More than 100 years and several thousand miles separated Gary Kokstis from part of his family.
Kokstis, 60, of Vancouver had always been interested in connecting with the part of his family that separated when his grandfather moved to the United States from Lithuania in 1909 and left his sister behind.
He eventually found his relatives and made a trip to visit them last year. His trip was featured on 91.5 FM OPB radio’s “Travel with Rick Steves” radio show on Sunday.
“I’m surprised,” Kokstis said of the news he would be on the radio program. “I didn’t think I gave a good interview.”
The show featured stories from Kokstis and others who looked up their relatives in Europe.
For Kokstis the process started when he hired a Lithuanian family researcher to look up his family. The researcher found cousins, and Kokstis started emailing them. Eventually he and his wife, Katlin Smith, decided to make the trip to see them.
The country was very “Westernized” compared to what some people might think, Kokstis said. “They have their own versions of quick-stop markets and Home Depot.”
Kokstis and his wife have a goal to get out of the States once a year. So far they’ve been to Canada, Mexico, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Netherlands, England and Scotland.
He’s still in contact with his family and other people they met on the trip.
Fine dining at Skills Center
For some students, it’s part of the journey from mac-and-cheese to a culinary career.
For diners, it’s a chance to enjoy a gourmet meal that includes roasted chicken with apple stuffing and roasted butternut squash soup.
The Clark County Skills Center starts its 2011-2012 slate of public dinners with a five-course meal at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4 at 12200 N.E. 28th St.
The meal is planned, hosted, prepared and served by students in the nationally recognized culinary arts program.
“A lot of our students have wanted to be chefs or bakers or restaurant owners from a very early age,” said Greg Retchless, restaurant management instructor at the center, which is owned and operated by 10 local school districts. When students enter the program, “We have them tell us everything they know how to cook. We often get mac-and-cheese — things a 15- or 16-year-old can prepare,” he said. “I see their eyes shine and their faces light up as they learn more and more possibilities in the kitchen and they discover more of their skills and abilities in food prep.
“I know their parents love it, because with a lot of our homework, the students have to prepare food at home,” Retchless said.
The instructors are sensitive to family finances, Retchless added, so lobster or prime rib don’t show up on homework assignments.
“We make sure we’re working within the family budget,” Retchless said. “We don’t want to be a burden.”
Tickets are $25 a person and they must be purchased in advance; call 360-604-1054.
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