Saloons and Solidarity: Immigrant Struggles in New Britain

Immigrants from Lithuania who made their way to New Britain, Connecticut at the beginning of the twentieth century found work in the city’s factories turning out tools and hardware. Their weekly routine included work, church and socializing at neighborhood saloons. But major upheavals in American society were happening at the time that affected their lives including the rise of organized labor, the temperance movement, anti-immigrant sentiment, and labor strikes.

In this episode, we have two new voices in public history, Central Connecticut State University students Jon Kozak and Nathaniel Smith. They produced the episode as a class project under Dr. Leah Glazier at Central Connecticut State University. This episode reminds us that some of the most interesting history can be found all around you in your own community.

A big thanks to Jon Kosak and Nathaniel Smith for their hard work in producing this episode. I also want to thank Dr. Glazier, professor of public history  for her help.

Contact Jon Kosak at: j.kozak@my.ccsu.edu

Contact Dr. Leah Glazier at: glaserles@ccsu.edu

Jon and Nathaniel used a wide variety of local history materials including oral histories and the New Britain Herald newspaper.

Museum Collections: 

The New Britain Public Library Local History Room, The New Britain Industrial Museum, Connecticut State Library, and the Elihu Burritt Library at Central Connecticut State University, specifically their special collections and archive of the New Britain Herald newspaper.

Oral Histories:

John Skritulsky, had been interviewed by the Federal Writers Project in 1938, by a writer in the FWP’s New Britain office by the name of Albert Kayeski. Being Lithuanian himself, Kayeski understood the importance of this ethnic community in telling the story of an industrialized New Britain. Several of his other profiles bear mention of taverns, be it Skritulsky’s or others as places to gather. Use of New Britain directories from the turn of the twentieth century reinforced the prevalence and importance of these institutions. It must be noted that for the clarity of our story, the character of Jonas, whose story was found in a FWP profile by Kayeski, History of a Lithuanian Immigrant, was originally listed with the name John, and was given no last name. We changed his name to Jonas, the Lithuanian translation of John, to avoid confusion with John Skritulsky in the narrative. No other names were altered from the original source material.

Manuscript reference:

 Portrait of Occupations, Investments, and Businesses of Lithuanian Immigrants in New Britain Connecticut by the Reverend William Wolkovich-Valkavicius from 1979, Local History Room, New Britain Public Library.

Song Credit: This version, by the musical group Ugniavijas, recorded in 2014 is a centuries-old Lithuanian folk song whose title roughly translates to “Sweet Beer of the Oats. The original lyrics with an English translation can be found here. It is a song that remains important to the people of Lithuania and is still sung today, often by schoolchildren.    

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Connecticut Landmarks Event

Join Connecticut Landmarks at East Haddam’s Palmer-Warner House for our second annual Summer Pipes & Cider! Sip barrel-aged cider and whiskey from Yankee Cider Company. Enjoy a bagpipe performance by the Portland & District Pipers, accompanied by a scenic trail walk. Plus, bring your friends for a round of pub trivia with prizes for the top two teams. Are you a fan of the TV series, Outlander? Come wearing your best Outlander attire and test your knowledge during trivia! Extend your experience with a tour of the Palmer-Warner House, which previous owner Frederic Palmer called Dunstaffnage as a nod to his Scottish heritage. Raise a glass, embrace the music, and celebrate the magic of Scotland! Event and tour tickets are available at ctlandmarks.org/pipesandcider. We hope to see you at 1 pm on Saturday, September 13 for Summer Pipes & Cider!

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This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O’Sullivan at https://www.highwattagemedia.com/   Follow GTN on our socials-Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and BlueSky.

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