Class Notes (Part 21)

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. In this Class Notes entry, another anonymous artist sketched a rose.

Class Notes (Part 20)

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. In this Class Notes entry, my Mom's friend delivers a simple bouquet.

Class Notes (Part 19)

Kaunas, Lithuania September 27, 1934. In this Class Notes entry, my Mom's friend wrote:

For memories from Julia.

The Nightingale is a beautiful little bird
May it sing for you
a happy tune.

Written in the second class.

Caption: "I'm carrying gifts for you!"

It looks like stickers were popular in the 1930s, too.

Class Notes (Part 18)

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1934. An anonymous artist contributed to this Class Notes page. I wonder if my Mom's maternal Aunt, Dora, drew this still life.

Class Notes (Part 17)

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1934. A friend named Irene sketched this Class Notes entry.

Class Notes (Part 16)

Kaunas, Lithuania, October 1933. In this Class Notes entry, my Mom's friend recalls a conversation with a rabbit.

Class Notes (Part 15)

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1934. My Mom's friend called this Class Notes entry "A View."

Class Notes (Part 14)

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend explored the watercolor medium.

Class Notes (Part 13)

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend wrote:

For Memories

I have one rose
I give it to you

I have one friend
To her I give everything

From your friend N.

Class Notes (Part 12)

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1934. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend draws a fairy.

Class Notes (Part 11)

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1934. On this Class Notes page, an army colleague of my Mom's Dad got his inspiration from a folk song:

Through the forest of pines
The sun began to shine.
Through the window's glaze
You gazed.

From Major J.

Class Notes (Part 10)

Kaunas, Lithuania, September 26, 1934. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend wrote, "From your classmate, Irene K."

Class Notes (Part 9)

Kaunas, Lithuania, December 12, 1932. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend wrote:

For Memories.

I am not a princess, I have no riches
I have one heart, and that I gift to you.

Irene, your friend from school.

Class Notes (Part 8)

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend wrote:

For Memories!
I'm not a poet, verse I do not write
if you don't like that
then I apologize

Your friend E.

... A Secret

*     *     *     *     *

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. The "secret corner" reveals the penalty for peaking:

Whoever looks here
The horns of a devil must wear.

Class Notes (Part 7)

Many friends who wrote "remembrances" in my Mom's memento booklet used a then-common humor device. After a friend penned a sentimental note, she folded the bottom corner of the page. On the corner's edge, the friend wrote "Paslaptis," or "secret." When the reader unfolded the corner, she learned the concealed message only stated the penalty for her curiosity.
 

 Kaunas Lithuania, 1934. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend wrote:

For Memories!
My hand writes,
But it doesn't know for whom.
But the heart tells me
It's for beloved you.

From L.

 ... A Secret

 *     *     *     *     *

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. The "secret corner" reveals the penalty:

Mr. Secret.

Whoever looks here
On the back of a chick must ride.

(The message rhymes in Lithuanian.)

Class Notes (Part 6)

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1934. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend wrote:

How pretty, how pretty
The garden of rue

Rue? Rue is considered a "national herb of Lithuania." When my parents built their cottage, they planted a bed of rue along one side of the house.

Class Notes (Part 5)

Kaunas, Lithuania, June 1932. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend wrote a poem:

For Memories!
I love one, I love two
I love the one that's pretty
But most of all I love you

Class Notes (Part 4)

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1934. This time, the mice have pocketbooks.

Class Notes (Part 3)

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. My Mom's Dad wasn't the only adult who sketched in my Mom's memento booklet. Mom's maternal Aunt, Dora, wrote, "A remembrance from your aunt. From Aunt Dora."

Class Notes (Part 2)

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. Friends weren't the only ones who wrote in Mom's memento booklet. Here, Mom's Dad, Jake, drew a "nykštukas" (elf) and wrote, "For memories! From your Dad."