A Closer Look (Part 84)

Palanga, Lithuania, about 1920. I know little about this gentle man, expect that he is a relative on my paternal Grandfather's side.

Here's the original post.

A Closer Look (Part 81)

Palanga, Lithuania, about 1920. What a serious fellow!

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A Closer Look (Part 78)

Palanga, Lithuania, about 1920. Nothing about this image says "1920." Several people in our family also resemble this girl.

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A Closer Look (Part 77)

Palanga, Lithuania, about 1920. This woman is another relative of my paternal Grandfather, Vytautas. She, too, has several descendants who look like her.

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A Closer Look (Part 78)

Palanga, Lithuania, about 1920. This is a relative of my paternal Grandfather, Vytautas.

Here's the original post.

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.

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Goodbye, Pedestrian Bridge

Here's the time-lapse video.

Here's the bridge at a more active event:

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Madison, Wisconsin, September 2010. These photos are from President Obama's first visit to campus. Here are images from the second visit.

ADDED: Commenter usoniaboy notes I made a big mistake here. The bridge I photographed has not been demolished. That's the price of not being on campus any longer.

A Closer Look (Part 39)

Near Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1920. Here's the original post.

Another Mother

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1920. This is Jadviga, the paternal Grandmother of my friend V.

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

A Closer Look (Part 4)

 

Mariampolis, Lithuania, 1920. This is my Mom's maternal Grandmother, Zigmunta. She's here, in her later years. Here's the original post.

Sunday "Drive"

Shore of the Nemunas River, about 1920. Many family photos feature boat rides along the Nemunas River or people standing along the reedy riverbank and shoreline. Here, relatives of Suzanne—the wife of my Dad's older cousin—embark on a short ride.

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

"Hay! Let's stop here to relax."

Near Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1920. The croquet players take a break from their game. Suzanne—the wife of my Dad's older cousin, Henry—is the woman wearing white on the far left.

(Ha ha. The blog already had a "hay" label.)

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

"Kroketas"

Near Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1920. Croquet became a "mass phenomenon" in nineteen-century Lithuania. Here, members of my Kaunas Cousin's family test their skills on the front lawn.

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

Summer Whites

 

Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1920. This is a portrait of Valerie's family. Valerie was the older sister of Suzanne—the wife of my Dad's cousin Henry.

 

Thanks to Suzanne's Granddaughter—my Kaunas Cousin—for making this photo available to us.

Here, she speaks to me.

This photo of my maternal Grandmother, Jadzė, was taken at about the same time as the serene portrait in which her smiling face reminded me of Mona Lisa.

I see a different Jadzė here. She has crossed her arms, and the expression is confident and wry. 

Mariampolis, Lithuania, 1920. Jadzė reveals a different side.

A Mona Lisa Smile

Mariampolis, Lithuania, about 1920. My maternal Grandmother, Jadzė, as a young woman.

Summer Portrait on the Porch

Here are some members of my Father's side of the family:

Palanga, Lithuania, about 1920. This photo features my paternal Grandfather, Vytautas (far left, with legs crossed and holding a cigarette), and his extended family.

I can't yet identify many of these people, but I would like to get to know the woman sitting to my Grandfather's left. She looks relaxed and thoughtful. When I was little, I resembled the girl who's standing, holding a book.

Notice the maid, who is lurking in the background on the porch. She is the one wearing an apron.

Dora Gets Her Wish

My Mother's maternal Aunt, Teodora ("Dora"), liked it when people paid attention to her. An auburn filly with green eyes and a porcelain complexion, Dora was a rare beauty in the mousy Baltic States. Her fashion sense was keen, and photos show her transforming from Gibson Girl to Flapper to Glamorous Vixen. Even in the steely, Soviet 1950s, Dora looked like an unpracticed double for Joan Crawford.

Dora also was, as relatives whispered delicately, "ahead of her time." In the 1920s and 1930s, she worked full time as a paralegal in a large notarial office whose most important clients were British. At night, Dora played the background keyboards in cinema houses for silent movies. In dour Lithuania, she wore sleeveless dresses sewn in bright colors. She waited until her thirties to marry. When she did wed, she married a twice-divorced man, and she chose not to have children.

Mariampolis, Lithuania, 1920. This is my Mother's maternal Grandmother, Zigmunta, and my Mother's maternal Aunt, Dora.