Authors of the map (2022 Additions)

The “Destination Lithuanian America” interactive map of Lithuanian heritage in the USA has been created by the team of the “Global True Lithuania” website, with tremendous help from Lithuanian Americans, Lithuanian institutions, and others.

Hereunder is the list of the participants of the 2021 expeditions to the Western and Southern USA and the volunteers/sponsors who helped them. The lists from previous expeditions:
2017 East Coast
2018 Mid-West
2019 Canada and nearby areas.
2020-2021 West and South

The team

Augustinas Žemaitis

Augustinas is the owner of “Global True Lithuania” website about the Lithuanian heritage and sites beyond Lithuania. His research on the Lithuanian heritage abroad has been published in “Vytis” and “Draugas” Lithuanian-American newspapers as well as the top Lithuanian media. He also has the True Lithuania website which is a massive introduction to Lithuania in the English language. He is an avid traveler who visited over 110 countries. He is interested in cultures and has authored a Lithuanian book on the Writing systems of the world, also owns a Lithuanian website on national anthems and many other websites.

He is the leader in the “Destination Lithuanian America” project. He contacted the local Lithuanians, took pictures, wrote the site descriptions, filmed, controlled the social media of the project, and created this interactive map.

E-mail: augustinas.zemaitis@gmail.com .

Aistė Žemaitienė

Aistė is an attorney who works with the cases of Lithuanian citizenship restoration. “Destination Lithuanian America” volunteer, she drove the car and interviewed the locals as well as filmed them. She did the legal support for the project and kept contact with the media.

E-mail: aiste.zemaitiene@gmail.com .

Local helpers in Canada and the USA

“Destination Lithuanian America 2022” volunteers have met some 200 people who helped in one way or another or came to our project presentations/lectures. Below is the list of people who helped us organize the visits to various “Lithuanian” cities, who led us or helped us to find the Lithuanian sites there, opened particular closed sites, told us the stories of such sites, or helped spread the word about our visits. In addition to them, we have met many other people, some of whom are also mentioned. We are sorry if someone is left unmentioned. We also apologize for the quality of some pictures, as we concentrated on imaging the Lithuanian sites. Please note that sponsors (including lodging sponsors) are listed separately above.

If you are one of these people and you would like to get your picture changed or additional Lithuania-related details to be mentioned, please contact us at augustinas.zemaitis@gmail.com .

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Tadas Brusokas

The board member of Lithuanian cultural centre of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tadas came to the USA as a third waver and was one of those who understood Lithuanian Music Hall has to be survived – a couple of years ago he and the others got together and decided to do something until it was not too late. So the group put all their effort (work, money, energy) together and transfered Lithuanian Music Hall asociation to Lithuanian cultural centre thus ensuring that the Lithuanian Music Hall never would cease to exist. Virgis showed us around and explained about the renovations done in the building as well as shared the information what events take place here.

Virgis Anušauskas

The chairman of Lithuanian cultural centre of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Virgis came to the USA as a third waver and was one of those who understood Lithuanian Music Hall has to be survived – a couple of years ago he and the others got together and decided to do something until it was not too late. So the group put all their effort (work, money, energy) together and transfered Lithuanian Music Hall asociation to Lithuanian cultural centre thus ensuring that the Lithuanian Music Hall never would cease to exist. Virgis showed us around and explained about the renovations done in the building as well as shared what he knows for our YouTube channel “TrueLithuania”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PSBxhI3Hd8

Baltimore, Maryland

Gintaras Bujanauskas

Gintaras is a caretaker of the Lithuanian museum in the Baltimore Lithuanian Hall. Gintaras told us more about the exhibits that are shown in the Lithuanian museum as well as helped us organise “Destination Lithuanian America” lecture in the Baltimore Lithuanian Hall.

Aleksas Radžius

Born during World War 2 and taken as a child to the USA by his parents who fled the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, he nevertheless spent the whole life promoting the Lithuanian ideas. As a hobby, he re-enacts the Lithuanian anti-Soviet partisan movement that unsuccessfully sought to liberate Lithuania in 1940s-1960s. As the Baltimore Lithuanian church now lacks a Lithuanian priest, he compensates for that by saying as many parts of the Mass in Lithuanian himself into a microphone as it is possible for a non-priest to do.

Back in 2017 Aleksas Radžius shown us around the Baltimore Lithuanian locations, such as the Frank Zappa statue and the Lloyd Street Synagogue, where he had dubbed the Lithuanian priest in an introductory film. Yet in 2022 we interviewed him on camera to share his knowledge with even more people.

Bernie Karpers

Bernie Karpers (Bernardas Karpavičius) was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. His father even attended the grand opening ceremony of the Baltimore Lithuanian Hall back in 1920’s. Bernie spent much of his childhood in the Baltimore Lithuanian Hall and told us about the evolution of this magnificent building as well as was interviewed for our YouTube channel “TrueLithuania”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s9L3jNInk8

Durham, North Carolina

Rim Vilgalys

Rim Vilgalys is one of the three Vilgalys brothers who founded “The Brothers Vilgalys Spirits Company”, the main drink of this company being a Lithuanian “krupnikas”. Rim explained how their famous krupnikas is being prepared and showed us around the distillery. Rim was kind enough to share the recipe of “Vilgalys krupnikas” with us as well as explained they even make krupnikas from the cranberries and beetroots (a unique and totally unknown thing in Lithuania itself).

Dayton, Ohio

MaryAgnes Mikalauskas

MaryAgnes father came to the US and even forged his age to be able to go and fight in WWII. Later on, he became a very famous woodcarver, following the UNESCO-inscribed Lithuanian folk craft of cross-making. Therefore, the home of MaryAgnes reminds of a museum, with lots of Lithuanian crosses and sculptures made by him. MaryAgnes worked in the county jail for years and says this is just the best job she had. She also says she has just always been Lithuanian and never doubter her identity, treasuring Lithuanian traditions and keeping them alive, she also prepares church bulletins and plays the guitar on Sunday Masses in Dayton Lithuanian church. MaryAgnes helped us present the “Destination Lithuanian America” project in Dayton Lithuanian church as well as hosted us at her home during our visit to Dayton, Ohio in 2022.

Annamarie Berger

Annamarie Berger (maiden name Šliužas) is a descendant of the former owner and founder of “Amber Rose” restaurant in Dayton, Ohio. This restaurant is unique as it still serves what is considered a Lithuanian national dish in Dayton, Ohio – the Lithuanian turtle soup. Annamarie shared the story of this soup as well as the memories of “Amber Rose” restaurant with us.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Vytautas Mickus

Vytautas Mickus was born and raised in Cicero, Illinois. Later on in life he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Now Vytautas is the President of the Lithuanian Citizens’ Society of Western Pennsylvania. Vytautas showed us around Pittsburgh Lithuanian country club.

John Baltrus

A chemistry specialist from Pittsburgh, he is one of the main helpers of the project “Destination Lithuanian America” from when it started in 2017. He is married to Jūratė, a woman from Lithuania, and he speaks Lithuanian in his family. He is a major participant in the Pittsburgh Lithuanian society. He is originally from DuBois, where he met the “Destination America” team for the first time in 2017. In 2022 we interviewed John for our YouTube channel “TrueLithuania” where he told us more about how 2 Lithuanian clubs in Pittsburgh merged and that now all the Lithuanian activities in Pittsburgh are being taken care of the Lithuanian Citizens’ Society of Western Pennsylvania.

Osceola Mills, Pennsylvania

Wynter Whalen-Garcia

We visited Osceola Mills Lithuanian club in Pennsylvania in the summer of 2022. Wynter Whalen-Garcia brought us numerous accountancy books of a hundred year old Lithuanian club in Osceolla Mills, Pennsylvania. She was kind enough to give us a ride around what used to be a Lithuanian area a while ago. The Osceola Mills Lithuanian club also owns a large Lithuanian cemetery, so Wynter gave us a tour there as well.

New Jersey

Emilija Sadonis	Emilija is a descendant of the DP generation. She has always been interested in being a part of Lithuanian community in the USA as she danced in “Liepsna”, a local Lithuanian dance group in New Jersey. She welcomed us to stay at her house in New Jersey as well as helped us explore Kerney, Newark, Jersey City, Elisabeth, Bayone former and still existing Lithuanian sites.
Linda Reina	Linda welcomed us and showed us around in Lithuanian Our Lady of Sorrows church, Kearny, New Jersey.
Donna Calcado	Donna welcomed us and showed us around in Lithuanian Our Lady of Sorrows church, Kearny, New Jersey.

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Sonata Tenienė	Sonata is a head of the Lithuanian Home in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She welcomed us at the Lithuanian Home and helped us present our project “Destination Lithuanian America” to local Lithuanians from Edmonton as well as other cities in Canada.
Nijolė Karosaitė (Nejolla Korris)	Her father was one of those who built Lithuanian Home in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She shared her memories of a Lithuanian community and the history of Edmonton Lithuanian Home with us.
Daina Gudjurgis	Her father was one of those who built Lithuanian Home in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She shared her memories of a Lithuanian community and the history of Edmonton Lithuanian Home with us.

Vancouver, Canada

Kristina Jaugelis

Kristina was born and raised in Montreal, Canada, then her family evetually moved to Vancouver, Canada. She invited us to visit Vancouver and arranged our visit to BC Sports Hall of Fame to read more and learn more about Lithuanian descent athlete Irene Piotrowski inducted into this Hall of Fame. Kristina also organised our meeting with local Lithuanians in Vancouver and made us feel like at home.

Birutė Macijauskas

Birutė was a leader of local Lithuanian community in Vancouver, Canada. She invited us to her house and told us more about how Lithuanians settled in Vancouver. She also told us more about her sister Irene Piotrowski who was a famous athlete of her time.

Anchorage area, Alaska

Carole Anderson

Having moved to Alaska, Carole fell in love with this state. Her roots, however, are in Lithuania as generations of her family lived there, even the famous Lithuanian Blessed Archbishop Jurgis Matulaitis was her relative. Carole welcomed us to her home and let us stay there during our whole visit to Anchorage, as well as shared her knowledge about this extraordinary state. Many move out from Alaska after their first winter, she said.

Svaja Worthington

Svaja is a descendant of the DP generation – her family left Lithuania during WWII being afraid to be deported to Siberia. Her family was a part of Lithuanian intelligentsia, including even an interwar Lithuania minister of the justice. Svaja was a teacher as well as a mother to 8 kids, and she still speaks Lithuanian fluently. She and her husband spend half of the year in New Mexico, and another half – in Alaska. This is where she decided to establish the “Little Lithuanian museum” which she did and now everyone visiting Alaska may also visit this cute museum having booked an appointment here with Svaja in advance.

Coal Region, Pennsylvania

Edward Timins	We met Edward Timins (Timinskas – in Lithuanian) during Lithuanian Days in Frackville, Pennsylvania, in 2022. Edward showed us his Lithunian National Guard’s uniform and explained how he ordered that, as well as told us more on how he fell in love with Lithuanian guerilla war reactment.
Connie Tumosa	Connie contacted us after she read about the project “Destination Lithuanian America” in “Lithuanian heritage” magazine. She offered to show us additional cemetery in Pennsylvania – Old St. Mary Lithuanian Cemetery in Wanamie, Pennsylvania. Connie led us the way to the cemetery which we could reach only with a pickup truck, and we did not have one, so she arranged such a ride for us. We are especially glad to Connie and all the others who share their knowledge with us ensuring the global.truelithuania.com encyclopedia of Lithuanian sites abroad is extensive and informative.
Elaine Luschas	We wouldn’t have been able to find numerous sites in the Shenandoah area if not Elaine Luschas, who spent a good part of the day with us and shown us some sites we did not know about previously. She has three daughters, one of whom, Carol, is also especially interested in Lithuanian traditions. All that is despite the fact that the most recent ancestor of Elaine Luschas immigrated to the USA in the 19th century! Elaine is also among the oranizers of the „Lithuanian Days”, the longest continuous ethnic festival in the USA, going on for 104 years, and we were especially glad to be welcomed to our first, hopefully not the last “Lithuanian Days” by Elaine.
Jim Setcavage Dot Setcavage	A pair of retired Lithuanian teachers live next to the Shenandoah Lithuanian cemeteries and were happy to guide “Destination America” back in 2017. They were among the major and sacrificed fighters for the survival of St. George Lithuanian parish, among the oldest in the America’s. Unfortunately, the diocese have destroyed the church, leaving a very bitter taste among the area’s Lithuanian community. The destruction took 8 months, cost a lot and even one of the workers was killed during that process. They were very kind to share the story of this magnficent church with us.
Anne Chaikowski La Voie	Anne’s ancestors came from Trakai in Lithuania to the area in the US of which she is very interested herself. She is now working on opening a Lithuanian museum in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, in a house she inherited from her family.
Robert Damyanovich	Robert is not a Lithuanian himself, but he actually saved one Lithuanian church simply by purchasing it! Robert bought St. John the Baptist church in Coaldale, Pennsylvania, as he married his Lithuanian wife there and they baptised their children there. Robert told us more about how all this happened.

Destination Lithuanian America

Authors of the map (2022 Additions)

The team

Sponsors

Primary sponsors

Major sponsors

Silver sponsors

Other sponsors

Lodging sponsors

Media partners