Weekend Work

Door County, Wisconsin, July 1980. Dad poses with his accomplishments.

Related by Marriage: Bridal Fashions

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, January 1958. Aunt Petra assesses the modern styles.

Related by Marriage: Casual

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, July 1971. Mr. Irene's Dad and his older brother, Ignas, visit with Wally in Wally and Martha's backyard. The men were in their early- to mid-forties when they stood for this photo.

Class Notes (Part 12)

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

A Dad Joke

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1970. Dad's in a clowning mood. This photo always makes me laugh.

Learning to focus.

Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada, July 1964. Dad recognizes I'm just learning to take photos.

Instructions

Camp Aušra (later Camp Kretinga), Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada, mid-1970s. Boys at the Lithuanian Summer Camp absorb the directions.

UPDATE: My Toronto Cousin corrected the date of the photo. The fellow leaning on the pole and instructing the boys is my Toronto Cousin's husband, Toronto Al.

Volleyball or Table Tennis?

Camp Aušra (later Camp Kretinga), Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada, 1957. The weather is warming; sharpen your game.

Don't miss the view.

Niagara Falls, about 1950. Toronto Al's Dad, Vladas, and Toronto Al's Mom, Lea, visits the falls.

Thanks to Toronto Al for making this photo available to us.

At His Happiest

 
Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1968. Dad loved to hike and take photographs. The trip was one of the vacations during which he grew a mustache.

Related by Marriage: Veterans' Day

 
Los Angeles, California, 1951. Thanks to Mr. Irene's Dad and to all who served.

It's finished.

Last year, I posted scans of the swatches I knitted after I had taken Janine Bajus's "Design Your Own Fair-Isle Workshop."
 
I finished the sweater based on a swatch I designed from that workshop:

Verona, Wisconsin, September 2013. You see, I did choose the green swatch. I call this sweater "Baltic Bog."

Related by Marriage: Happy in the Army





Camp Irwin, Barstow, California, February 24, 1952. Mr. Irene's Dad may be happy because his two-year commitment to the U.S. Army is approaching its end.

Thanks to Mr. Irene's Los Angeles Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Lakeshore Posing, in Three Takes

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Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada, July 1965. Sometimes the picture-taking sessions are tiresome.

Related by Marriage: Work at the canine security unit is finished.

Kaiserslautern, Germany, September 1948. By now, I've posted most of the extant photos from the interval when Mr. Irene's Dad worked in the canine security unit. Here's a last image from that era.

Related by Marriage: Army Buddies (Part 7)

Camp Irwin, Barstow, California, 1952. In this "Army Buddies" snapshot, a fellow soldier writes, "To My Bestfriend From Joe."

Related by Marriage: Happier Times on the Farm

Near , Lithuania, about 1942. Here's another scene from the farm that was Mr. Irene's Dad's boyhood home. Mr. Irene's Dad stands on the far right, with his hand on his hip. His mother, Veronica, is the second woman from the left. Older brother Ignas is in the background—he's the one wearing eye glasses. Younger brother Stacey is the little boy in the front. The man with his elbow on Mr. Irene's Dad's shoulder is the Farm Manager.

After the Soviets occupied Lithuania in 1944, they seized and redistributed the farm property.

The Soviets also emptied the banks of citizens' savings accounts. They considered savings accounts "bourgeoisie."

First Place

Würzburg, Germany, 1946. This group of Lithuanians took first place at the Displaced Persons folk dance contest. Uncle Al, the maternal Uncle of my friend Kris, is the fellow in the center, facing the camera. He's easy to spot because of his hair wave. Uncle Al continued folk dancing after he emigrated to the United States.

Thanks to my friend Kris for making this photo available to us.

Related by Marriage: New Ties

Marquette Park, Chicago, Winter 1950-1951. Mr. Irene's Dad—in the coat and hat—joins his brother, Ignas—newly drafted into the U.S. Army—for a snapshot with the wife of the man who sponsored the brothers' immigration to the United States.

Thanks to Mr. Irene's Los Angeles Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Young Parents

Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada, July 1960. My Parents pause for a photo on our way up to Wasaga Beach. The trip constituted my first summer vacation. I did not enjoy that car ride at all.