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Lithuanian Statehood Day STATEHOOD DAY is to commemorate the coronation in 1253 of Mindaugas on July 6th as the first and only King of Lithuania. This year, the Statehood Day of Lithuania will be special. The country, along with Lithuanians around the world will again be united by songs, which always make us stronger and lead us. Let us celebrate the day with the national flag and a Lithuanian song and let us take pride in our Homeland and its people," as Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė said. Events are also planned in other cities and towns across Lithuania.

At 9p Lithuanian time, 2pm Dayton time, all Lithuanians on Saturday, July 6th are invited to sing the Lithuanian National Anthem.

KNIGHTS of LITHUANIA #96 Lietuva Statehood Day 1 C96 Officers 2 Liepa 2 Upcoming Calendar 3 Letters to the Editor & more 4 Father D’ Souza 5 106th National Convention 6 Open Letter 13 King Mingdaugas 14 Morta 17 Christianization of Lithuania 19 Lituanica 21 George & Fritzie Mikalauskas 24 Children Page: Kaunas 25 Kossuth Colony 26 K of L Scholarship 28 MAMD District Fall Pilgrimage 30 Condolence Report 31 SUICIDE in Lithuania 32 Support IRON WOLF 34 K of L Membership Application 35

Join us for mass every Sunday at 1030am Holy Cross Lithuanian RC Church 1924 Leo Street * Old North Dayton Parish Administration Office = 937.233.1503.

Pastoral Region XII Father Tony Cutcher, Pastor Father Joe Kindel, in residence

Father Johann Roten, S.M.

Pray the rosary to

Our Lady of Šuliva

IRON Wolf

Liepa * July * 2019 * V 2 * Issue 7

Knights of Lithuania #96 * Dayton, OH

Dayton, OH Lithuanians &

Friends of Holy Cross

Lithuanian RC Church

Lietuva, Tėvyne mūsų, Tu didvyrių žeme, Iš praeities Tavo sūnūs Te stiprybę semia. Tegul Tavo vaikai eina Vien takais dorybės, Tegul dirba Tavo naudai Ir žmonių gėrybei. Tegul saulė Lietuvoj Tamsumas prašalina, Ir šviesa, ir tiesa Mūs žingsnius telydi. Tegul meilė Lietuvos Dega mūsų širdyse, Vardan tos, Lietuvos Vienybė težydi!

M a g a z i n e

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SINCE YOU ARE READING THIS…. THANK OUR SPONSORS & consider being one!

If you are unable to be a sponsor, consider asking your dentist, doctor or bakery, or grocery to be a sponsor. We need patrons to keep the newsletter successful.

Liepa (July) is derived from liepa, the linden tree, which flowers during

this month; the flowers pleasantly scent the air, are used to make herbal

teas, and attract honeybees. Older names for the month were liepinis,

liepžiedis, plaukjavis, plūkis, šienpjūtis, and šienpjūvis.

C96 Officers &

Committees

President - Michael Petkus 1st VP - Membership Daniel Tucker 2nd VP – Junior Members Tina Kavy Recording Secretary - Anne Louise Tucker Treasurer - Alex Fletcher Financial Secretary - Mary Petkus Trustees - George A. Mikalauskas & Daniel Tucker Sgt. at Arms - Adam Fletcher Religious - Frances Petkus Lithuanian / Cultural Affairs - Michael Petkus Ritual committee - Anne Louise Tucker Vytis correspondent - Open & need a volunteer IRON WOLF Newsletter - MaryAgnes Mikalauskas Victoria Zilinkas Carter Historian - Elena Mikalauskas Photographer - Nathan Fletcher Social committee - Annamarie Sluzas Berger Ways & Means - Anne Louise Tucker Condolence - Julie Goecke By-Laws - Nathan Fletcher SARYSIS / Parish Council - Frances Petkus Public Relations - Open & need a volunteer

Offices and committees

are elected annually in October by the general membership and are open to those in good standing with a willingness to work for the good of the organization. A complete position description is available in the by-laws.

Thank you very much to new IRON WOLF monthly C96 supporters…. Regina Mikalas Dell and Joan Kavalauskas!

Ačių labia!

We couldn’t do it without you!

The Lithuanian Anglers will be making TURTLE SOUP

in a few short months…remember to save room in your

freezer and let your family and neighbors know it will be available!

The KUGELIS sold out very quickly last year…keep that in mind.

MaryAgnes Mikalauskas * 937.461.7139 * 224 Rita Blvd. * Dayton, Ohio 45404-2060 mamikalauskas@aol.com

IRON WOLF is published monthly by the Knights of Lithuania #96, Dayton, OH, USA. Subscription is free for 1 year (12

issues) with your paid dues for membership in the Knights of Lithuania national organization. Additional printed requests

are $2 per + $2 postage per issue or free via pfd. & email. Email requests to mamikalauskas@aol.com. The IRON WOLF

is a free & open forum for the expression of opinions. The opinions expressed herein are solely the opinion of the author

& in no way reflect the opinion of the publisher, staff or advertisers. IRON WOLF claims no ownership of any material

contained within this newsletter except for stated original articles or advertising. Every effort has been made to give

reference to information & historical material. It is presented for the sole use of your enjoyment & to learn more about

the Lithuanian community, past & present members, sponsors, friends, & other nationalities represented by our

membership and church community. IRON WOLF is not responsible for the accuracy of any & all information contained

within advertisements. IRON WOLF reserves the right to edit all submitted materials including press releases, letters

to the editor, articles, calendar listings for brevity and clarity. IRON WOLF is not legally responsible for the accuracy

of calendar or directly listings, nor is it responsible for possible postponements, cancelations, or changes in venue.

Manuscripts, documents and photographs sent to the IRON WOLF become the physical property of the publication,

which is not responsible for the return or loss of such material. The IRON WOLF is a member of the national Knights

of Lithuania organization, Chicago, IL, USA.

Articles are accepted from readers and officers for the IRON WOLF newsletter. You may submit via email or in person.

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Upcoming Events…mark your

calendars… so you can PARTICIPATE July 12th, 2019 * Sunday * Monthly Knights of Lithuania meeting to be held in the Holy Cross church hall immediately following 1030a mass. July 26-July 28, 2019 * National Knights of Lithuania Convention. Please refer to the following pages for complete details. You still have time to register and come to Lemont and participate in any or all of the activities. Aug 4th, 2019 * Sunday * Monthly Knights of Lithuania meeting to be held in the Holy Cross church hall immediately following 1030a mass.

Knights of Lithuania’s National Anthem …

Vyčių Himnas Nuženk, Galybe iš dangaus, Sustiprink jauną Vyčių dvasią! Mes už teisybę stosim drąsiai Tėvynę ginti kuo narsiau. štai plevesuoja vėliava. Ką kalba jos žymė? Ei, Vyčiai, gyvenam Tautai ir Bažnyčiai Mūsų širdyse Lietuva, mintys, darbai, karšta malda. Ei, Vyčiai, gyvenam Tautai ir Bažnyčiai

J U L Y

SPONSORS

Irena, Julia & Michael

Gecas – McCarthy

Armon & Venice Grantham

Regina Mikalas Dell

Joan Kavalauskas

DR. ALAN WILIMITIS, DO

childandadolescentcare.com

Lietuva, Tėvyne mūsų, Tu didvyrių žeme, Iš praeities Tavo sūnūs Te stiprybę semia. Tegul Tavo vaikai eina Vien takais dorybės, Tegul dirba Tavo naudai Ir žmonių gėrybei. Tegul saulė Lietuvoj Tamsumas prašalina, Ir šviesa, ir tiesa Mūs žingsnius telydi. Tegul meilė Lietuvos Dega mūsų širdyse, Vardan tos, Lietuvos Vienybė težydi!

SACRAMENTS BAPTISM: The baptismal preparation class is on the 1st Sat of the month, 9a-1030a in the Senior Center at St. Peter Parish. Call 237-3516 to RSVP for the baptism class and 233-1503 to schedule the baptism. Baptisms are held after the 11a Sunday Mass at St. Peter. Baptisms at Holy Cross, Our Lady of the Rosary, and St. Adalbert are by request. MARRIAGE: Arrangements are made 6 months in advance. Call the Parish Office at 233-1503. RECONCILIATION: Sat from 3p-4p at St. Peter & 4p-430p at Our Lady of the Rosary, 1st Sun of the month at St. Adalbert from 8a-830a & Holy Cross 10a-1030a. Also, by request. ANOINTING of the SICK: Priests are available to administer the Sacrament of the Sick. Please call the Parish Administration Office at 233-1503.

Thank you to our 2019 sponsors:

SPONSOR Joan Kavalauskas Terry & Jerry Scott

PATRON Anonymous Victoria Zilinkas Carter Regina Mikalas Dell

Fred P. Kreuzer, CPA Elena Mikalauskas Frances George Mikalauskas MaryAgnes Mikalauskas CHAMPION Gecas – McCarthy Family GUARDIAN ANGEL Armon & Venice Grantham Dr. Alan Wilimitis, DO

Thank you to our 2018 sponsors: Venice Grantham

Barb Kreuzer Fred P. Kreuzer, CPA & Associates

Lithuanian Anglers Elena Mikalauskas

MaryAgnes Mikalauskas Dr. Alan Wilimitis, DO

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Letters to the editor….and…more…

On July 4th, throughout the United States of America, we celebrate our freedom. Our rights are protected, and opportunities abound. We recognize that freedom has a cost, one we celebrate and honor on days such as this. It's good to honor those who fight for our country, who may well pay the ultimate price for the liberties we are afforded. As faithful Catholics, we recognize that there is more to freedom than simply being at liberty to make our lives what we want them to be. St. John Paul II reminds us: "Freedom is not just doing what we can, it is doing what we ought." We become freer within ourselves and within our relationships when we choose what is right and good. When we choose sin, we become trapped in egoism - less free, not more. This Independence Day let's continue to pursue virtue and good character and encourage others to do the same.

Happy 4th of July to all!

Thank all of those who served in the armed forces for our freedom!

The Chicago-based

Lithuanian Research

and Studies Center

(www.lithuanianresearch.org)

has started up a project to

make a searchable digital

archive of the major

Lithuanian American

newspapers from the 20th

century. They are starting

with 3 newspapers: DIRVA,

DARBININKAS, and

KELEIVIS (see

www.spauda.org). They

have asked the Vyčiai for

help in finding issues of

DIRVA from the 1920s,

1930s, and especially, issues

of DIRVA from July-Dec

1940, and 1941 and 1942

(all months).

The libraries in Ohio, Illinois,

Pennsylvania, and

Minnesota, and the Library of

Congress DO NOT have

these missing issues. If

anyone knows where we

might be able to find DIRVA

(1916-1928), 1930, 1935,

1940-1942, please call

Kristina Lapienyte at the

Lithuanian Research and

Studies Center at 773-434-

4545 or email her at

info@lithuanianresearch.org.

OKTOBERFEST The Region XII Oktoberfest will take place Sept 13, from 6 pm to 11 pm with “The Fries Band” as entertainment. On Sat, Sept 14, we will begin with a 4pm Polka Mass with “Ed Klimczak” playing at the Mass; and he will entertain until 6:30 pm followed by “Joey Tomsick and the Shotskis” until 11 pm. Please note that there will be no Mass or Confessions held on Sept 14 at Our Lady of the Rosary Church and St. Peter Church. The famous Golf Ball Drop will be at 7 pm on Sept 14. Golf Ball Drop forms are in the church foyers… and the last page of the bulletin. Buy early and often... 1,200 golf balls will be sold.

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As I count my blessings, I am grateful to God for the

miracles that have taken place in my life. Being here in

Dayton Region XII is a big miracle for me. The way things unfolded, I

reached here as a result of millions of blessings and prayers of so many

people. I bank on prayers of so many people every day. The amount of

Masses offered, and Rosaries recited will never go to waste in leading

us to Jesus and will result in saving of the souls for Christ. I am grateful

to each one for their support, love, and concern I felt from the time of

my arrival, and even before my arrival from the time I tried to contact

the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and through today. I will be remembering

all the blessings and praying for you all at Dayton Region XII.

I have been inspired by the people who have been praying every day and

for so many hours daily in the church. Their faith and commitment to the

church has inspired me and helped me to pray more. I was taken with a

woman who had 13 children and would attend daily Mass. I could not

find a reason to remain away from church by seeing you all praying and

sacrificing so much for the church.

I was impressed by the little boy of age eight who had suddenly become sick. He was paralyzed on one side and was under

treatment. He expressed his desire to receive Jesus in the Eucharist and last rites. His joy on receiving Christ in the Eucharist

was so intense I could not stop my tears in admiration of his faith in Jesus. There have been many more occasions, while

administrating the sacraments to the sick and dying, I really felt heaven on their faces.

One woman, as she was given Eucharist on sick visits, wanted to have Confession every time she saw me. I was called the

day she passed away and after receiving anointing she held my hand so tight and told me that she is going home that night.

I could literally see the confidence and joy of going to meet Jesus on her face. Her faith and love for the sacraments was

so strong I could see heaven on her face that evening. There have been several instances that led me to deepen my faith

and journey along.

I also received lots of love from the children in the schools. As I walked by the corridors of the schools, the high fives and

the hugs that I received will surely take me long ways in life. I enjoyed being with them in the classrooms, gym, and fields

as well. Every game I played and watched has been very relishing and joyful. I am grateful to the principals, teachers, and

the staff for giving me that opportunity and space.

In every Mass and activity that I took part of in the church, I felt the love of the people and acceptance. You have cared for

me as mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and friends. I am grateful to all that you have done for me every day. I am also

grateful to Father Tony for all that he has done for me from the day of my arrival having received me in the airport until

today. Father Joe and Father Ethan, for their brotherly company and encouragement at every step. I am also grateful to

Bishop Joe Binzer and the Priests in the Archdiocese who have been so encouraging and helpful to me in many ways.

This has been an enriching, growing, and blessed year for me; and I will be praying for the parishes and all the people. To

all the parishioners, parish staff, schools’ staff, and everyone around, I will remain grateful. God bless all.

Father Deepak Oswald D’Souza

St. Joseph School,

NTPC Shaktinagar,

Sonebhadra District

UP(India) 231222

deepakozy@gmail.com

Ph +919348906972

If you we not able to see Father Deepak Oswald D’Souza at his last mass or

make his party, you may write him with a card and monetary contribution for

him. Remember to write “For personal Use” inside the card.

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106th National Convention

Lombard, IL July 25-28, 2019

Join your fellow Knights this summer for the 106th National Convention of the Knights of Lithuania. This year's convention will be in the Chicago area and hosted by Council 157, Lemont.

A fun-filled weekend is sure to be had by all! Detailed information, registration forms, and more can be found following.

The convention hotel is the Embassy Suites in Lombard which includes free hot breakfast and a nightly cocktail reception. Make a point to attend the Pre-Convention Tour, a unique way to see the Chicago sights. This year's hosts are interested in learning about your family's Kūčios traditions.

Please complete the survey to share your traditions.

Many of your Dayton friends are attending.

Connect with all of us and let’s have fun!

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Preconvention Tour Information

Please plan on joining us on Thursday, July 25th, for this year’s pre-convention tour. The day

begins with a short trip to Chicago’s Downtown where we will board our Wendella Cruise Boat

for a wonderful morning tour of Chicago’s architecture as seen from its waterways. We will

cruise along the Chicago River where we’ll take in the sights of great buildings along the

shoreline. Then we will travel through the locks out to Lake Michigan for a wonderful

panoramic view of Chicago’s award-winning lakefront.

All too soon we’ll be back aboard our bus where we’ll enjoy a box lunch as we travel to The

Morton Arboretum. There we will take a leisurely tram tour of the many beautiful gardens

and displays that the Arboretum has to offer. We return to the hotel in the early evening after

a memorable day of sightseeing and friendship. Space on this wonderful tour is limited so

please book your place early to insure availability.

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Open letter to C96 membership from

your IRON Wolf editor…

The 106th Knights of Lithuania National Convention is taking place in just a few weeks sponsored by C157, Lemont, IL.

How many of us are going to Lemont? My first convention was 1976 in Dayton and we had such a spectacular time. The dance group participated, cousins came from Cleveland, and church was standing room only. All the Lithuanian organizations…Lithuanian Anglers, Lithuanian Dance Group, Lithuanian Social Club, St. Peter’s Society, the Knights of Lithuania, the other church groups including the Altar Society and BINGO, supported, subsidized, and promoted this convention.

So why am I bringing this up now?

It is time to contribute…it is time to take part…it is time to do what you can do to keep the Lithuanian community alive and well and moving forward. There are those of us who do what we can to hold and keep the Knights of Lithuania flourishing. I certainly appreciate all of us participating in the council activities. Most recently as I have started this magazine, I especially appreciate the financial support from members and friends like you to promote the Lithuania culture and heritage thru the

publication of IRON WOLF. If we do not talk up the Knights of Lithuania, no one else will.

Look at the Knights of Lithuania. We changed membership to include auxiliary membership. How many know what that means? You don’t have to be Lithuanian to be a member…you do however have to understand the concepts of taking an oath of membership in a 106 year old organization designed to promote Christian practices and profess to promote a deep understanding of Lithuanian language, customs and culture.

SO, I CHALLENGE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU READING THIS ISSUE …. FROM JULY THRU DECEMBER TO A KNIGHTS OF LITHUANIA MEMBERSHIP DRIVE…. each of you get one new member to join our council…just one…and that will double our council in size. We offer members scholarships for their undergraduate and graduate degrees…there is the potential to earn two…you can apply as listed in this newsletter! All you must do is be a member for 2 years prior to applying for a scholarship, actively participate, and meet the other requirements. We have many annual activities including Lithuanian Independence Day, St. Casimir’s Day, Palm Sunday, Mother’s Day, Cemetery visits, and Christmas caroling. If someone wants to start up bowling or another sport activity the possibilities are endless. Applications are at the end of this newsletter. I am personally offering monetary rewards and amber jewelry for whoever gets the most new members accepted by the end of December! Accept the challenge…be an active member. If you can’t make all the meetings right now, participate in other ways, write an article for the newsletter, or think of something to help keep our organization exciting.

This is my personal challenge to you…if you want the Knights of Lithuania to succeed… participate…get a new member…come to a meeting…suggest an activity…bring your children…take the children to an activity…teach your children the Lithuanian language, customs and culture… do something!

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King Mingdaugas

c. 1203 – autumn 1263) was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and

the only Christian King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life,

or rise to power; he is mentioned in a 1219 treaty as an elder duke, and in

1236 as the leader of all the Lithuanians. The contemporary and modern

sources discussing his ascent mention strategic marriages along with

banishment or murder of his rivals. He extended his domain into regions

southeast of Lithuania proper during the 1230s and 1240s. In 1250 or 1251,

during the course of internal power struggles, he was baptized as a Roman

Catholic; this action enabled him to establish an alliance with the Livonian

Order, a long-standing antagonist of the Lithuanians. During the summer of

1253 he was crowned King of Lithuania, ruling between 300,000 and

400,000 subjects.

While his ten-year reign was marked by various state-building

accomplishments, Mindaugas's conflicts with relatives and other dukes continued, and Samogitia (western Lithuania)

strongly resisted the alliance's rule. His gains in the southeast were challenged by the Tatars. He broke peace with the

Livonian Order in 1261, possibly renouncing Christianity, and was assassinated in 1263 by his nephew Treniota and

another rival, Duke Daumantas. His three immediate successors were assassinated as well. The disorder was not resolved

until Traidenis gained the title of Grand Duke c. 1270.

Although his reputation was unsettled during the following centuries and his descendants were not notable, he gained

standing during the 19th and 20th centuries. Mindaugas was the only King of Lithuania; while most of the Lithuanian

Grand Dukes from Jogaila onward also reigned as Kings of Poland, the titles remained separate. Now generally

considered the founder of the Lithuanian state, he is also now credited with stopping the advance of the Tatars towards the

Baltic Sea, establishing international recognition of Lithuania, and turning it towards Western civilization. In the 1990s

the historian Edvardas Gudavičius published research supporting an exact coronation date – 6 July 1253. This day is now

an official national holiday in Lithuania, Statehood Day. See page 1.

Contemporary written sources about Mindaugas are very scarce. Much what is known about his reign is obtained from the

Livonian Rhymed Chronicle and the Hypatian Codex. Both chronicles were produced by enemies of Lithuania and thus

have anti-Lithuanian bias, particularly the Hypatian Codex. They are also incomplete: both lack dates and locations even

for the most important events. For example, the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle devoted 125 poetry lines to Mindaugas's

coronation but failed to mention either the date or the location. Other important sources are the papal bulls regarding

baptism and coronation of Mindaugas. The Lithuanians did not produce any surviving records themselves, except for a

series of acts granting lands to the Livonian Order, but their authenticity is disputed. Due to lack of sources, some

important questions regarding Mindaugas and his reign cannot be answered.

Because written sources covering the era are scarce, Mindaugas's origins and family tree have not been conclusively

established. The Bychowiec Chronicles, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, have been discredited in this regard,

since they assert an ancestry from the Palemonids, a noble family said to have originated within the Roman Empire. His

year of birth, sometimes given as c. 1200, is at other times left as a question mark.[7][8] His father is mentioned in the

Livonian Rhymed Chronicle as a powerful duke (ein kunic grôß), but is not named; later chronicles give his name as

Ryngold. Dausprungas, mentioned in the text of a 1219 treaty, is presumed to have been his brother, and Dausprungas'

sons Tautvilas and Gedvydas his nephews. He is thought to have had two sisters, one married to Vykintas and another to

Daniel of Halych. Vykintas and his son Treniota played major roles in later power struggles. Mindaugas had at least two

wives, Morta and Morta's sister, whose name is unknown, and possibly an earlier wife; her existence is presumed because

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two children – a son named Vaišvilkas and an unnamed daughter married to Svarn in 1255 – were already leading

independent lives when Morta's children were still young. In addition to Vaišvilkas and his sister, two sons, Ruklys and

Rupeikis, are mentioned in written sources. The latter two were assassinated along with Mindaugas. Information on his

sons is limited and historians continue to discuss their number. He may have had two other sons whose names were later

conflated by scribes into Ruklys and Rupeikis.

In the 13th century Lithuania had little contact with foreign lands. Lithuanian names sounded obscure and unfamiliar to

various chroniclers, who altered them to sound more like names in their native language. Mindaugas's name in historic

texts was recorded in various distorted forms: Mindowe in Latin; Mindouwe, Myndow, Myndawe, and Mindaw in

German; Mendog, Mondog, Mendoch, and Mindovg in Polish; and Mindovg, Mindog, and Mindowh in Russian, among

others.[11] Since Russian sources provide the most information about Mindaugas's life, they were judged the most reliable

by linguists reconstructing his original Lithuanian name. The most popular Russian rendition was Mindovg, which can

quite easily and naturally be reconstructed as Mindaugas or Mindaugis. In 1909 the Lithuanian linguist Kazimieras Būga

published a research paper supporting the suffix -as, which has since been widely accepted. Mindaugas is an archaic

disyllabic Lithuanian name, used before the Christianization of Lithuania, and consists of two components: min and daug.

Its etymology may be traced to "daug menąs" (much wisdom) or "daugio minimas" (much fame).

Rise to power. Lithuania was ruled during the early 13th century by a number of dukes and princes presiding over

various fiefdoms and tribes. They were loosely bonded by commonalities of religion and tradition, trade, kinship, joint

military campaigns, and the presence of captured prisoners from neighboring areas. Western merchants and missionaries

began seeking control of the area during the 12th century, establishing the city of Riga, Latvia in 1201. Their efforts in

Lithuania were temporarily halted by defeat at the Battle of Saule in 1236, but armed Christian orders continued to pose a

threat. The country had also undergone incursions by the Mongol Empire. A treaty with Galicia–Volhynia, signed in

1219, is usually considered the first conclusive evidence that the Baltic tribes in the area were uniting in response to these

threats. The treaty's signatories include twenty Lithuanian dukes and one dowager duchess; it specifies that five of these

were elder and thus took precedence over the remaining sixteen. Mindaugas, despite his youth, as well as his brother

Dausprungas are listed among the elder dukes, implying that they had inherited their titles. The Livonian Rhymed

Chronicle describes him as the ruler of all Lithuania in 1236. His path to this title is not clear. Ruthenian chronicles

mention that he murdered or expelled several other dukes, including his relatives. Historian S.C. Rowell has described his

rise to power as taking place through "the familiar processes of marriage, murder and military conquest."

During the 1230s and 1240s, Mindaugas strengthened and established his power in various Baltic and Slavic lands.

Warfare in the region intensified; he battled German forces in Kurland, while the Mongols destroyed Kiev in 1240 and

entered Poland in 1241, defeating two Polish armies and burning Kraków. The Lithuanian victory in the Battle of Saule

temporarily stabilized the northern front, but the Christian orders continued to make gains along the Baltic coast, founding

the city of Klaipėda (Memel). Constrained in the north and west, Mindaugas moved to the east and southeast, conquering

Navahrudak, Hrodna, Vawkavysk, and the Principality of Polotsk, but there is no information about any battles for those

cities. In 1246 by Chronic of Gustynia he was baptized by Orthodox church in Navahrudak, but later because of political

situation he was re-baptized by Catholic church. In about 1239 he appointed his son Vaišvilkas to govern these areas, then

known as Black Ruthenia. In 1248, he sent his nephews Tautvilas and Edivydas, the sons of his brother Dausprungas,

along with Vykintas, the Duke of Samogitia, to conquer Smolensk, but they were unsuccessful. His attempts to

consolidate his rule in Lithuania met with mixed success; in 1249, an internal war erupted when he sought to seize his

nephews' and Vykintas' lands.

Path to coronation. Tautvilas, Edivydas, and Vykintas formed a powerful coalition in opposition to Mindaugas, along

with the Samogitians of western Lithuania, the Livonian Order, Daniel of Galicia (Tautvilas and Edivydas' brother-in-

law), and Vasilko of Volhynia. The princes of Galicia and Volhynia managed to gain control over Black Ruthenia,

disrupting Vaišvilkas' supremacy. Tautvilas strengthened his position by traveling to Riga and accepting baptism by the

Archbishop. In 1250, the Order organized a major raid through the lands of Nalšia into the domains of Mindaugas in

Lithuania proper, and a raid into those parts of Samogitia that still supported him. Attacked from the north and south and

facing the possibility of unrest elsewhere, Mindaugas was placed in an extremely difficult position, but managed to use

the conflicts between the Livonian Order and the Archbishop of Riga to further his own interests. He succeeded in bribing

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Order Master Andreas von Stierland, who was still angry at Vykintas for the defeat at the

Battle of Saule in 1236, by sending him "many gifts".

Mindaugas monument in Vilnius

In 1250 or 1251, Mindaugas agreed to receive baptism and relinquish control over some

lands in western Lithuania, in return for an acknowledgment by Pope Innocent IV as king.

The Pope welcomed a Christian Lithuania as a bulwark against Mongol threats; in turn,

Mindaugas sought papal intervention in the ongoing Lithuanian conflicts with the Christian

orders. On 17 July 1251, the pope signed two crucial papal bulls. One ordered the Bishop of

Chełmno to crown Mindaugas as King of Lithuania, appoint a bishop for Lithuania, and

build a cathedral. The other bull specified that the new bishop was to be directly

subordinate to the Holy See, rather than to the Archbishop of Riga. This autonomy was a

welcome development. The precise date of Mindaugas's baptism is not known. His wife, two sons, and members of his

court were baptized; Pope Innocent wrote later that a multitude of Mindaugas's subjects also received Christianity.

The process of coronation and the establishment of Christian institutions would take two years. Internal conflicts

persisted; during the spring or summer of 1251, Tautvilas and his remaining allies attacked Mindaugas's warriors and the

Livonian Order's crossbow-men in Voruta Castle. The attack failed, and Tautvilas' forces retreated to defend themselves

in Tviremet Castle (presumed to be Tverai in Samogitia). Vykintas died in 1251 or 1252, and Tautvilas was forced to

rejoin Daniel of Galicia.

Mindaugas and his wife Morta were crowned during the summer

of 1253. Bishop Henry Heidenreich of Kulm presided

over the ecclesiastical ceremonies and Andreas Stirland

conferred the crown. 6 July is now celebrated as Statehood Day

(Lithuanian: Valstybės diena); it is an official holiday in modern

Lithuania. The exact date of the coronation is not known; the

scholarship of historian Edvardas Gudavičius, who promulgated

this precise date, is sometimes challenged. The location of the

coronation also remains unknown.

Relative peace and stability prevailed for about eight years. Mindaugas used this opportunity to concentrate on the

expansion to the east, and to establish and organize state institutions. He strengthened his influence in Black Ruthenia, in

Polatsk, a major center of commerce in the Daugava River basin, and in Pinsk. He also negotiated a peace with Galicia–

Volhynia, and married his daughter to Svarn, the son of Daniel of Galicia, who would later become Grand Duke of

Lithuania. Lithuanian relationships with western Europe and the Holy See were reinforced. In 1255, Mindaugas received

permission from Pope Alexander IV to crown his son as King of Lithuania. A noble court, an administrative system, and a

diplomatic service were initiated. Silver long coins, an index of statehood, were issued. He sponsored the construction of a

cathedral in Vilnius, possibly on the site of today's Vilnius Cathedral.

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Immediately after his coronation, Mindaugas transferred some

lands to the Livonian Order – portions of Samogitia, Nadruva,

and Dainava—although his control over these western lands

was tenuous. There has been much discussion among

historians as to whether in later years (1255–1261) Mindaugas

gave even more lands to the order. The deeds might have been

falsified by the order; the case for this scenario is bolstered by

the fact that some of the documents mention lands that were

not actually under the control of Mindaugas and by various

irregularities in treaty witnesses and seals.

Mindaugas and his antagonist Daniel reached a reconciliation

in 1255; the Black Ruthenian lands were transferred to

Roman, Daniel's son. Afterwards Mindaugas's son Vaišvilkas

received baptism as a member of the Orthodox faith,

becoming a monk and later founding a convent and

monastery. Tautvilas's antagonism was temporarily resolved

when he recognized Mindaugas's superiority and received

Polatsk as a fiefdom. A direct confrontation with the Mongols

occurred in 1258 or 1259, when Berke Khan sent his general

Burundai to challenge Lithuanian rule, ordering Daniel and

other regional princes to participate. The Novgorod Chronicle

describes the following action as a defeat of the Lithuanians,

but it has also been seen as a net gain for Mindaugas.

A single sentence in the Hypatian Chronicle mentions

Mindaugas defending himself in Voruta against his nephews

and Duke Vykintas; two other sources mention "his castle".

The location of Voruta is not specified, and this has led to

considerable speculation, along with archeological research,

concerning the seat of his court. At least fourteen different

locations have been proposed, including Kernavė and Vilnius.

The ongoing formal archeological digs at Kernavė began in

1979 after a portion of the site named "Mindaugas Throne

hill-fort" collapsed. The town now hosts a major celebration

on Statehood Day.

The Livonian Order used their alliance with Mindaugas to

gain control over Samogitian lands. In 1252 he approved the

Order's construction of Klaipeda Castle. Their governance,

however, was oppressive. Local merchants could only conduct

transactions via Order-approved intermediaries; inheritance

laws were changed; and the choices among marriage partners

and residencies were restricted. Several pitched battles

ensued. In 1259 the Order lost the Battle of Skuodas, and in

1260 it lost the Battle of Durbe. The first defeat encouraged a

rebellion by the Semigalians, and the defeat at Durbe spurred

the Prussians into the Great Prussian Rebellion, which lasted

for 14 years. Encouraged by these developments and by his

Morta (died c. 1263) was the wife of

Mindaugas. She was the Grand Duchess of Lithuania (until 1253) and later Queen consort of Lithuania (1253–1262). Very little is known about her life. Probably, Morta was Mindaugas' second wife as Vaišvilkas, the eldest son of Mindaugas, was already a mature man active in international politics when Morta's sons were still young and dependent on the parents. After her death, Mindaugas married her sister, the wife of Daumantas. In revenge, Daumantas allied with Treniota and assassinated Mindaugas and two of Morta's sons in 1263.

The only clue into her origin or birthplace is a short mention in the comments following the treaty signed in 1219 between the Lithuanian dukes and Galicia–Volhynia. It says that Mindaugas killed many members of the Bulaičiai family, including Vismantas whose wife Mindaugas took for himself. The Hypatian Codex elaborates that Vismantas was killed in 1251–1253 during an attack against Vykintas' castle (often assumed to be in Tverai). Lithuanian historian Edvardas Gudavičius analyzed toponyms and determined that the Bulaičiai family most likely hailed from the Šiauliai region. Based on this extrapolation, residents of Šiauliai call the city home of Morta.

Life. Her life is briefly described in the Livonian

Rhymed Chronicle. The Chronicle paints an image of a capable woman who advised her husband in political affairs and even provides several colorful dialogues between her and Mindaugas. According to the Chronicle, she supported Lithuanian conversion to Christianity, opposed Treniota, and defended the Christians when Mindaugas relapsed to his pagan faith. Taking into account her support to the Christians and the fact that her pagan name is unknown, Rimvydas Petrauskas proposed that perhaps Morta was baptized earlier than Mindaugas (he was baptized c. 1252 by the Bishop of Chełmno).

Family. The written sources contain little

information on Morta's family, and it is not entirely clear how many children she had. Two sons, Replys and Gerstukas, are mentioned once in an act dated August 7, 1261. The act, by which Mindaugas granted all of Selonia to the Livonian Order, could be a medieval forgery by the Order. According to the Hypatian Codex, two sons, Rūklys and Rupeikis, were assassinated together with Mindaugas in 1263. This is the only information and historians disagree on whether these were the same two sons, whose names were distorted by medieval scribes, or whether there were four sons.

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nephew Treniota, Mindaugas broke peace with the Order. The gains he had expected from Christianization had

proven to be minor.

Mindaugas may have reverted to paganism afterwards. His motivation for conversion is often described by

modern historians as merely strategic. The case for his apostasy rests largely on two near-contemporary sources:

a 1324 assertion by Pope John XXII that Mindaugas had returned to error, and the Galician–Volhynian

Chronicle. The chronicler writes that Mindaugas continued to practice paganism, making sacrifices to his gods,

burning corpses, and conducting pagan rites in public. Historians have pointed to the possibility of bias in this

account, since Mindaugas had been at war with Volhynia. Pope Clement IV, on the other hand, wrote in 1268 of

"Mindaugas of happy memory" (clare memorie Mindota), expressing regret at his murder. In any event, the

Lithuanians were not prepared to accept Christianity, and Mindaugas's baptism had little impact on further

developments. Most of the population and the nobility remained pagan; his subjects were not required to

convert. The cathedral he had built in Vilnius was superseded by a pagan temple, and all the diplomatic

achievements made after his coronation were lost, although the practice of Christianity and intermarriage were

well tolerated.

Regional conflicts with the Order escalated. Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod, Tautvilas, and Tautvilas's son

Constantine agreed to form a coalition in opposition to Mindaugas, but their plans were unsuccessful.[8] Treniota

emerged as the leader of the Samogitian resistance; he led an army to Cēsis (now in Latvia), reaching the

Estonian coast, and battled Masovia (now in Poland). His goal was to encourage all the conquered Baltic tribes

to revolt against the Christian orders and unite under Lithuanian leadership. His personal influence grew while

Mindaugas was concentrating on the conquest of Ruthenian lands, dispatching a large army to Bryansk.

Treniota and Mindaugas began to pursue different priorities. The Rhymed Chronicle mentions Mindaugas's

displeasure at the fact that Treniota did not create any alliances in Latvia or Estonia; he may have come to

prefer diplomacy. In the midst of these events Mindaugas's wife Morta died, and he took her sister, Daumantas'

wife, as his own. In retaliation, Daumantas and Treniota assassinated Mindaugas and two of his sons in fall

1263. According to a late medieval tradition, the assassination took place in Aglona. He was buried along with

his horses, in accordance with ancestral tradition. After Mindaugas's death, Lithuania lapsed into internal

disorder. Three of his successors—Treniota, his son-in-law Svarn, and his son Vaišvilkas—were assassinated

during the next seven years. Stability did not return until the reign of Traidenis, designated Grand Duke c. 1270.

Litas Commemorative coin dedicated to King Mindaugas, with the inscription Mindaugas King of

Lithuania

Mindaugas held a dubious position in Lithuanian historiography until the

Lithuanian national revival of the 19th century. While pagan sympathizers held

him in disregard for betraying his religion, Christians saw his support as

lukewarm. He received only passing references from Grand Duke Gediminas and

was not mentioned at all by Vytautas the Great. His known family relations end with

his children; no historic records note any connections between his descendants and the

Gediminids dynasty that ruled Lithuania and Poland until 1572. A 17th-century rector of Vilnius University

held him responsible for the troubles then being experienced by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ("the

seed of internal discord among the Lithuanians had been sown".) A 20th-century historian charged him with

the "destruction of the organization of the Lithuanian state".The first academic study of his life by a Lithuanian

scholar, Jonas Totoraitis (Die Litauer unter dem König Mindowe bis zum Jahre 1263) was not published until

1905. In the 1990s historian Edvardas Gudavičius published his findings pinpointing a coronation date, which

became a national holiday. The 750th anniversary of his coronation was marked in 2003 by the dedication of

the Mindaugas Bridge in Vilnius, numerous festivals and concerts, and visits from other heads of state.

Wikipedia.com

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The Christianization of Lithuania, Lietuvos krikštas, occurred in 1387, initiated by King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Władysław II Jagiełło and his cousin Vytautas

the Great. It signified the official adoption of Christianity by Lithuanians, the last pagan nation in Europe. This event ended one of the most complicated and lengthiest processes of Christianization in European history.

Romuva sanctuary in Prussia

Lithuanians' contacts with the Christian religion predated the establishment of the Duchy of Lithuania in the 12th century. The first known record of the name Lithuania (Litua), recorded in the Annals of Quedlinburg in 1009, relates to Chalcedonian missionaries led by Bruno of Querfurt, who baptised several rulers

of the Yotvingians, a nearby Baltic tribe. However, Lithuanians had more active contacts with the Kievan Rus' and subsequent Eastern Slavic states, which had adopted Eastern Orthodox Christianity following the Christianization of Kievan Rus' in the 10th century.

As the dukes of Lithuania extended their dominion eastwards, the influence of the Slavic states on their culture increased. Their subordinates and the people followed their example, borrowing, for instance, many of the East Slavic versions of Christian names in the 11th - 12th centuries. This borrowing became increasingly widespread among the pagan population in Aukštaitija, though much less so in Samogitia. The influence of Orthodox Christianity on pagan Lithuanian culture is evidenced in about one-third of present-day Lithuanian surnames which are constructed from baptismal names are Old Church Slavonic in origin. In addition, the Lithuanian words for "church", "baptism" and "fast" are classed as 'loanwords from Russian rather than Polish.'

Baptism of Mindaugas. The emergence of a monastic state of the Livonian Order around the Lithuanian borders made it rather urgent to choose a state religion. The first Lithuanian Grand Duke to adopt Western Christianity was Mindaugas, although his nephew and rival Tautvilas had done that earlier, in 1250. The first translations of Catholic prayers from German were made during his reign and have been known since. In 1249, Tautvilas' ally Daniel of Halych attacked Navahradak, and in 1250, another ally of Tautvilas, the Livonian Order, organized a major raid against Nalšia land and Mindaugas' domains in Lithuania proper. Attacked from the south and north and facing the possibility of unrest elsewhere, Mindaugas was placed in an extremely difficult position, but managed to use the conflicts between the Livonian Order and the Archbishop of Riga in his own interests. In 1250 or 1251, Mindaugas agreed to receive baptism and relinquish control over some lands in western Lithuania, for which he was to receive a crown in return.

Medieval fresco from the Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune Church in Strasbourg, portraying 15 European nations' path towards Christianity. Lithuania presented as the last figure.

Vacillation between East and West. Mindaugas' successors did not express enough interest in following in his footsteps. There were decades of vacillation between the Latin and the Orthodox options. "For Gediminas and Algirdas, retention of paganism

provided a useful diplomatic tool and weapon... that allowed them to use promises of conversion as a means of preserving their power and independence". Grand Duke Algirdas had pursued an option of 'dynamic balance'. Throughout his reign he teased both Avignon and Constantinople with the prospects of a conversion; several unsuccessful attempts were made to negotiate the conversion of Lithuania.

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To avoid further clashes with the Teutonic Order, in 1349, Lithuanian co-ruler Kęstutis started the negotiations with Pope Clement VI for the conversion and had been promised royal crowns for himself and his sons. Algirdas willingly remained aside of the business and dealt with the order in the Ruthenian part of the state. The intermediary in the negotiations, Polish King Casimir III, made an unexpected assault on Volhynia and Brest in October 1349 that ruined Kęstutis' plan. During the Polish-Lithuanian war for Volhynia, King Louis I of Hungary offered a peace agreement to Kęstutis on 15 August 1351, according to which Kęstutis obliged himself to accept Christianity and provide the Kingdom of Hungary with military aid, in exchange of the royal crown. Kęstutis confirmed the agreement by performing a pagan ritual to convince the other side. In fact, Kęstutis had no intentions to abide the agreement and ran away on his way to Buda.

By the 14th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania had emerged as a successor to Kievan Rus in the western part of its dominions. Although its sovereign was pagan, most of the population was Slavic and Orthodox. To legitimize their rule in these areas, the Lithuanian royalty frequently married into the Orthodox Rurikid aristocracy of Eastern Europe. As a result, some Lithuanian rulers were baptized into Eastern Orthodoxy either as children (Švitrigaila) or adults. The first one was Vaišelga, son and heir of Mindaugas, who took monastic vows at an Orthodox monastery in Lavrashev near Novgorodok and later established a convent there.

Christianization by Jogaila and Vytautas. The final attempt to Christianize Lithuania was made by Jogaila. Jogaila's Russian mother urged him to marry Sofia, daughter of Prince Dmitri of Moscow, who required him first to convert to Orthodoxy and to make Lithuania a fief of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. That option, however, was unrealistic and unlikely to halt the crusades against Lithuania by the Teutonic Order. Jogaila chose therefore to accept a Polish proposal to become a Catholic and marry Queen Jadwiga of Poland. On these and other terms, on 14 August 1385, at the castle of Krėva, Jogaila agreed to adopt Christianity, signing the Act of Krėva. Władysław II Jagiełło was duly baptized at the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków on 15 February 1386 and became king of Poland. The royal baptism was followed by the conversion of most of Jogaila's court and knights, as well as Jogaila's brothers Karigaila, Vygantas, Švitrigaila and cousin Vytautas. Jogaila sent Dobrogost, Bishop of Poznań, as ambassador to Pope Urban VI with a petition for the erection of an episcopal see at Vilnius and the appointment of Andrzej Jastrzębiec to fill it.

Jogaila returned to Lithuania on February 1387. The baptism of nobles and their peasants was at first carried out in the capital Vilnius and its environs. The nobility and some peasants in Aukštaitija were baptized in spring, followed by the rest of the Lithuanian nobility. The parishes were established in ethnic Lithuania and the new Vilnius Cathedral was built in 1387 in the site of a demolished pagan temple. According to the information of disputed accuracy provided by Jan Długosz, the first parochial churches were built in Lithuanian pagan towns Vilkmergė, Maišiagala, Lida, Nemenčinė, Medininkai, Kreva, Haina and Abolcy, all belonging to the Jogaila's patrimony. On 19 April 1389, Pope Urban VI recognized the status of Lithuania as a Roman Catholic state. Samogitia was the last ethnic region of Lithuania to become Christianized in 1413, following the defeat of the Teutonic Order in the Battle of Grunwald and the Peace of Thorn and its subsequent return to the Lithuanian control. In November 1413, Vytautas himself sailed Neman River and Dubysa, reached the environs of Betygala, where he baptized the first groups of Samogitians. In 1416, the construction of eight first parochial churches was started. The Diocese of Samogitia was established on 23 October 1417 and Matthias of Trakai became the first Bishop of Samogitia. The cathedral was built in Medininkai around 1464.

Aftermath. Ethnic Lithuanian nobles were the main converts to Catholicism, but paganism remained strong among the peasantry. Pagan customs prevailed for a long time among the common people of Lithuania and were covertly practiced. There had been no prosecution of priests and adherents of the old faith. However, by the 17th century, following the Counter-Reformation (1545-1648), the Roman Catholic faith had essentially taken precedence over earlier pagan beliefs. The conversion and its political implications had lasting repercussions for the history of Lithuania. As the majority of the population of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania outside Lithuania proper was Orthodox and the elite gradually converted to Roman Catholicism, religious tensions increased. Some of the Orthodox Gediminids left Lithuania for Muscovy, where they gave rise to such families as the Galitzine and the Troubetzkoy. The Orthodox population of present-day Ukraine and eastern Belarus often sympathized with the rulers of Muscovy, who portrayed themselves as the champions of Orthodoxy. These feelings contributed to such reverses as the Battle of Vedrosha, which crippled the Grand Duchy.

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Lituanica was a Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker airplane flown from the United States across the Atlantic Ocean by Lithuanian pilots Steponas Darius & Stasys Girėnas in 1933. After successfully flying 6,411 km (4,043 miles),

she crashed on July 17th due to undetermined circumstances, 650 km (404 miles) from its destination, Kaunas, Lithuania.

The aircraft. On June 18, 1932, the pilots purchased the

Pacemaker airplane, serial no. 137, registered as NC-688E, from the Pal-Waukee Company for $3,200. First produced and flown in 1929, forty units of the CH-300 Pacemaker were eventually built. It was a single-engine, six-seat, high-wing monoplane. The fuselage was welded chromoly steel tubing covered with fabric. The cabin interior was covered with a sound-absorbing material. The fuselage had side and top windows, with doors on both sides. The wings were of wooden construction, with two spars, also fabric covered. The spars and ribs were made of spruce strips and plywood. The wings had two gasoline tanks with a total capacity of 88 US gallons (333 L). Wing struts were 2/3 wood, 1/3 steel (at the wings) with aero-dynamic steel ribs, fabric-covered, giving an additional 47 ft² (4.4 m²) lifting surface. Tail surfaces were made of welded steel tubing. The horizontal stabilizer was of spruce strips and plywood, with the trim-angle adjustable in flight. The landing gear was a curved steel bar with rubber rope suspension. Wheels 30 × 5 inches (762 by 127 mm). The engine was a Wright J6, radial, air cooled, 9 cylinders, 300 hp (225 kW). Funds for the plane was raised from numerous Lithuanian clubs and organizations, including air shows.

On January 20, 1933, the aircraft was moved to E.M. Laird workshops at 5321 W. 65th St. in the Clearing Industrial

District, Chicago, where she was rebuilt and made suitable for the transatlantic flight. New elongated wings were built, with two additional gasoline tanks installed in the fuselage, having 220 and 185 US gallon capacity, each equipped with emergency dump valves. Beneath the pilot's seat a 25 US gallon oil tank was outfitted with 12 cooling tubes. A longer horizontal stabilizer was built. Aero-dynamic wheel pants were installed, and the fuselage received a new fabric covering. A new, higher compression engine, 365 hp (272 kW) Wright Whirlwind J6-9E, ser. No. 12733, had a "speed ring". On March 29, 1933, the rebuild was complete, and the registration number was changed to NR-688E, and the aircraft was painted orange. On both sides of the fuselage scrolls with the names of the sponsors were painted. The aircraft was dubbed "Lituanica" (Lithuania in Latin).

Pilots. Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas were Lithuanian pilots, emigrants to the United States, who made a significant flight in the history of world aviation. On July 15, 1933, they flew across the Atlantic Ocean, covering a distance of 3,984 miles (6,411 kilometers) without landing, in 37 hours and 11 minutes (107.1 mph). In terms of comparison, as far as the distance of non-stop flights was concerned, their result ranked second only to that of Russell Boardman and John Polando, and ranked fourth in terms of duration of flight at the time. Although Darius and Girėnas did not have navigational equipment and flew under unfavorable weather conditions, the flight was one of the most precise in aviation history. It equaled, and in some aspects surpassed, Charles Lindbergh's classic flight. Lituanica also carried the first Transatlantic air mail consignment in history.

Flight. An ordinary unmodified plane of this size cannot cover a comparable distance (the Cessna 152, for instance, has a range of 1200 km), even today. The flight was also important from a scientific and technological perspective, as it explored air flows and the capabilities of this type of aircraft. In their last letter, the pilots wrote that either a successful flight or a

22

possible catastrophe would be valuable and significant enough and hence it is worthwhile to fly in either case.

After taking off from Floyd Bennett Field in New York on July 15, 1933, 6:24 AM EDT, Darius and Girėnas successfully crossed the Atlantic, only to perish on July 17, 0:36 AM (Berlin Time) by the village of Kuhdamm, near Soldin, Germany (now Pszczelnik, near Myślibórz, Poland).( 52°51'11.57"N 14°50'17.78"E ) The planned route was: New York - Newfoundland - Atlantic Ocean - Ireland - London - Amsterdam - Swinemünde - Königsberg - Kaunas airport (a total of 7,186 km). Due to weather conditions over Ireland, they veered to the north and reached Germany via Scotland and the North Sea. In 37 hours and 11 minutes, until the moment of the crash, they had flown 6411 km (over 7000 km in actual flight path), only 636 km short of their goal — Kaunas.

Possible reasons of the crash

A Lithuanian board of investigation was appointed to determine the cause. It concluded that the pilots were properly qualified, and the aircraft was properly outfitted. They added that the most difficult part of the flight was executed with great precision. The commission concluded that during the crash the aircraft engine was running (the propeller was rotating), and there was enough fuel on board.

Some sources mention pilot error, but both pilots were highly experienced. During his career as pilot, Darius had never been involved in any previous accidents. In 1931, Girėnas had won first prize in a flight festival in Chicago for gliding his plane and landing with a dead engine.

According to the board, the catastrophe occurred due to difficult weather conditions combined with engine defects. The crash most probably was a result of failed emergency landing. There were rumors and suspicions in some quarters, that the plane was shot down, having been mistaken for a spy plane, because it flew near a concentration camp. Autopsies of pilots revealed no signs of bullets. However, not all parts of the plane were returned to the Lithuanian government.

After the crash

Monument to Darius and Girėnas in Marquette Park, Chicago

On July 19, a German Deruluft airplane carried the bodies of the pilots back to Lithuania. The people of Kaunas met the heroes in great sorrow. The funeral was a solemn occasion and was the cause of official national mourning.

A few months after the Lituanica tragedy, some prominent members of the Chicago Lithuanian community discussed the possibility of financing another transatlantic flight. This idea was greeted with much enthusiasm, and enough funds were raised during the Great Depression. A faster and more modern Lockheed Vega was purchased from the Lockheed Aircraft Corp., the same model used by Wiley Post in his round-the-world flight, and by Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.

The aircraft was christened Lituanica II on Sunday, April 22, 1934. When the pilot originally chosen for the flight unexpectedly resigned in the spring, the Lithuanian organizers turned to Felix Waitkus, and he accepted the challenge. Although he landed in Ireland and not in Kaunas, he entered aviation history for being the sixth pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic.

In 1934 the bodies of Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas were embalmed by professor Jurgis Zilinskas. In 1936 the Lithuanian government decided to build a mausoleum for Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas in Kaunas' old cemetery, that was destroyed after Soviet re-occupation. From then until the present day, the wreckage of Lituanica has been on display in the Vytautas the Great War Museum in Kaunas.

At present the pilots' bodies rest in the Military Cemetery of Šančiai, Kaunas.

Memorials

10 litas banknote featuring the flight

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Chicago's Lithuanian community erected an Art Deco Monument commemorating Stasys Girėnas and Steponas Darius in Chicago's Marquette Park in 1935 where it still stands to this day. Feliksas Vaitkus was inspired by the flight and commemorated it with the flight of the Lituanica II in 1935.

The flight is commemorated in a movie Skrydis per Atlantą (Flight over the Atlantic) (1983). Kaunas's sports stadium, S.Darius and S.Girėnas Stadium, where the Lithuanian national soccer team plays its home matches, is also named in their honor. There is a tall stone monument near the stadium, the Lithuanian Academy of Sport and the Ąžuolynas Park dedicated to the pilots.

Sculptor Bronius Pundzius made a relief of the pilots' faces on the Puntukas, then the largest known boulder in the territory of Lithuania, in 1943.

In New York City, in 1957, the fliers were memorialized with a granite flagstaff showing the pair in bas-relief. The monument is in Lithuania Square, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

In Kaunas, a model of the Lituanica was put in 2013 to commemorate 80 years of the event.

Lituanica Ave, Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago, IL is named after this flight. The avenue runs between Halsted and Morgan streets from 31st and 35th streets, and after a jog east proceeds south to 38th place between Sangamon and Halsted streets.

The small town of Beverly Shores, Indiana (Just west of Michigan City, Indiana) has another memorial to the Lituanica flight. There, in 1968, the American Lithuanian Club established a park and named it Lituanica Park after the Bellanca CH-300 used in the flight. In 1971, to honor the pilots, a large modern sculpture by J. Barkis was placed in the park's pond.

Before the flight Stasys Girėnas and Steponas Darius left a testament to the Lithuanian nation:

Young Lithuania! Inspired by Your spirit, we embark on a mission we have chosen. May our success strengthen Your spirit and confidence in Your own powers and talents! But should Neptune and the mighty ruler of storms Perkūnas unleash their wrath upon us, should they stop our way to Young Lithuania and call Lituanica to their realm – then You, Young Lithuania, will have to resolve anew, make sacrifice and prepare for a new quest, so that gods of stormy oceans be pleased with Your effort, resolution, and do not summon You for the Great Judgement. May Lituanica's victory strengthen the spirit of young sons

of Lithuania, inspire them for new quests. May Lituanica's defeat and sinking into the depths of the Atlantic nurture perseverance and resoluteness in young Lithuanians, so that a Winged Lithuanian conquers the treacherous Atlantic for the glory of Mother Lithuania! We therefore dedicate and sacrifice our flight for You, Young Lithuania!

Steponas Darius (known as Stephen Darius in the USA; born Steponas Jucevičius - Darašius; January 8, 1896 – July 17, 1933) was a Lithuanian American pilot.

Born in Rubiškės, in the Kovno Governorate of the Russian Empire, Darius immigrated to the US with his family in 1907. In 1917 he joined the United States Army, after the United States entered World War I, and changed his name to Darius. He served as a telephone operator in the 149th Field Artillery Regiment, fought in France, was wounded and received the Purple Heart medal. In 1920, he returned to Lithuania and joined the Lithuanian Army, graduating from War School of Kaunas in 1921. He participated in the Klaipėda Revolt of 1923. While living in Lithuania he completed pilot training. In 1927 he returned to the United States and started working in civil aviation. He initially formed South Bend Airways in partnership with Carl G. Jordan of South Bend, Indiana. Their fleet consisted of a Pheasant H-10 and a Longwing Eaglerock, both powered by OX-5 engines of World War I vintage. He lived for a while in the Jordan household prior to moving to Chicago.

While living in Lithuania he actively promoted various sports. He initiated building of first stadium in Kaunas; it was later was named after him – the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium. He played basketball, baseball, ice hockey, and practiced boxing and athletics, while also being an international footballer, having played for Lithuania national football team in its first competitive game against Estonia on June 23, 1923. Since he was the first to publish booklets about basketball and baseball, he is considered to have brought those sports to Lithuania. He was also the first chairman of Lithuanian Physical Education Union, and a founder of Sporto Žurnalas (Sports magazine).

Wikipedia.com

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Stasys Girėnas (known as Stanley T. Girenas in the USA; born Stasys Girskis October 4, 1893 in Vytogala, Kovno Governorate – July 17, 1933 near Soldin, Germany) was a Lithuanian-American pilot.

Girenas was born in Vytogala, in the Šilalė district of Lithuania, then part of the Kovno Governorate of the Russian Empire. In 1910, when he was 17 years old, he emigrated to the United States, and settled in Chicago. As a young man he worked in a printing house. In 1917, upon the entry of the U.S. into World War I, he enlisted in the United States Army, where he was trained as a mechanic. In 1919, after being honorably discharged, he worked as a cab driver, and at the same time learned to fly. He acquired a plane in 1925. Despite being injured in an air crash, he continued flying and working in civil aviation. In 1931 he won the first prize at the Chicago Air Festival for the best landing of a plane with its engine turned off.

Darius and Girėnas (right) on a 2013 Lithuanian stamp

Congratulations to

Uncle George &

Aunt Fritzie Mikalauskas on your

60th wedding anniversary!

Love, Regina Mikalas Dell

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Children’s Page……. Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania

and the historical center of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a county in Trakai Municipality of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. In the Russian Empire, it was the capital of the Kaunas Governorate from 1843 to 1915.

During the interwar period, it served as the temporary capital of Lithuania, when Vilnius was seized by Poland between 1920 and 1939. During that period Kaunas was celebrated for its rich cultural and academic life, fashion, construction of countless Art Deco and Lithuanian National Romanticism

architectural-style buildings as well as popular furniture, the interior design of the time, and a widespread café culture. The city interwar architecture is regarded as among the finest examples of European Art Deco and has received the European Heritage Label. It contributed to Kaunas being named as the first city in Central and Eastern Europe to be designated as a UNESCO City of Design. Kaunas has been selected as the European Capital of Culture for 2022, together with Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.

The city is the capital of Kaunas County, and the seat of the Kaunas city municipality and the Kaunas District Municipality. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas. Kaunas is located at the confluence of the two largest Lithuanian rivers, the Nemunas and the Neris, and is near the Kaunas Reservoir, the largest body of water in the whole of Lithuania. As defined by Eurostat, the population of Kaunas functional urban area, that stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 383,764 (as of 2017), while according to statistics of Kaunas territorial health insurance fund, there are 437,283 permanent inhabitants (as of 2018) in Kaunas city and Kaunas district municipalities combined.

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THE KOSSUTH COLONY Continued from June

Final installment

By Stanley R. Cichanowicz University of Dayton, December 3, 1963

CHAPTER VI PUBLIC REACTION TO THE COLONY New Newspapers When the Kossuth Colony suddenly appeared in 1906, public reaction was mixed. The Dayton Daily News immediately assumed the role of the “campaigning newspaper’ and launched a vigorous denunciation of the Colony and of Jacob D. Moskowitz. The story of the Colony remained front-page news for nearly two weeks, with photographs of the Colony and interviews with its inhabitants featured daily.

The chief accusation hurled by the News was that the Colony, with its fence, was contrary to the ideals of America.[86] In that accusation, the News was correct; but, the paper also inferred, in its one-sided interviews and play upon sensationalism, that Mr. Moskowitz exploited the Colonists and placed them in a compound where living conditions were substandard to those enjoyed by other American workers. The last two accusations, the News was never able to prove. In a letter written to the Editor, Mr. Moskowitz challenged the News to prove its accusations.

Dear Sir: You have had in the past few days a great deal in your columns in reference to the Hungarians here in North Dayton. Your paper has this day requested me to make a statement regarding the management of them. I very much prefer that this statement be made by other gentlemen totally disinterested. I therefore suggest to you that you select three who shall do an investigation of the methods employed in the Colony and report to the public through the columns of all the Dayton Newspapers. If this plan is compatible to you, I will ask Mr. Adam Schantz, Mr. Wm. W. Hanley and Mr. Joseph H. Crane to act on this committee.

J.D.M.

The News never did comply with the suggestion, nor in that matter, did it even recognize the receipt of the letter in any of its editorials. In fact, when the letter did appear in the News, it was not placed on the front page where it justifiably belonged, for Mr. Moskowitz was directly offering a suggestion on how to arrive at the truth of the Colony, but it was buried on the bottom of page two. The furor created by the News was so great that a Labor Investigator was send down from Columbus to investigate the Colony. Probably to the dismay of the News, the investigator cleared Mr. Moskowitz of the charges and he found no infraction of labor laws.

Although the News stated that its campaign was directed at Mr. Moskowitz and not at the Hungarians themselves, the tone of some articles makes this author question that assertion. Articles with such titles as, “Father Frohmiller Must Christianize The Scum of Europe,” and, “Hungarians Are Dangerous,” appeared in many editions of the paper.

One such article goes on to say: …The Hungarian seldom goes unarmed. He doesn’t cart around a fine revolver and seldom is caught with a handsome pearl-handled stiletto like his Italian friend. He resorts to cheaper agencies of death, dangerous pocket arms which he usually manufacturers himself.

The Dayton Journal, on the other hand, upheld the Colony and Jacob D. Moskowitz. Why it did so is not exactly known. It could have simply believed in this manner of settling immigrant labor. Another reason could have been that the Journal upheld the Colony simply because the News opposed it; for there was no love lost between the two competing newspapers.

The Dayton Daily News offered its views on why the Journal upheld the Colony. It suspected that Jacob Moskowitz might have gained a controlling interest in the paper. Although no list of stockholders of the Journal could be located for that era, it is interesting to note that the stock of the Journal was open for sale to the public between the years 1904-1907. So, the possibility does exist that the assertion of the News could have been correct.

Reactions of the Citizens Like the newspapers, reactions by the citizen of Dayton were mixed. The letters in the “Letters to the Editor Column” of the Journal praised the Colony, while the letters in the News denounced it.

Most people regarded the Colony more as a novelty that a point of issue. On Sundays, whole families would come to the Colony, picnic-baskets in hand, to see for themselves the strange fenced-in settlement of North Dayton.

Despite the denunciations of the News, the Colony remained unchanged. For seven years, the fence stood, the workers trudged down Troy Street and the inhabitants were required to buy from the stores of Jacob Moskowitz. It was not until the Great Dayton Flood of 1913, that the first changes took place inside the Colony. CHAPTER VII THE END OF THE COLONY To give an exact date for the death of the Colony is an impossibility. For to this day, many of the double houses still are lined up in their original positions. It can only be stated that the decline of the Colony began in 1913, with the coming of the Dayton Flood. Although the Colony was relative untouched, for the homes were built on ground higher than the surrounding neighborhood of North Dayton, economically speaking, the

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flooding waters could not have done more damage even if the colony would have been flooded itself. For to the south of the Kossuth Colony, the Barney and Smith Car Works, the economic foundation of the Colony, was inundated with fourteen feet of water. The flood exceeded all previous ones and caused over a million dollars’ worth of damage to the Company. Not only was the new steel plant ruined, but the raging waters swept away millions of dollars’ worth of equipment. While back in the Colony, almost with a touch of romanticism, boards were ripped from the fence for the first time, this being done to construct badly needed rafts which were to be used in rescue work.

Barney and Smith Car Works never did recover from the flood. When it emerged from the receivership which had been instituted after the flood, car production had declined to a new low level which persisted throughout the period of government operation of the railroads during World War I. By 1916, it was experiencing a labor turnover of one thousand men a month, thus illustrating the instability of the Car Works. By 1918, the plant was operating only at 50 per cent capacity, thus forcing many of the Colonist to seek employment elsewhere. Many of the Colonists moved to Columbus, Ohio, where was located another Car Works. Many others remained in the Colony, obtaining jobs in various factories throughout the city. The boards that had come down from the fence during the flood were never replaced, and by 1915, the fence was almost completely torn down.

From this time on, the inhabitants could go and come as they pleased. They were no longer required to buy from the Colony’s stores and the issuance of script money was discontinued. In 1921, the same year in which the Barney and Smith Car works was put for public auction, Jacob D. Moskowitz began selling his properties within the colony. Homes were offered to the remaining inhabitants, and on February 25, 1921, Jacob D. Moskowitz sold his store and bar, and left the Colony.

CONCLUSION Often, History is a cruel critic. It tends to pluck a separate event out of the past, expose it out of context and then force it to run through a gauntlet of contemporary values and mores. Often this author, during his research, heard it said that, “If those Hungarians knew then what they know now, they wouldn’t have lived in the Colony.” That statement might be true, but the point is, you cannot judge the actions of the Hungarians, nor the policies of Jacob Moskowitz, with “what is known now.” Mr. Moskowitz was not only a businessman; he was also a Hungarian. His keen sense of business directed him into business endeavors which were created out of the labor situation of the day; his understanding of the wants and needs of his fellow countrymen caused him to become the leader of the Dayton Hungarian Settlement. The Kossuth Colony and Mrs. Moskowitz both now belong to History. Whatever its judgment may be, one fact will always remain – it was indeed a unique chapter in the story of Dayton.

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The Knights of Lithuania Scholarship

The Knights of Lithuania Scholarship Program is intended to help a worthy and deserving Knight obtain a college education. Applicants must be a member of the organization for

at least two years in order to be eligible to apply for a scholarship award, which is verified with the National

Financial Secretary. The Scholarship Program is intended to be a stimulus for young Lithuanian Americans to join and be active in our organization. Service to the Knights of Lithuania organization is of prime importance to be considered for this award. Scholarships are awarded annually and are paid to the recipients in two installments. Applications must be complete (e.g., photo, transcript, recommendations, etc.) to be considered by the Scholarship Committee.

PLEASE NOTE: 1. Applicants may apply for a scholarship more than once; however, an applicant may only be awarded a

scholarship twice. 2. There are various scholarships available with individual amounts decided upon by vote of the Scholarship

Committee each year. 3. Each applicant is responsible for completing the application and securing entrance to the college of his/her

choice. If the recipient of an award drops out of college, or if his/her academic standing becomes unsatisfactory to the college, the unexpended balance of the award may be forfeited at the discretion of the Scholarship Committee.

4. Scholarship awards may be made to a person for undergraduate or graduate work. There is no age limitation. Organizational activity within the Knights of Lithuania is one of the most important criteria for obtaining a scholarship along with the following requirements and stipulations:

An applicant will be scored based on recommendations made by his/her

1) Council President or Council 3rd Vice President; 2) Spiritual Advisor or Pastor; 3) Former Teacher; 4) Character Reference.

Applicants will be evaluated based on their scholastic records, financial need, and most importantly, Knights of Lithuania involvement. The Scholarship Committee will carefully study the applications. Decisions of the committee are final. Recipients of the Scholarship Awards will be announced at the next National Convention of the Knights of Lithuania.

Application must be received by July 1, 2019 Any late applications will not be considered

For the official and complete application go to the Knights of Lithuania scholarship application site and complete the application form.

2019-2020 Scholarship Application

http://knightsoflithuania.com/scholarship/

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Knights of Lithuania Supreme Council

Scholarship Application Instruction Guide

Membership application at end of this newsletter…must be a member 2 years!

Applicant Information: 01. Be sure to include your name, date of birth, gender, address, and contact information.

The form will expand as you type in your information. 02. Please provide your council and parish information and indicate whether you have Lithuanian heritage. 03. List the college or university that you will be attending and the location as well as all fees associated with your

tuition expenses. 04. Indicate all scholarships and awards that are anticipated.

Also indicate if you have been awarded a K of L scholarship in the past, the amount and year. 05. Note your employer information and provide salary details as requested. 06. List high school(s) and address information as well as degree program studied.

Background Information: 07. Please list military experience and provide rank and duties. 08. Provide references: Council President, Spiritual advisor / Priest, Teacher and a non-family member. 09. Hobbies 10. Knights of Lithuania participatory activities and positions held. 11. Professional Memberships 12. Please write a brief essay of your career plans indicating your area of study and any other pertinent character

information you feel would help the committee in determining awards. 13. Understand that signing this document the information furnished is true and correct and provide your signature

indicating this.

Check List: 14. It is imperative to confirm that each and all the application materials are contained prior to submission and that all

materials be furnished together. LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION: Please give the certificate to the appropriate reference. They should sign and date the certificate for tracking purposes and submit a signed and sealed letter of recommendation to the applicant to be formally submitted with the application prior to the deadline of July 1st, 2019.

SUBMISSION: Submissions ONLY accepted by US Mail, and all application requirements must be received in a single submission.

Important things to remember:

It is imperative the scholarship applicant be involved in the Knights of Lithuania activities so…

1. Participate regularly in meetings

2. Participate in Knights of Lithuania’s sponsored activities such as Lithuanian Independence Day,

St. Casimir’s Day, Palm Sunday breakfast, Mother’s Day, Cemetery Visits, Fall No-bake bake-sale,

and Christmas Caroling

3. Participate in Lithuanian church activities like St. Casimir’s mass, Easter mass and Midnight mass.

4. Attend District meetings and National conventions

5. Participate in a Lithuanian dance group, language classes, or cooking class.

6. Write an article for the IRON WOLF newsletter or Vytis and submit for publication.

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Fall 2019 Mid-America District Pilgrimage

This fall the Mid-America District will be heading north for our annual District Pilgrimage. Council 102 – Detroit, MI has agreed to be our host. A preliminary program was announced by Regina Juska-Svoba, HM, Council President, National President, during our Winter District Meeting.

The pilgrimage is scheduled for Friday-Sunday, September 27-29, 2019 in the metro Detroit area. Members will arrive on Friday, Sept. 27, 2019 in the late afternoon at their hotel, check-in and relax. A bus will be arranged for from Chicago. On Saturday, September 28, 2019, after breakfast, the group will travel to the Solanus Casey Center for the pilgrimage and lunch. Father Solanus Casey was a Capuchin Monk who was recently beatified on 11/18/2017. After lunch we will take a short scenic ride through the “Heidelberg Project” before proceeding to Frankenmuth, MI, to visit: Bronner’s Christmas Store and the “Silent Night, Holy Night Chapel”, take in a self-guided walking tour of downtown Frankenmuth and finish with dinner at Zehnder’s before returning to the hotel. On Sunday, September 29, 2019, after breakfast and hotel checkout the

group will travel to Divine Providence Church for Mass and the presentation of Sr. Mercedes SSC’s painting, “The Red Madonna” to the church. Following Mass lunch will be served at the parish. Afterwards, the bus will return to the Chicago area. The bus will depart from St. Pius Church at 9:30am, members can leave their cars in the parish lot. There will be no charge to members for the bus thanks to the Mid-America District Institute.

The cost of the pilgrimage will be $75.00 per person. This will cover the cost of the visit to the Solanus Casey Center, lunch there, Zehnder’s famous chicken dinner in Frankenmuth, as well as snacks and refreshments on the bus throughout the weekend. Reservations and payment for the pilgrimage should be sent to Bob Damasauskas using the form below.

ATTENDEES ARE REQUIRED TO MAKE THEIR OWN HOTEL RESERVATIONS at 1.248.585.8881 or online at hamptoninn3.hilton.com. We have reserved 15 rooms at the Hampton Inn Detroit/Madison Heights/South Troy 32420 Stephenson Highway; Madison Heights, MI 48071. Our Group Code: 600 should be given when making your reservation. The rate is $99.00 per night plus tax. All reservations must be made by September 1, 2019 to insure this rate.

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Knights of Lithuania Council # 96 * Condolence Report If there are any changes to the birthday list and/or other cards to be sent,

please email those changes and requests to me at jgoecke@bgcgc.org .

Jim Geiger – thinking of you

Gary Thiele – thinking of you

Andrew Berczelly – birthday Eric Geiger – birthday

Henry Pant – birthday Judy Petrokas – birthday

Jerome Scott – birthday

Gary Thiele – birthday JoAnn Thiele – birthday

MARTIN RAN RESTORATIONS, LLC 4140 Linden Avenue, Suite 212

Dayton, OH 45432 937.247.6637

“As a testimonial, Martin did my house, garage and gutters, finishing just two days before the tornado… it held up thru the whirlwind…and is beautiful!” ~ MaryAgnes Mikalauskas

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Suicide in Lithuania has become a significant social issue in the country due to its high rate.

Causes. Social and financial problems in Lithuania are thought to be important factors behind the high rate of suicides. According to Onutė Davidonienė, director of the State Mental Health Center, a major reason behind the dramatic rise in suicides over the last decade is the economic and social transition. This can be linked to the Russian economic crisis of 1998 which was prolonging the phenomenon in Lithuania.

Statistics. According to a web page on world health ratings, in 2014 almost 29 out of 100,000 people in Lithuania committed suicide. In contrast, according to a report of the World Health Organization, in 1995 this number peaked at almost 46 out of 100,000. According to the latest WHO data published in 2017 Suicide Deaths in Lithuania reached 942 or 2.49% of total deaths. The age adjusted Death Rate is 26.56 per 100,000 of population ranks Lithuania #7 in the world.

Suicide rates (per 100,000), by gender, Lithuania, 1981–2009

Gender 1981 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2009

Male 59.4 58.0 44.3 79.1 75.6 68.1 61.3

Female 10.7 12.9 9.7 15.6 16.1 12.9 10.4

Total 33.6 34.1 26.1 45.6 44.1 38.6 34.1

Source: World Health Organization

Number of suicides by age group and gender. Lithuania, 2009

Age (years) 5–14 15–24 25–34 35–44 45–54 55–64 65–74 75+ All

Males 3 109 116 195 233 148 91 57 952

Females 2 16 15 26 39 27 21 40 186

Total 5 125 131 221 272 175 112 97 1138

Source: World Health Organization

SUICIDE RATES IN LITHUANIA? Every country has its own social problems to deal with, whether it be alcoholism, poverty, immigration, or suicide. When we talk about Lithuania, the first thing that comes to the mind is the high rates of suicidal people. In fact, Lithuania has among the highest suicide rate in the world according to many sources.

What are the main reasons? Lithuania is a lovely country with some wonderful cities and beautiful nature, so it would be impossible to guess that Lithuania is one of the most suicidal countries in the world. However, approximately 36.7 out of 100,000 people end their lives voluntarily in Lithuania, while the world’s average is only a little less than 11. So, what are the main reasons?

Many researchers point out the fact that people who live in northern countries, where the sun doesn’t shine that much and the winters are cold, have a higher tendency to hurt themselves. Also, northerners are more likely to hide their problems from the rest of the world and depend on themselves more. So, the fact that the weather is rainy and cold for most of the time in Lithuania does not help those in a depressed or extremely sad state of mind at all. Of course, the weather alone does not explain such high suicide rates in Lithuania. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Lithuania regained its freedom and its people had many more opportunities to explore the world and create better lives for themselves. However, some people who were raised in the Soviet Union and were accustomed to the ideas of communism, struggled to adapt to the new system. They could not cope with all the freedom that they were now afforded and that led to self-destruction, which often ended in suicides, especially in the 1990s. Alcoholism is also a huge problem in Eastern European countries. Even though things are changing for the better now, Lithuania is still among the countries which have the highest consumed alcohol per capita ratio. Obviously, alcoholism leads to poverty and poverty often leads to desperate decisions such as stealing, abusing close people, or even ending your own life. On top of the alcoholism, the economic situation in Lithuanian is not the greatest, especially when it comes to small towns in the province where there aren’t enough jobs. Naturally, it only makes people drink even more. And the circle continues.

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So, depressive Lithuanian weather, sometimes-harsh living conditions, alcoholism, and the radical changes after the Soviet Union collapse are the main reasons why so many people in Lithuania choose to end their lives too soon. These days, people with suicidal thoughts receive much more help from professionals and the situation is getting better, but Lithuania is still far away from dealing with this painful social problem.

Is this an additional mission for the Knights of Lithuania? How do we help our brothers and sisters? What can we do?

2019 current suicide rates as published by the World Population Review

theculturetrip.com

worldpopulationreview.com

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If you love what we do, help us continue!

We can’t do it without you! Sponsorships only cover a portion of the overall

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Knights of Lithuania

Lietuvos Vyčiai Established 1913

“For God and Country” ***** “Dievui ir Tėvynei”

M e m b e r s h i p a p p l i c a t i o n

Council Number ____________Location/City ________________________________ Membership Status (please refer below) *

New Regular _______ Associate________ Returning______ Junior _______ Auxiliary regular _________ Auxiliary Junior__________

Print copy Vytis (1 per household) ____________ online copy (email) _______________________________ __________ Both_______

Name _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Home address___________________________________________________________________________________________________

City__________________________________ State____________________________ Zip code_________________________________

Telephone number______________________________________________ Marital status (optional) _____________________________

Email address___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Parish name and town _____________________________________________________________________________________________

I, the undersigned, apply for membership to the Knights of Lithuania and promise to abide by its constitution, by laws, National Convention resolutions

and recommendation and will support the organization through the paying of dues and participation at local, district and national levels, as I am able.

___________________________________________________________ ____________________________________

Signature of applicant Date of application

DUES: First member of a household is $30.00 (includes 1 print copy to Vytis- The Knight) Each subsequent member of a household is $15.00 with complimentary online Vytis. Juniors (through 16/18 years of age) per council per year is $5.00

*Membership status are:

1. 1.New or returning regular member (16 years and older) is a practicing Catholic and of Lithuania ancestry.

2. Associate Catholic, non-Lithuanian spouse of regular member.

3. Regular juniors are under age 18 and are practicing Catholics and of Lithuanian ancestry.

4. Auxiliary regular and juniors are not required to be Catholic or of Lithuanian ancestry,

but must adhere to the ideals of the Knights of Lithuania rooted in the motto “For God and Country”

We approve and accept this applicant for membership in Council ____________ amount of dues paid___________________

Signature council financial secretary ________________________________________________ Date__________________________________

1. Mail this form to the K of L National 2nd VP.

2. Mail the dues to the K of L National Financial Secretary. Addresses on the website: knightsoflithuania.com

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Knights of Lithuania #96 * Dayton, Ohio * Holy Cross Lithuanian RC Church * 1924 Leo St * Dayton, OH 45404

Knights of Lithuania

#96

c/o Holy Cross Lithuanian

Roman Catholic Church 1924 Leo Street

Dayton, Ohio 45404

PHONE: (937) 461-7139 mamikalauskas@aol.com

We’re on the Web! See us at:

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Every Sunday 1030a mass at Holy Cross, 1924 Leo Street

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