In this issue:Lithuanians on the TitanicSearching for Your RootsIs There Lithuanian-specific DNA?Galdikas in Paris and New York CityMushroom Hunting in VermontChristmas Tree Ornaments in Straw

R1b

SUPPLEMENT TO DRAUGAS NEWSNOV / DEC 2016 VOL 4 (S6)

R1a

N1c

Linksmų šv. Kalėdų!

LithuanianPortraits

November / December 2016 LITHUANIAN HERITAGE 1

FEATURES

Lithuanians on the “Titanic” 6by Gerda ButkuvienėIt’s 104 years since the “Titanic” disaster, but new twists keep beingdiscovered. Among them, the presence of 3, perhaps 4, Lithuanianson the liner, and another Lithuanian was captain of a rescue ship.

Is There Lithuanian-specific DNA? An Interview withProf. Vaidutis Kučinskas 10Are we related to the Vikings? To Slavs? To Central Europeans, or tonobody except ancient Indo-Europeans? We turn to an expert in pop-ulation genetics from Vilnius for answers based on our DNA.

Searching for Roots 13by Richard GostautasA number of useful tips on how to begin a family tree search, from anactive member of Lithuanian genealogy websites.

Galdikas in Paris and New York City 16by Antanas AndrijauskasWhen Galdikas left the displaced person’s camp in Germany and movedto Paris, he was exposed to new influences, and then he headed toNew York where he enjoyed his most productive period.

Hunting for Mushrooms in Vermont 20by Laima Vince SruoginisCamp Neringa in Vermont hosted a mushroom-picking event this au-tumn. Searchers were guided by two notable experts in the field.

How to Make Straw Christmas Ornaments 24by Don AstrasDon’s mother Ursula pioneered the tradition of straw Christmas tree dec-orations, and now Don gives detailed instructions for making them.

Poetry 101: Janina Degutytė 27Baking Kūčiukai 28

Cover Credits:FRONT COVER: R1b, R1a, and N1c haplotype groups in Europe (Maciamo

Hay, eupedia.com)BACK COVER: Lithuanian Forest (Vytautas Knyva)INSIDE FRONT COVER: Straw Ornaments (Don Astras)INSIDE BACK COVER: Law School students (Lidija Ringienė)

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Volume 4, Number S6November / December 2016

24 LITHUANIAN HERITAGE November / December 2016

Making Straw Christmas Ornaments (šiaudinukai)by Don Astras

As a child, I watched mymother and folk artist, Ur-sula Astras (Lukoševičiūtė),

create beautiful Christmas ornamentsmade from wheat and rye straw. Ourfamily celebrated many otherLithuanian immigrant Christmas tra-ditions, too. We would have manyvisitors come to admire our Christ-mas tree decorated with my mom’sworks of art.

Being a guy, this art form was toodelicate for me. Instead, I would buildstables out of scrap plywood that myAunt Nellie (Lukoševičiūtė) wouldbring home from the furniture factory.I would use balsa wood for the raftersand would cover them with the chaff

and broken straw pieces that my momwould discard. I also liked to draw andsketch, and filled my school notebookswith illustrations of each topic. How-ever, I would draw hot rods when Ilost interest.

I enjoyed travelling with ourfamily to my mom’s events and help-ing out. My father was the chauffeurand would always pick up Lithuaniandelicacies when in Chicago or otherLithuanian communities. It wasn’tuntil later that I took on that role. Ialso began to more fully appreciateher talent and take a genuine interestin that folk art. Since 1978, I wouldaccompany my mom to demonstra-tions and workshops, participating

as translator and instructor. I helpedmy mom stage her art shows, servedas her critic and passed on theLithuanian folk art traditions to mychildren and to the public ‒ teachingthem how to create these beautifulstraw Christmas ornaments. Mymom’s straw art has been displayedat the Balzekas Museum of Lithuan-ian Culture in Chicago, at the Fred-erick Meijer Gardens & SculpturePark and the Grand Rapids PublicMuseum in Michigan, at the Vilkav-iškio Krašto Muziejus in Lithuania,and at numerous other venues in theUS and Canada.

What I learned from mymother, besides the art, was thatshe had a vast network of friends,admirers and interested studentsfrom all walks of life. Over the years, in our workshops andexhibits, our family has recon-nected with old summer campfriends, former classmates, worldtravelers, distant relatives and ac-quaintances. We also forged manynew relationships.

In December 2015, I designedand launched the Lady of Wheat web-site: ladyofwheat.com to honor mymom’s art and take her works to thepublic, including her larger straw paint-ings and decorated Easter eggs (mar-gučiai). Her work transformed folkart into fine art. Lithuanians of allgenerations, their descendants, familiesand friends are welcome to participatein this connection to our beautifulglobal culture.

Astras family Christmas tree in 1963 with Ursula, Tony, Stanley, Alberta and Don.(all photos by the author)

November / December 2016 LITHUANIAN HERITAGE 25

Lithuanian Christmas tree orna-ments have been made from naturalwheat or rye straw for centuries. Tra-ditional designs have included braidsand mobiles with strings runningthrough them. In the 1950s, my momcreated intricate snowflake or geomet-ric designs by pressing the straw ontoa masking tape backing and then gluingthese veneers together. Theseprocesses were mastered by my momand taught to our family. In turn, Ihave documented them for my familyand posterity because I still marvel atthe beauty, craftsmanship and ingenuityof my mom’s artistry. Below are somedetailed instructions on how to createyour own straw ornaments.

Preparing the strawUse this process to prepare the

straw. Alternatively, you may pur-

chase wheat (already cut, soaked,split and ironed) or rye (already cut)

straw from the Straw Shop at thestrawshop.com.

Don and Kathy Astras demonstrate straw Christmas ornament making techniques at the 2016 Lithuanian Day Festival at Saints Peter& Paul Family Center, Grand Rapids, MI.

26 LITHUANIAN HERITAGE November / December 2016

Remove chaff and flowers fromnatural wheat or rye straw. Clip offjoints or knuckles and discard. Savethe remaining hollow parts that arefrom five to fifteen inches in lengths.We prefer to use the longer pieces forflattening. Save the thicker lower piecesfor mobiles (sodai). Save the flowerstems for larger picture compositions(see my mom’s online straw art picturegallery at ladyofwheat.com/ursula-as-tras-art-portfolio/fine-art-prints-straw-pictures/. Also, save the chaff for themanger.

Slit the end of a piece of strawwith a toothpick or X-acto knife andiron it flat. Iron only from the inside.Using the side of the iron, curl thestraw slightly. Repeat this process forthe remaining straw. After the ironedstraw is dry, create appliqués by ad-hering it to a masking tape backing(1½-inch wide). We use a cardboardwith slits to hold our tape in placewhile applying the straw. Select strawof similar shading or color and affixit to the masking tape. For a moredramatic look, you can use wheatstraw for one element and rye(darker) for the other.

Making the designCut designs as desired to create

radial patterns. The straw veneer canbe folded lengthwise to createcutouts or patterns on each side.Likewise, a hole-punch can be usedto create various negative space patterns.

After the designs are cut, con-nect the pieces with masking tapeon the back side or use Elmer’s glueto affix straw to straw. You can use athin piece of applique to reinforcemore fragile designs. Remember toplace a flat portion of a plastic bagunderneath to avoid getting glue onthe table. Glue a decorative threadto hold a wire ornament hanger tohang from the tree. The decoration

may also be mounted on velvet orfelt material using Elmer’s glue andframed.

Where to get designs and patternsOn our website, ladyofwheat.com

/ursula-astras-art-portfolio/lithuanian-straw-christmas-tree-ornaments/ youcan find patterns that were designedby my mom and that can be used astemplates featuring six or eight sides.Please feel free to simplify the de-signs or create your own.

Editor’s note: Don is planning to conducta workshop at the Balzekas Museum ofLithuanian Culture in Chicago on December3, 2016. If you happen to be in GrandRapids during the Christmas season, don’tforget to visit the Frederik Meijer Gardens& Sculpture Park, where the Astras orna-ments and pictures are on display. Nextsummer, he will be teaching children howto make these ornaments at Camp Dainavaduring the Lithuanian Heritage Camp.Readers can contact Don at the lady-ofwheat.com website or by e-mail atdon.astras@sbcglobal.net.

Soak the straw in hot water for30 minutes until tender.

Press the straw to its backingwith the back of a chisel or metalburnisher. Trim the ends of the appliqué.