VINCAS “VINCE” BAKSYS Sept. 9, 1919 – Aug. 27, 2018Life in the shadow of history Decades before Donald Trump singled out his own “enemies of the people,” my proudly Lithuanian father Vince found out just how dangerous that label could be in the hands of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. It was during World War II […]
Sandy Baksys
Posted inFood & Drink
Cooking Lithuanian for the ultimate comfort food
Kugelis PHOTO BY Eden, Janine and Jim VIA WIKIPEDIA.ORG I don’t eat horseshoe sandwiches – or pony shoes, for that matter. My vote for the world’s best comfort food is kugelis, a Lithuanian grated potato casserole, copiously topped with a mélange of melted sour cream and sautéed onions, bacon and bacon drippings. Due to an […]
Posted inOpinion
The right not to have to carry
For those who pushed relentlessly for concealed carry in Illinois, the fact that George Zimmerman was legally able to shoot a teenager who was banging his head on the pavement will be hailed, not only as a just outcome, but as a proof that concealed guns work. Yet to others like me who feel no […]
Posted inOpinion
Commemorating Springfield’s Lithuanians
Thousands in Springfield today are descended from the flood of Eastern European and Southern European immigrants who arrived during Sangamon County’s coal boom. Among those turn-of-the-century immigrants was my Lithuanian great aunt Marija Jomantiene, aka Mary Yamont, an impoverished 18-year-old farm girl who was mobbed as she arrived at the Springfield depot by Lithuanian miners […]
Posted inArts & Culture
JERRY GLADU
Jerry Gladu was a national-caliber talent in the world of philanthropic development. He spearheaded the founding – and funding – of the St. Francis Foundation, the endowment for the 13 hospitals of Springfield-based Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS). During Jerry’s tenure at HSHS from 1985 to 1996, charitable giving grew from about $2 million to […]
