A Century of Lithuanians in Springfield, Illinois: Best of the Blog by Sandy Baksys at the Balzekas Museum

Overview

Real-life stories and hundreds of images put a face on early twentieth-century immigrants in Lincoln's hometown, then part of the Midwest coal belt. Almost as soon as thousands of impoverished, rural Lithuanians poured into Central Illinois at the turn of the twentieth century, the coal-mining jobs for which they came began to dry up. This is their story of survival in the face of the Central Illinois "Mine Wars" and the Great Depression--and an immigrant dream deferred. It is also the story of a second wave of Lithuanian refugees these first-wave immigrants sponsored after World War II. Based on primary source interviews and newspaper and public records research. Written by a former journalist, with historical context for two distinct waves of Lithuanian immigration to the U.S. and continuing ties with the homeland as Lithuania experienced two world wars, two successful independence movements, an interwar period of statehood, and 50 years of Soviet occupation. An all-in-one primer, written in journalistic style, for anyone with Lithuanian roots or anyone interested in twentieth-century European immigration to the U.S.

You can now see a recording of Sandy Baksys's Balzekas Museum Book Club 3/12/22 presentation on the Museum's Vimeo Chanel: https://vimeo.com/687830727

About the Author:


Springfield native Sandy Baksys has been a newspaper reporter, medical trade journalist, and for the last 20 years, a public relations consultant and writer. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern University, as well as a B.A. in Italian and an M.A. in English literature from the University of Kentucky.
From 1989 through 1991, Sandy participated, state-side, in the Lithuanian "Singing Revolution" as Kentucky coordinator for the Lithuanian Communications Center. In 2012, she spearheaded the erection of a historical marker titled, "Lithuanians in Springfield," and launched a blog that can be found at lithspringfield.com.

Publisher: Create Space Publishing, 2015

Format: Paperback, 329 pages

ISBN-10:1515347729