Kucios is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner of Lithuanians, and I think I first became aware of Nellie Melaika when I saw her name in the Athol Daily News as one of the people helping with this celebration at St. Francis Roman Catholic Church.
I was introduced to her in person at a community event a few years ago, when she was in her mid 80s, and I remarked to myself, “Nellie Melaika is the ‘grand dame’ of Athol’s Lithuanians.”
She still helps with kucios, but gives most of the recent credit to Marie Ann Shatos and Jackie Dougherty.
Now 90, Nellie still lives on Hamlet Street in a downtown Athol neighborhood long populated with Lithuanians, the largest European ethnic group to emigrate to Athol in the early 20th century. She resides in the same home where she lived as a child with her parents, Lithuania-born Casimir and ApoloniaMelaika. The American Lithuanian Naturalization Club, once a focus of education for immigrants, as well as St. Francis Church, are nearby.
Nellie has not let aging stop her from being active and vibrant. Last week, my friend Scott Pralinsky brought me to her home, where we ate some watermelon and engaged in lively conversation. Scott calls her “Aunt Nellie,” stemming from the fact that she and Scott’s mother, Barbara (Bennett) Pralinsky, who died recently, were best friends since their childhood, when they were neighbors.
Sitting across from Nellie at her kitchen table, I enjoyed viewing her expressive face as she talked about her life then and now — all of it constantly peppered with laughter.
At one point, referring to her successful aging, she told me that “a good night’s sleep is the best medicine,” and when I said, “laughter, too,” she agreed — and laughed some more. She also credits good eating habits with her longevity, and until recently, she went to the Erving Senior Center for aerobics classes. Her mobility has been somewhat impaired by a vision problem related to macular degeneration, so she gets around with a walker.
As for sleep, Nellie said, “I go to bed between 12 and 1, so I don’t like to get up early.”
She remains close to family members, especially her sister, Janice “Jan” Sidman, “who calls every day to make sure I’m OK.”
Nellie expressed gratitude to two nephews, Robert and Matthew Brookman (sons of her sister Jan from a previous husband), who help with her care, so she can remain in her own home. Catholic Charities provide assistance, too.
Nellie is a 1945 graduate of Athol High School. Her first job was helping Father John Jutt at St. Francis with secretarial chores, including typing up notes the priest took during pastoral counseling with couples.
“Boy, did I learn a lot!” she exclaimed with a grin.
Later, she was a clerical worker at Cass Toy Co. and the L.S. Starrett Co., where she did a lot of Xeroxing. She said the women in the office usually wore skirts, but one time, on a cold snowy day, she came in with slacks and some co-workers “made a big thing of it, exclaiming ‘Nellie’s got slacks on!’”
She served as president of the now-defunct Mount Grace Association of Business and Professional Women, belonged to the Athol Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and was a Town of Athol elections poll worker.
Work and play constituted the main things in Nellie’s life, and she never married, explaining, “I never met the right one.” There were many men she liked, who danced with her, however, when she went polka dancing with woman friends to places such as the Quonset Club in Amherst and Maronas Park in Worcester. Nellie recalled being somewhat keen on “one guy who played in the band,” adding, “Son of a gun, I couldn’t get him. His loss.” (More laughter.)
She also enjoyed swimming, sometimes going to “First Tully,” one of several swimming holes in the Tully River off North Orange Road, as well as to Hampton Beach.
Nellie speaks, reads and writes in the Lithuanian language and once visited that Baltic Sea nation with a Boston-based group. She had a good time, but she did not connect with any relatives, as the trip did not include the area that was her “rural and poor” ancestral home.
Scott has been friendly with his “aunt” since his childhood, and recalled the time that she traveled with his family to Mexico, reminiscing, “I remember you liked a margarita.” Nellie laughed and said, “Those are good! We had a good time down there!” She added that nowadays, she occasionally will have a glass of Michelob Light, and friends sometimes delight her with the gift of a Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks.