A Closer Look (Part 64)

Kaunas, Lithuania, November 24, 1930. This is another image in which Mom already had her "adult face." Here's the original post.

Background

Near Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1930. This boy is a relative—likely a nephew—of Suzanne. The photo is in bad shape; I post because I love the use of the Lithuanian weaving as a wall hanging. The textile's design is in the family of "apple patterns." I presently am adapting a woven apple pattern for a sweater design.

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

Playsuit

Near Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1930. A relative—perhaps a niece—of Suzanne balances for the camera.

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

Ciao, Sailors!

Genoa, Italy, 1930. The fellow on the left is Dolfo, my Best Friend's father.

Thanks to my Best Friend for making this photo available to us.

Topper

 
Near Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1930. Kaunas Nina's nephew has a soft spot.
 
Thanks to Kaunas Nina's daughter—my Kaunas Cousin—for making this photo available to us.

Suzanne, with Friends

Near Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1930. Suzanne (center)—the wife of my Dad's older cousin, Henry—entertains classmates.

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

Picnic Culture: Gather at the hammock.

Near Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1930. It's a good spot for a photograph.

Thanks to my Kaunas Cousin—whose relatives appear in this image—for making this photo available to us.

Sit outside with the pooch, on the porch.

Near Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1930. I believe the older couple is my Kaunas Cousin's Great-Grandparents—the parents of her maternal Grandmother, Suzanne.

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

Family Outing

Near Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1930. Suzanne—seated on the right—and members of her family pose during a walk.

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

Dressed

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1930. Here again is a young Suzanne. Suzanne wears a Persian Lamb coat—what we call a "Karakulis."
 
Thanks to Suzanne's Granddaughter—my Kaunas Cousin—for making this photo available to us.

Summer approaches.

Near Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1930. Boating along the Nemunas River was a popular family activity in the 1930s. Here, relatives of Suzanne—the wife of my Dad's older cousin, Henry—set off for an afternoon ride.
 
Thanks to my Kaunas Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Resemblance

 

Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1930. When I first looked at this photo, I thought it was an image of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana. The woman has similar eyes. She's a relative of Suzanne, the wife of my Dad's older cousin, Henry.

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

In Step

Kaunas, Lithuania, perhaps around 1930. My Dad's older cousin, Henry—on the left—and his friends take a stylish stroll. Although their caps resemble those worn by Lithuanian high school students, these men appear to be well past high-school age.

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

Head to Toe

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1930. Most of the images of my paternal Grandfather, Vytautas, show him in uniform, but the photos we have are almost all headshots. This snapshot, from that new batch, is quite different from the others.

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

A Young Suzanne

 

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1930. This is Suzanne, the wife of my Dad's older cousin, Henry.

 

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

Wolf Path

Before my maternal Grandparents, Jake and Jadzė, built the house in Kaunas, the family lived in the Soldiers' Quarters in the city of Panemunė. My Mom used to walk to and from school. The path leading to her family's apartment went through a small, forested area. Mom describes the area as being pretty cultivated—on one side of the path grew tree roses, and on the other side, Wisteria. She recalls, however, that her father Jake admonished her to walk quickly through the path because wolves frequented it.

See what you think. Was the danger-of-wolves story a real threat, or was it a way to prompt Mom to bolt home more quickly?

Panemunė, Lithuania, 1930. This is the "wolf path" leading to the Soldiers' Quarters. My Mom's family had an apartment in the building at the end of the path.

A Familiar Face

I've seen this image of my maternal Grandfather, Jake, so many times that it no longer seems like an "old photo" to me. As a result, I had not posted it here yet.

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1930. Jake sat for this photo (and for this one) while he and his family still lived on the "officers' campus" in the city of Kaunas. A few years later, Jake and Jadzė built the house that my Mom remembers as her childhood home.

Identifications

Many old photos that we have are passport pictures and identification snapshots. This image of Zigmas, the younger brother of my maternal Grandfather, Jake, likely was taken for his work at the "Spaudos Fondas," or Press Foundation.

Pre-war Lithuanians, like most Europeans, carried "national identity," or internal, passports. Zigmas alternatively may have had the photo taken for such an internal passport.

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1930. Zigmas always looks happy.

Thanks to my "New" Cousin for making this photo available to me.

Another Grandfather in Uniform ...

... during the years of Lithuanian independence—1918 to 1940.



Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1930. My paternal Grandfather, Vytautas, in the uniform of the Lithuanian Army. The red stamp at the bottom of the right corner states, "Lietuvos Respublika," or "Lithuanian Republic." This probably was a passport photo.

You can dance.

Like most little girls, I loved to dance. My Parents found my early interest in dance amusing. Often, when we entertained guests on Sunday afternoons—as Lithuanians do—a family member would play the piano, and I would take a spin on the living room carpet.

Suburban Chicago, 1962. I do my best to keep the guests focused on me.

  

My childhood obsession with dancing did not get beyond the living room. I was quite disappointed when my Mom barred me from enrolling in ballet lessons. She thought that ballet, and its little-girl trappings, would make me vain and would teach me the dangerous lesson that looks matter more than brains. She wanted me to be smart, not pretty. Mom had a valid point, but it's not one that I could appreciate as a child.

This restriction was especially hard because I already was a misfit at school. Our neighborhood, heavily populated by Sicilian immigrants, had few Lithuanian families. I did not speak English until I started Kindergarten. I wore glasses. My Mom cut my hair in a boyish style because she believed that keeping the hair short would make it grow back thicker. My Mom worked when all the other moms stayed at home. And then, ballet lessons were verbotten. I was bully bait.

Given the baggage, I had quite the laugh when I found this photo:

Kaunas, Lithuania, February 1930. My Mom practices ballet in her bedroom.