Transitions

Yesterday's post about my Toronto Cousin's folkdress left me thinking about the different costumes I'd worn over the years.

My first "adult" folkdress was one of the mass-produced garments created for the population of Lithuanian baby boomers living in North America. I wore that garish, green folkdress for many years, before my family decided I could transition to the heirloom ensemble. I never had a good headpiece, so I continued to wear the crown from the green folkdress into adulthood.

I recently saw a photo of Mr. Irene's great Aunt, Danutė, at her wake. Her family chose to bury her in her magnificent folkdress. 

Here's how the green folkdress looked when I wore it to a choir performance:

Suburban Chicago, Winter 1975. I didn't like the blouse that was part of the green folkdress set, so I instead wore the one my paternal Grandmother had embroidered.

Choir Culture

Würzburg, Germany, 1946. The Lithuanian choir from the Würzburg Displaced Persons camp performs for camp residents. The choir likely had ties to the camp's folk dance group.

A book that touches my heart.

I linked recently to Daiva Markelis's book, White Field, Black Sheep.

If you enjoy the entries here that linger on the experiences of the Lithuanian-American offspring of DP immigrants, then Daiva's book is a "must read."

Choir

I once mentioned my scatttered participation in the Jaunimo Centro Lithuanian teenagers' choir. When performance dates arrived, I usually positioned myself in the back row of the alto section so that the choir master would not notice that I was unfamiliar with the songs.

Here, I somehow landed right in front of the choir master—my face is just to the left of his. It was probably not long after this performance that a parent of one of my rehersal-dodging partners got a telephone call from the choir master himself.

Marquette Park, Chicago, Spring 1975. My friends and I almost always attended the first half of the choir's Wednesday-night rehersals. We usually ditched out during the "pertrauka," or recess. Our key reason for bolting during recess was because we felt so shunned by the "Marquette Parker" cliques that made up most of the choir.

Lietuvių Jaunimo Centras

The "Lietuvių Jaunimo Centras," or "Lithuanian Youth Center," was the South Side hub of cultural activities in the 1960s.

"JC's," as we called it, was close to the neighborhood occupied by the Marquette Parkers. JC's featured art exhibits at which the Displaced-Persons generation selected modernistic paintings for their homes. Each fall, the center hosted a "Madų Paroda," or fashion show. Expert knitters like my Mom and her friend, Donna, sometimes featured their pieces at the show. Children of the Marquette-Park DPs attended Lithuanian School every Saturday at the center.

JC's also sponsored a Lithuanian choir for teenage singers. I belonged to the choir for a couple of years. The choir practiced every Wednesday night. For me and three of my suburban friends—childhood pals from our satellite, Lithuanian School—choir practice was an opportunity to get out of the house during the middle of the week. Choir practice also served as a pretext when we decided to engage in other mischief. We played hooky so often from choir that the choir master once barely recognized us when we showed up in full folkdress for a performance. (Hi, Mom!!)

Jaunimo Centras is the place at which Lithuanians greeted Simas Kudirka when he finally emigrated to the United States. I sang at the reception that welcomed Kudirka to America.

Finally, JC's organized many stimulating historical conferences for the older set:

Gage Park, Chicago, December 1967. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, joins others for a presentation at JC's.