Picnic Culture: Introduction

Lithuanians who settled in the United States often socialized at picnics. Most organizations hosted annual picnics that were elaborate affairs. The Lithuanian daily newspaper, for example, hosted a picnic to which people drove from around the city of Chicago.

In our community, the families that sponsored a Lithuanian-Saturday school organized a picnic early every summer along the shores of the Fox River, in Illinois, near Geneva.

Everyone got dressed up and brought a dish to pass. The children ate a separate table, of course.

Geneva area, Illinois, June 1961. The adults organize the youngsters around the children's table. My Mom is on the far left.

Geneva area, Illinois, June 1961. My Mom, right, and a friend relax after the meal.

Geneva area, Illinois, June 1961. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, second from left, watches me as I sit on an admirer's lap.

Geneva area, Illinois, June 1961. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, talks to a family friend, who holds her Chihuahua, "Murzė." I was afraid of that dog.