"Bonjour!"

River Forest, Illinois, November 1975. Here's another snapshot from my stint as a high-school yearbook photographer. The woman on the right is the Dominican sister who taught French. I enrolled in French-language classes after I completed my two years of Latin study. She was an amazing teacher: she never allowed us to speak English in her classroom. I felt nearly fluent in French after I completed the coursework.

This teacher's training was so good that when I enrolled in college, I tested out of the foreign-language requirement and earned the equivalent of four years' credit in French. I was so excited when I learned the news that I called her from my dorm room telephone to thank her.

(Does anyone still install terrazzo floors [distinguishable from "terrazzo tiles"]? The Venetian apartment in which I lived had them, too. I just love them.)

Cobbled Reunion

Charleston, South Carolina, September 1988. We've wandered into a residential neighborhood.

Related by Marriage: Sadness

Near Panevėžys, Lithuania, July 1993. Mr. Irene's Dad joins the family of his younger brother, Stacey, at the cemetery.

Fall Cleaning

Verona, Wisconsin, November 2014. The field in which the deer feed gets prepped for winter.

Sunday Scene

Bavaria, Germany, about 1946. Two of Mom's friends make a passeggiata outside the DP camp.

Finished-Object Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, October 2015. This is "Mary Tudor," a design by Alice Starmore. The button is amber backed with copper: custom made.

Although this was a fun knit—it's the first time I've worked up a Starmore kit—I can't say I am crazy about the color palette. I prefer more muted shades.

Related by Marriage: Happy Times

Brookfield Zoo, June 1961. Mr. Irene leans on his Dad.

(I love Mr. Irene's red socks and tipped sneakers.)

Dried-Leaf Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, November 2014. The Cedar Waxwings stop by every November. They always travel in a group.

"A Lady Physician of Medicine"

Brooklyn, New York, 1952. I described earlier—here and here—how some doubted Mom's medical training. Mom hired a lawyer to expedite receipt of her medical-school paperwork. Here's the transcript the university supplied when Mom applied for an Illinois license.

Looking Up

Brookfield Zoo, November 1969.  He knows the most flattering angle.

Exchanging Portraits (Part 54)

Erlangen, Germany, Spring 1946. Another classmate of Mom's passed along this memento.

Sized for a Toddler

Verona, Wisconsin, July 2015. I love knitting fine-gauge garments on tiny needles, and this project was a lot of fun.

Related by Marriage: Full-service fill up.

Skokie, Illinois, probably January 1978. Mr. Irene's friend leads Mr. Irene to the pump.

Field Work

Columbia, about 1954. My Dad's friend Casey wrote, "The picked [coffee] beans are lined up, awaiting the machine."

Camp Memento

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Schweinfurt, Germany, 1945 to 1949. This is a "holy card" Dad carried throughout the postwar years. The text printed on the back is not a prayer; it's the lyrics to the Lithuanian Anthem.

Ear Tufts

Brookfield Zoo, December 1969. The Arctic Fox was one of Dad's favorite subjects.

A Closer Look (Part 54)

Palanga, Lithuania, about 1920. This is my paternal Grandfather, Vytautas. He was 26 years old in 1920. Family members referred to Vytautas as "the grey one" because his hair color changed when he was quite young.

We don't have many photos of him in civilian clothing; I would enjoy seeing him wearing that hat.

Here's the original post.

All Saints Day

Kaunas, Lithuania, November 1, 1958. A relative sent this snapshot of my paternal Grandfather's grave. The family member noted she took the photo on All Saints Day.

The letters "A.A." stand for "Amžina Atsilsi," or "Eternal Rest." Lithuanians use the phrase to show respect for the deceased. A Lithuanian customarily says "Amžina Atsilsi" before uttering the name of a dead person. So, for example, were I to refer to my paternal Grandmother in conversation, I would say, "Amžina Atsilsi Tatjana."

Related by Marriage: Sunday Gathering

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, 1959. Mr. Irene's Dad celebrates Mr. Irene's christening day. The group sits in the kitchen of Anna and Stanley's home. The back of Anna's head—covered in a hair net—faces the camera lens.

Do you recognize the 7Up bottle partially visible in the lower right corner?

Peeking-Through Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, October 2015. It's been a gloomy week.

Happy Halloween.

Suburban Chicago, October 31, 1967. I revisit my favorite costume.

My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, sewed a white, trick-or-treating tote to match the costume. I dragged the tote through the puddles as my Best Friend and I walked around the neighborhood late in the afternoon that Halloween. When I got home, Tatjana and my Mom saw that the bag—and the candy I'd collected—had been soaked. They threw everything away. I only got the remnants of what we'd bought to pass out to trick-or-treaters. The splendid variety of my haul was gone, and I was left with one bag of Life Savers.

A Ghost Town, in Three Takes

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Near Flathead Lake, Montana, July 1987. Be cautious when you snoop around: people still live in some of these cabins.

Party Preparations

Suburban Chicago, October 31, 1961. This snapshot shows a view of the Rec Room before my Parents redecorated it. The top of the play table is uncluttered.

Seasonal Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, October 28, 2015. Mr. Irene participated in a carving contest at work.

Recently Found

Kaunas, Lithuania, October 31, 1941.  I was digging through Dad's memento box, and I found this image attached to his agricultural-college identification booklet. Dad earned his highest grade at the school in a course called "Political Economics."

Falling-Leaves Reunion

New Glarus, Wisconsin, October 19, 2014. In a week or so, we'll be in the November glum.

Related by Marriage: Fiftieth Reunion

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, 1997. Mr Irene's Mom joins her classmates from the St. Casimir Academy Class of 1947. (St. Casimir Academy later became Maria High School.)

Campus Memento

Erlangen, Germany, about 1946 or 1947. This postcard features an image of the building in which Mom attended anatomy class.

Permit

Kaunas, Lithuania, August 3, 1927. The Administrator of the city of Kaunas and surrounding areas issued this permit to the American Consul to Lithuania. The document states, "PERMIT. With this I [the Kaunas Administrator] allow America's Consul Mr. [Robert Wayne] Heingartner, to keep a shooting revolver gun. This permit will be in effect until January 1, 1928."

Thanks to the Consul's Granddaughter for making this photo available to us.

Riding Reunion

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1970. There are few tourists on this ride.

The waiting began.

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Seligenstadt, Germany, August 15, 1945. This is the card with which my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, registered her intent to emigrate from postwar Germany. She sailed to New York three years later.

(Note that Tatjana recorded Lithuanian as her dominant language.)

Depth

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1972. Iceberg Lake is deep.

A Closer Look (Part 53)

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1938. This is my maternal Grandmother, Jadzė, and my Mom. I hadn't thought about this photo in a while, but Mom today mentioned the picnic at which it was taken. As the group lunched in the forest, a fortune teller approached Mom. The fortune teller read Mom's palm. She stated Mom would live "in another country, across the deep ocean" and correctly predicted how many children Mom would have. Everyone laughed.

The fortune teller then read Jadzė's palm. The woman shook her head and said nothing to Jadzė.

Rue Notre Dame

North Bay, Ontario, Canada, July 1964. We're at the intersection with St. David.

A Dreary Day

Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada, July 1964. Even the little fish bite on a rainy day.

Brighter Reunion

University of Wisconsin—Madison, October 2012. Seeing this tree lit up my walk to the office.

Carnations

Chicago, Illinois, Spring 1946. An acquaintance gave this snapshot to Mom in the mid 1950s.

Near Logan Pass

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1966. We're driving toward the Visitor Center.

Autumn Visit

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, about 1952. Kadis has some visitors.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Rest-Stop Reunion

Monticello, Wisconsin, October 19, 2015. The geese find a place to rest.

Chilly Season

Unknown location, Germany, Autumn 1944. Roadside shrines are common in Europe.

Same-Spot Reunion

Peninsula State Park, Door County, Wisconsin, October 1980. It's a familiar view.

A Seasonal Event

Suburban Chicago, October 1971. I'm hosting a costume party; we're in the Rec Room.

Campus-Drive Reunion

University of Wisconsin—Madison, October 2012. Sometimes the colors look artificial.

Season Tickets

Kaunas, Lithuania, January 21, 1927. This is a pass to the Lithuanian National Theater. It was issued to the American Consul to Lithuania. The Consul wrote, "Today the Foreign Office sent me a season ticket to the opera good for two seats in the diplomatic box every night during the 1927 season. We have not been there yet because the opera is far back from the street in the public garden and automobiles cannot drive up to the entrance. In this cold weather Lily does not like to walk out in the cutting night air."

Thanks to the Consul's Grandaughter for making this photo available to us.

My maternal Grandmother, Jadzė, bought season tickets to the same theater. Mom remembers attending performances there. Mom also recalls how wives of the Soviet soldiers arrived at the theater after the Russians occupied Lithuania in 1941. Most of the Russian women were of peasant stock, but they had heard they should attend the opera in ballgowns. The woman appeared in the theater lobby wearing satin nightgowns.

Decision Making

Verona, Wisconsin, October 2011. Poppy contemplates her favorite toy.