality was underscored by the Samogitian iron-clad will. But, in two weeks, he would marry. As captain of a nuclear submarine, life was good, life was sweet. He was considered one of the elite in the Soviet system.
It was to be his last mission before marriage. As his ship cruised towards her Latvian Port of Liepaya, Zvalgyba, the Soviet intelligence forces, followed her movements, their instruments tracking each nautical mile. Jonas grinned. "Why?" he thought. "Foolish, very foolish." You see, Jonas possessed an unusual ability. He understood electronics and cybernetics like a cat understands a litter. He even knew how to rig electronic instruments.
As he passed the lighthouse, a flash of of apprehension struck Jonas. "They're watching," he thought. "Everyone is always watching. The lighthouse is watching, the Zvalgyba is watching, the Politruka is watching. They're all just watching, waiting." When the lighthouse beacon failed, Jonas chuckled. "Fate," he thought, "Destiny."
It was the submarine's political officer, the Politruka, who first spotted the coast of Sweden. He quickly cornered Jonas, demanding an explanation.
"Technical problems," Jonas said. "Something's wrong with the boat's naviagation system. Abruptly dismissing the Politruka, he activiated the ship's alert system.
"What do you think you are doing?" the Politruka demanded.
"We have to go ashore to verify our location," Jonas responded, annoyed.
"Ashore?" the Commissar repeated. "Ashore? We can't go ashore. You know the rules!"
Yes, Jonas knew the rules. Sacrifice his men, his boat, his spirit to the sea rather than be taken prisioner. Keep the nuclear system secrets out of the enemy's hands, regardless of cost, go down with your ship. But, never, never dock on foreign soil.
"I take complete responsibility for my decisions!" he shouted. "I am the Captain of this boat. My orders are to be obeyed!"
The silent crew of 31 stood motionless, waiting for the Politruka to assert his authority, certain of a showdown. In one fluid motion, Jonas withdrew his pistol from its holster while seizing the Commissar's weapon.
"Lower a lifeboat," he barked. Turning to a young Lithuanian sailor, he commanded, "You! You're going with me! If anything goes wrong, shot me!" Convinced Jonas would never leave his pretty young bride standing at the alter, the Commissar stood aside, opening an escape hatch. Under the cover of darkness, a lifeboat landed on the sleepy Sweden coast.
________________
Disappearances in Soviet occupied Lithuanian were not uncommon. Once, Jonas' family thought they heard his voice on Radio Free Europe. But that small glimmer of hope faded when they received the dreaded "kvietima" to visit the KGB's offices. Jonas' sister, Onute, was the first to be "invited". Eugenija would soon follow.
After studying at the dramatic conservatory for years, Eugenija was on the threshold of a successful career. Her acting ability blossomed that day, her petals opened to reveal vibrance, strength, and depth.
"Were you and your brother close?" the first KGB agent asked.
Sitting between the two agents, she shouted, "Kur padejote mano broli?" "Where is my brother? Where have you put my brother?"
"We were thought you'd be able to tell us where he is."
"Kur padejote mano broli?" she repeated.
Several weeks passed before she recognized the KBG agent following her on the streets of Moscow. She turned, screaming, repeating her question, "What have you done with my brother?"
Then, another glimmer of hope. The KGB informed the family Jonas had defected to Sweden on a civilian ship.
________________
When Jonas' shoes touched Sweden soil, he began to run; fast, then faster. Did he outwit the young Lithuanian sailer holding the pistols? Or, was the sailor an accomplice, or a pawn?
After hiding in remote Swedish villages for months, Jonas established contact with a regiment of Lithuanian resistance fights left over from WWII. Yes, he alluded the massive Soviet spy network. After living in Sweden for a year, he boarded a United States Military Intelligence plane bound for America.
________________
The Swedish authorities returned the captainless ship and its remaining crew to the Soviets within weeks. Rumour has it the Commissar's head rolled when he arrived in Moscow.
In 1988, a Lithuanian donned the uniform of a United States Naval Captain. As he walked up the plank of the boat, he flipped the pages of a technical manual, pausing for a moment at the electronic section. "No need to read that," he said to himself. Abruptly, he closed the manual.
"Good Morning, Captain, Sir!," the young sailor snapped, extending a crisp salute. "Welcome aboard the best submarine money can buy!"
"Thank you," the Captain said.
"Have you read the entire manuel Captain, sir?"
"Most of it, most of it."
"Well, welcome aboard Seawolf, sir!."
________________
Myths always have a purpose, a rhythm, a reason, and a season. Gelezinis Vilkas, The Iron Wolf, is one such myth. A veil of secrecy usually cloaks a myth. But, then again, myths are usually based on fact.
Songs
If you were to ask a Lithuanian about his country's traditional culture, you would most likely hear about Lithuanian songs and love of singing. Only a few decades ago, most women of Dzukija still knew a hundred songs; the most accomplished singers remembered as many as four hundred. Often, people sang more than they spoke. Songs were handed down from generation to generation, exchanged among villages and changed or augmented during these processes. As a result, many songs possess numerous textual and melodic variants. The largest archive of Lithuanian folklore (LLTI) alone contains over 400,000 collected songs.
Lithuanians, generally not known for outwardly expressive natures, would say their folk songs reflect a broad spectrum of moods, but usually stop short of extreme joy or deep sorrow. However, visitors to the country notice these songs' lyricism and intimate nature. J.W.Goethe said of them, "Grave sorrow blankets these songs". Lithuanian songs depict the more dignified aspects of family and community relationships as well as contacts with nature.
From ancient times, the guardians and creators of Lithuanian songs have been women, therefore it is not surprising that they often reflect female points of view. The texts are lyrical (but seldom epic) narratives in which monologues and dialogues intertwine. They are full of metaphor and mythological symbolism. Abundant diminutive word forms lend the songs gentleness and intimacy. The characters that inhabit Lithuanian folk songs are simple and few in number: mother, girl, ploughman, reapers and so forth. The time and location of the action is usually ambiguous, for example "in father's manor" or "beyond deep seas, green forests and high mountains." Several types of parallels are universally present in song texts. Many examples contain especially poetic textual branches in which people are represented by nature: mother by the sun or linden tree, father by the moon or oak tree and so forth.
Even today, if you were to ask a village woman to sing a rye harvesting song in the winter she would be quite astonished. Most songs were connected to specific moments or actions. This accounts for the diversity of Lithuanian song genres including work, calendar cycle, wedding, christening, family life, children's, feasting, war-historical and others. Wedding songs are the most popular type throughout Lithuania; several of them have as many as 1,000 recorded variants. Calendar cycle songs were performed during Advent, Christmas, Shrovetide, around Easter, Whitsunday, St. John's day and other celebrations. Unique sound-words, pagan symbolism and archaic melodic elements specific to each occasion grace calendar songs. Ancient rye and hay harvesting and other field and house labor songs describe work poetically and laud industriousness. Understandably, war songs are especially sorrowful. Song texts dating from wars with the Crusaders usually contain the following sequence of events: sending brother off to battle, waiting for him to return, and finally his steed galloping home with the news of his death.
You could hear one singer improvise a recited lullaby (which she wouldn't even call a song) and the next moment perform a refined melody which dominated the text, even changing its stresses. At gatherings, everyone usually sang together, often in unison or in two voices. In newer, more popular double-voiced songs, the second voice follows the lead melody which is sung by one person or a group. The second voice is usually a third, or sometimes a fifth or fourth below the main melody. It follows the melody with these main supporting tones (TDS in functional harmony).
Singing techniques varied among the various song types and ethnic regions. For example, only the people of northeastern Aukstaitija could boast of their sutartines, ancient polyphonic songs that may seem dissonant to listeners with classical European music education.
From: Lithuanian Roots
Edited by Rytis Ambrazevicius
Copyright ©, 1996 Lithuanian Folk Culture Centre
FolkTale
How the Rabbit Got His Short Tail and Long Ears!
Translated by Arleen Gould
A very long time ago, when all the animals of the woods were friends, the Rabbit and the Fox were the very best of friends. Except for the color of their fur, the Fox and the Rabbit even looked alike. Both animals sported long bushy tails, short pointed ears. Because they were such good friends, they did everything together; long walks in the forest, swimming in the lakes, enjoying each others company at mealtime.
One day as it was getting close to dinner, the Fox said, "Wouldn't it be nice to have a fish tonight."
"Yes," said Rabbit, "that's a great idea!" So, off they went, towards the lake of the big fish.
Standing along the shoreline, Rabbit said, "Fox, we have no fishing poles or worms to catch fish. What are we to do?"
Fox thought for a moment and responded, "We shall use your tail!"
"My tail!" shuddered Rabbit. "Why not your tail?"
Fox thought for a moment and responded, "Your tail is so much longer and bushier than mine."
"But what will happen if a fish bites it?" asked Rabbit.
"Oh! don't worry about that," said Fox. "Fish have no teeth. When you feel a tug, pull your tail up and we'll have our fish dinner."
Rabbit slipped his tail into the lake and waited for a fish to tug.
At the bottom of the lake, Mother Snapping Turtle swam about, searching for dinner. Her Baby Turtles were hungry! She spotted something long, white and very bushy.
"I'm sure this would make a wonderful meal for my family," she thought. She bit down hard.
"Ouch!" Rabbit cried.
Jumping up from his nap, Fox exclamed, "Great! We have our dinner!" Then, he realized Rabbit was being pulled under the water.
Fox tried to grab his friend's body but the only thing he could reach were Rabbit's ears. So, he pulled Rabbit's ears, harder and harder! Each time Fox gave a tug, his friend's ears began to stretch. As Fox pulled, the ears grew longer and longer.
Under the water, Snapping Mother Turtle kept tugging on Rabbit's tail. After all, her children were hungry. Then, she thought, "Why am I working so hard? All I have to do is bite down real hard one time and it will come loose."
Above the water, Fox pulled harder and harder on his friend's ears. Rabbit's ears kept getting longer and longer. Then, Snapping Mother Turtle bit down hard and . . . off came Rabbit's tail! What had been holding Rabbit's tale was now gone!
Rabbit and Fox began to tumble. When they stopped rolling, Rabbit looked for his tail. It was gone! Mother Turtle had swam off with it to feed her family! Only a small tuft of fur was left.
Rabbit reached up to rub his sore ears. But, they were so long they touched the ground!
Ever since that fatal fishing trip, All Rabbits have been born with long
ears and short tails. And, with good reason ... so they will never again become
friends with a sly Fox!
Sports: Lithuanian Little League
Three letters from Lithuania about a new program instituting Little League
Baseball in Lithuania.
From: LtCol Elliot Fellman
USMC, Military Liaison Team Lithuania
We have started the new year with lots of good and promising news.
First, the International Division of Little League Baseball is getting a donation through Rawlings Sporting Goods company worth $8000 worth of baseball equipment, enough for a four team league in Vilnius. We have an official Little League Charter for Vilnius and working on one for Kaunas. We are working on developing league organizations in Klaipeda and Anyksciai as well.
My work with the Lithuanian Baseball Association and publicity surrounding donations of money and baseball equipment to different organizations has started the baseball rolling here in Lithuania. Our association President, Dr. Kazys Bobelis (member of Parliament), his Secretary, Petras Vilcinskas and Little League District Administrator Valentinas Bubulis have all worked hard with an increasing number of Lithuanians to establish a widespread support base for baseball and softball. Some local sporting goods firms have agreed to stock baseball equipment in the spring because we have convinced them of the upcoming demand. We now have several businesses that promise to sponsor teams in
Vilnius and one in Kaunas.
This is exciting information because volunteering and donating money for civic activities is a new concept here following the years of Soviet occupation. This volunteerism and civic awareness is an important aspect of the increasing quality of life and hope for the future in Lithuania. I am appealing to all to continue your efforts to assist me in helping the people of Lithuania establish this sporting program which will involve a great percentage of the youth. Right now in Lithuania, sports activities are extremely limited.
As in past updates, the only limiting factor that we must overcome here is getting baseball equipment. The majority of the population here dos not have the money to purchase equipment. The donated equipment that I receive is going to the poorer youngsters on the teams. Equipment will not be given to children of the rich if equipment can be bought in the country. Further, the equipment will be lent to the children to use during the season, and they will return it to their league at the end of the season so that it can be used again the following year.
While I was home on holiday leave in Virginia Beach, I used the cash donations from the American embassy employees (the ambassador donated $100 and the Deputy donated $200) and from members of the Military Liaison Team to purchase 40 baseball gloves, 10 balls, a glove repair kit, two batting tees and glove oil. I was able to purchase some fine gloves at thrift stores and flea markets at very low prices. I will be making a donation shortly to help get two teams started in the town of Anyksciai. We will attempt to get a media event out of that and get more publicity.
Publicity has gotten us some volunteers and corporate sponsorship to buy some uniforms teams in Vilnius. But, we still have a long way to go so that we can expand the number of teams available to enable a greater percentage of the boys and girls to play. I will be having a girls only softball practice for the first time in Vilnius next Sunday and hope to get the softball teams started in the other cities as well. We have ongoing initiatives with the Pennsylvania National Guard, Phoenix AZ softball league, and Marines stationed in Quantico, Camp Lejeune, Camp Pendleton, San Diego, and in Pennsylvania; and some private and corporate donations forthcoming (I hope) that will greatly aid the cause. Thanks too to my family in Virginia Beach. I am also pursuing the Sister cities program to get Sister Little Leagues established.
The Lithuanians are big and strong and the youth here can become top notch baseball and softball players that will do well in international competition. I tell them that I hope their teams can, in the near future, earn Silver medals in Olympic Baseball and Softball (I still root for the USA to get the Gold).
Please pass on this message to anyone or organization that may assist us in
this worthy cause.
From: LtCol Elliott Fellman, USMC
______________
Dear Liuda:
Thank you for your interest in helping me help the children of Lithuania. I got a copy of your email from my wife and will answer your questions and provide you with a lot of information. My mailing address care of the American Embassy is still correct and that is the address you need to use. Ship any items the cheapest way (second, third or fourth class) through the US postal system because going through the Army post office, we get mail once a week here, a mail truck comes down from Helsinki, Finland.
There is a UPS service her in Vilnius if you would like to use them. They can handle any box size that you are capable of picking up and weighing not more than 70 pounds. I usually get donations in boxes sized no bigger than 30 inches in height by 24 inches in width and length. The rule is that the combined measurements cannot exceed 108 inches.
I can accept monetary donations by money order made out to me. The embassy cannot cash third party checks. I have the Lithuanians establishing a bank account and getting the proper registration papers required here to be a non-profit organization but that will take a while longer. Duties are not required for this through the APO system. Although you will have to file out a customs form at the post office, just write "baseball equipment donations for the Lithuanian Little League". Enclosed below is more information about what is going on here:
From: MLT Lithuania, 100565,2645
To: Nerijus Adomaitis, INTERNET:nerijus@usis.lt (President of the
Vilnius Little League)
Date: 3/12/98 10:29 AM
Re: Copy of: Lithuanian Baseball Update
From: LtCol Fellman,
Nerijus, The following is my last update that I mailed out in January. We will update prior to the press conference in April. Biggest additions to letter below is story of the Rawlings Donation having arrived here with 30 boxes of equipment; enough for a four team league and umpires. We have also received donations from four different Little Leagues (Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia and New York) in America.
I also have email from California, Arizona, and Texas telling me that donations are on the way. Will also discuss that we have solid plans to start leagues in Kaunas, Klaipeda, Utena, Anyksciai and Mazeikai. I just received a call today from a Peace Corps volunteer in the town of Rietavas saying that they wanted to start up a team there also. The ball is just starting to roll downhill now and we must be ready to expand rapidly. I am looking for contacts in Siauliai, Panevezys, Alytus, Marijampole, Palanga and Taurage too.
The mailing address for Lt.Col. Elliot Fellman is:
C/o American Embassy Vilnius
PSC 78, Box V
APO AE 09723
An update from LtCol Fellman:
The opening day ceremony for the Vilnius Little League will be held on 25
April at Vingio Parkas for 12 teams.
Bits & Pieces
Vaclovas Daunoras continues at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. On Saturday, March 7, he was heard on Texaco's Live from the Met performane of Madame Butterfly. In the fall he appeared with the Tulsa Opera Company in the role of Ramfis, the High Priest, in Verdi's Aida.
Laima Gaizutis continues in the field of composing. Her latest endeavors are songs for which she writes the lyrics as well as the music, some of which have been translated into Spanish. Her song, "The Woman in the Picture" was performed for the first time live on TV in Los Angeles. Luz Carpenter, whose voice is likened to Celine Dion's, performed the song. It will be part of her CD to be released in June. Congratulations Laima!
Lithuanians Helping Lithuanians
This section is to acquaint you with some of the not for profit organizations helping Lithuanians and Lithuanians who have a business with whom other Lithuanians may do business.
It is better to give than to receive.
How much good could your non-profit organization do for Lithuania with a monthly income in excess of $14,000? You have the potential to achieve this, help your organization and those who support you can benefit too. This is a win-win situation for all involved. For more information about this fund-raising opportunity, send an email to :Chips with your organization's name, who to contact, and a telephone number. (This is only for organizations filed as not-for-profit in the United States)
Not For Profit Organizations Providing Aid to Lithuania
Businesses
LABAS: "If anyone is interested in being considered for "Dreams in Action," which airs in Carroll County area (reaches 28,000 homes) and will be travelling to the Baltimore area, please contact: Raimonda Mikatavage.
(913)262-7175.
Are you looking for a speaker for your next event? Author Raimonda Mikatavage is not only a writer, but also a great public speaker.
______________
Translations International, base in Vilnius, offers translations to/from Lithuanian, Russian, and English. If you are a private individual, business, school, or government, no job is too large or too small for us. Our work is high-quality, fast, and costs considerably less than our competitors. If you want it done right and if you want to save money,
Write Us!.
Fax: (370 2) 751056
Address: P.d. 3290
LT-2013 Vilnius Lietuva (Lithuania)
______________
A Lithuanian grammar was published in Lithuania a few months ago. The 800 page hard cover edition, was published with the support of the Soros foundation, Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and Lithuanian government. The price is $40
for a single copy (with shipping and handling).
Also available is the recently published LITHUANIA: IN HER OWN WORDS, an anthology of contemporary Lithuanian writing. As Vytautas Kubilius writes: "The anthology marks the first serious attempt to introduce the Western reader to contemporary Lithuanian writing; its major concerns, stylistic currents, and most importantly, to the issue of a divided literature - a historical situation experienced by most of the literature of Central and Eastern Europe." Price of a single copy is $22 (with shipping and handling). For additional information, contact Julius Keleras.
Julius Keleras is Editor of the Lithuanian-American weekly DARBININKAS and Chairman of Lithuanian PEN center in the U.S.)
______________
Publications In English
LITHUANIAN PAPERS is an 80 page journal, published annually in English by the Lithuanian Studies Society at the University of Tasmania (Australia). The latest issue, No.11/97, is bursting with topical articles and information. Professor Valdas Samonis discusses "Lithuania's road to Europe" and what Lithuania should do to gain admission to the European Union (EU). Howard Jarvis, an English journalist living in Vilnius, gives an account of Sofija Grauziniene's undeserved tragedy and appeals for help to continue his research. Other articles deal with understanding change in Lithuania, Baltic co-operation, Soviet conscripts, saving Jewish children, the cost of NATO enlargement and so on. There is poetry and a presentation of a Lithuanian sculptor, Teisutis Zikaras. Six books are reviewed. Many brief items record various Lithuanian events. Finally, some humor appears on the Back Page. All this is available at $6 (including surface postage) in US, Australian or Canadian currency. Please add $2 if airmail is required. Prepayment is not mandatory. To order, write: Lithuanian Papers. You may pay when you receive the journal.
______________
Jauzinios, the magazine of the Australian Lithuanian Youth Association is about to release edition 46 which contains articles about Congress held in Boston and information regarding the next Congress in Australia. It also has some local articles and information. For further details and subscription information,
E-Mail The Editor. You may pay when you receive.
Lukas Zdanius
Bridges, Editorial Offices
7416 Piney Branch road
Takoma Park, MD 20912
Subscription Offices
LAC, Inc. Treausurer
1927 West Boulevard
Racine, WI 53403
Published 10 times per year, Annual Subscription $18
Lithuanian Heritage Magazine
Baltech Publishing
P.O. Box 225
Lemont, IL 60439-0225
Bi-Monthly, 6 issues $29.95, two years, $55.00
Lithuanian Weekly
P.O. Box 533
2024 Vilnius, Lithuania
Weekly - Annual subscription US $40
Lituanus
6621 South Troy
Chicago, IL 60629-2913
Quarterly, $10 annual, $15 for library donation.
PUBLICATIONS In Lithuanian
Draugas
4545 West 63rd St.
Chicago, IL 60629
E-Mail The Editor
Daily, $95 annual
Dirva
P.O. Box 19191
19807 Cherokee Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44119-0191
E-Mail The Editor
Weekly, $35 annual
Darbininkas
641 Highland Blvd
Brooklyn, NY 11207
Weekly, $20 annual
See your Next Month !!!
