It was my hope, for this week's post, that I'd get the chance to drive into Berks County and pick up a couple of markers there. Unfortunately, once again, my plans were upset by the arrival of more snow. I'm starting to run out of my backlog of saved markers, so hopefully the worst of winter is behind us now.
Instead, we'll take another nip back to Schuylkill County. Did you know that Pennsylvania is home to the oldest Lithuanian community in the world outside of Lithuania itself?
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| The marker is situated in a parking lot located at 5 North Main Street, Shenandoah |
Shenandoah's population is approximately 12% Lithuanian heritage, and had Lithuanian mayors for 42 consecutive years. It was once home to the publishing house Dirva, on Oak Street, which in 1904 published the novel Algimantas - the first Lithuanian language novel ever published in the entire world. Coincidentally, that was the same year that the Lithuanian language finally stopped being banned in Lithuania itself. Shenandoah at that time was much larger, with a population of upwards of 20,000 residents; today it has fewer than 10,000.
The nearby community of Shenandoah Heights is home to the largest concentration of Lithuanian cemeteries in the entire United States. The oldest one of these is St. George Lithuanian Cemetery, which stopped allowing new burials in 1934. Many of its headstones are Anglicized, not necessarily correctly, due to the immigrants having their names badly transcribed by immigration officers.
West of Shenandoah, Mount Carmel was at one time the hub of Lithuanian activities in that part of the coal region. Its Lithuanian Social Club has a door painted in the yellow, green, and scarlet of the Lithuanian flag; while only a minority of the membership are actually of Lithuanian ancestry, they nevertheless keep Lithuanian traditions alive and showcase a great deal of memorabilia, as well as providing a safe place for local seniors to socialize daily. Mount Carmel was also home of what may be the oldest Lithuanian school in the United States, established in 1923, though it has since been abandoned; the exterior still boasts Lithuanian carving. The Mother Maria Kaupas Center in Mount Carmel is named for a Lithuanian nun who worked there. Students of Bucknell College use the center for temporary lodgings while performing good deeds, and its namesake is currently being considered for sainthood.
Mahanoy City is home to the region's oldest Lithuanian church, St. Joseph's, first erected in 1888. In the first half of the 20th century, a three-story wooden publishing house produced Saulė, the world's highest-circulation Lithuanian newspaper. The building, which dates to 1916, still stands, though it's boarded up. The Bočkauskas family, who ran the newspaper, published its final issue in 1959, since the use of the Lithuanian language had declined in the vicinity. Other Lithuanian buildings in Mahanoy City included the Lithuanian school, which was closed in 1972 and demolished in 2010, and the Lithuanian bank, a remarkably intact structure dating from approximately 1903. Established by a Lithuanian priest as a social service (since American banks at the time often refused to lend money to immigrants), the building has many Lithuanian details in its interior.
In Frackville, the Lithuanian Museum and Cultural Center has been operating since November 1982, providing visitors with details about the life of the average Lithuanian immigrant who settled in the region. Exhibits include traditional weavings and other handicrafts, rare books, and items which once belonged to those who left Lithuania to come and work in the Pennsylvania coal mines. Frackville is also home to the Lithuanian Days festival, an annual celebration of Lithuanian heritage conducted by council #144 (the local chapter) of the Knights of Lithuania. Having been held every year since 1914, Lithuanian Days is the longest-running ethnic festival in the United States. This event includes traditional dances, foods, and songs, as well as vendors selling Lithuanian crafts and a worship service in the evening. A virtual version was conducted in 2020 due to the global pandemic, but the in-person festivities are expected to once again be held at Catalpa Grove Venue and Lakewood Park Campground on the second weekend in August 2021.
Ačiū (thank you) for joining me on what I can honestly say is my first Lithuanian quest!
Sources and Further Reading:
Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.
Both of the trombone players in my high school band were of Lithuanian descent, one from Pottsville and the other from Port Carbon. In fact, Walt from Port Carbon lived in a multi-generational house, with his grandparents who had immigrated from Lithuania and still spoke it's language, his parents who conversed in both Lithuanian and English, and Walt who only had English. There was a social club for the immigrant community called The Sons of The Baltic, or SOB's for short. We had fun with that name.
ReplyDeleteI ended up here while doing some family research. My mother, her mother, and her mother were all born in Shenandoah but my great great grandmother (last name Klementowicz & Oakstan) was born in Lithuania. Now I want to go to Lithuania Days!! Thanks for the cool history facts
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