Old Oak Tree

Stelmužės Ąžuolas, Stelmužė, Lithuania, 1938. My Dad's twin sister, Jonė, and her friends sit at the base of the oldest oak tree in Lithuania.

Pagan roots run deep in Lithuania because it was the last European country to convert to Christianity. The tree holds particular significance for pagan traditions: "According to legend, Perkūnas [the god, "Thunder"] was worshipped beneath this tree by Pagans."