Local Society Aims to Keep Culture Alive in a New Century

When it was first founded in 1950 the New Jersey Latvian Society, also known as Priedaine was meant to be a central location where immigrants from eastern Europe could come together and share their common cultures.

After more than six decades the expansive property marked only by a simple sign on Route 33 may not be as active as it once was, but it still serves to keep their culture and traditions of its members alive in the 21st century. 

Priedaine, which means a pine forest was picked as a halfway point for members of their New Brunswick Lakewood Latvian Church. "This was sort of in the middle for people to drive here," said John Students, the president of the society. Now the location is not quiet as ideal as the membership gets older. "It's rural and that's a little bit of a problem because it's tough for people to get here."

Students said he can remember in its earlier days when shows at the amphitheater would draw more than 1000 people to enjoy at least a small piece of what they remembered as home. "We're trying to preserve our culture," he said. That includes the language, the theater, the music and folk songs that the founders grew up with on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

In addition to the theater and the hall the society also has a library of Latvian literature, which has been donated by members and their families. "When people pass away the children send all the Latvian books here because they don't really want to read them," he said. "We get the surplus and we try to ship some of them back to Latvia because there aren't that many readers."

There is also an extensive museum of Latvian culture that is among the most extensive in the country. Students said the American Latvian Association, which is based in Washington DC had a museum in New York. When that closed the collection was moved to the Howell facility. 

Since its founding Students said a lot has changed not only for their members but also for the society as a whole. "What happens is when a bunch of immigrants come to this country, initially there's a lot of networking. We don't speak the language too well yet, somebody's got a job someplace maybe in construction and they help," he said. 

These days Students said with the exception of two big events on the calendar, most times there may not be more than 50 or 60 people who come together. Sometimes they come for an event, or a meeting or just to remember where they came from through the facility's museum or the artwork that hangs on the wall. 

For a group of immigrants that had worked to adapt to their new surroundings, Students said the diminishing numbers of the Priedaine members is evidence that they succeeded in those efforts, maybe even a little too well. "The melting pot works," he said. "What happens with the younger people is they integrate into American Society."

Students said that is what happened to him as he learned English, worked for an American company as an engineer and spent the majority of his life in this country.

Even with that, he said he wanted to keep one foot back in Europe. "Everything I did was in English but I wanted to keep my roots and heritage just like some of the people here are starting to look for their roots," he said. "Every language has its value so we try to maintain our language. Every culture has its value."

After all these years Students said he is as proud of his heritage as he was the day he left Latvia but is also proud to call America his adopted home. "There's a certain value I think in every culture you can read some original stuff and you can enjoy the poetry and the music and the songs from a different culture," he said. "You start getting interested in your own history, where did the Latvians come from and why did we go through all these problem periods in our history."

Having survived in Latvia and thrived in America, Students said Priedaine still holds a special place in his heart and is a testament to the strength of the community that still returns after all these years.