Kostas Mitinas (b.1910-2008) and his wife Ona Grajauskas (b.1912-1986), along with their 2 children Violetta (b. 1939-1995) and Gediminas, later Americanized to Garry (b.1944) were native born Lithuanians who fled their country during the Russian takeover in 1944. In 1949 they were able to emigrate to the United States, settling in Fairview NJ. In 1954 Kostas bought a vacant egg farm for $12,000.00 and moved his family plus both grandmothers to Fremont Center. The entire family worked on the farm, sharing all the chores. Kostas also worked full time at Lever Brothers in New Jersey. He closed the farm in the early 80’s eventually retiring from Lever Brothers. Garry graduated from the University of Buffalo in 1967 with a Bachelors degree in mathematics. He was immediately recruited by IBM and worked for 25 years as a systems programmer until 1992 when IBM offered early retirement buyouts. He later worked for several different industries as a recruitment and hiring specialist and later came back to work for IBM as a contractor. He married Carole Letterio (b.1944) in 1975 and raised one daughter.

     Interviewed: November, 2012