2nd House and the Whittler at Rumšiškės

As our group drove up to the 2nd house at Rumšiškės, the docent was a little old man who was whittling to pass the time. He went into the house with us to explain a few features. I think he was lonely because he asked us many questions which had to be translated for us by Gintas. The man only spoke Lithuanian.

As we left the interior of the house, he showed us some puzzles he had whittled. In true tourist fashion, I asked if he would sell me one, and he did. We continued talking through Gintas, and then as we were leaving, the man showed me a second spinning toy. He gave it to me as a gift. We must have connected on some level. I was so happy to be at the museum because it was my opportunity to see how my grandfather might have lived. Gintas had translated that to this man and I suppose he liked my reason for visiting. I was touched by his generosity. Originally, I had purchased the toy for one of my grandchildren, but I have decided to keep it to remember the whittler and the special experience.Read more