A note from our new Board President
The Philadelphia Society of Free Letts is the world’s oldest continuously operating Latvian benevolent society, founded in 1892. The Riga Latvian Society was founded 24 years earlier, while Latvia was under the rule of Russia’s tsars, but was banned under the Soviet Union’s commissars. A Boston Latvia Society was founded three years before, but no longer exists. Here in Philadelphia, every year for the last 131 years – and I hope for the next 131 years – we have been a home for Latvian culture and community.
Our community has changed, but we have decided to remain a community. That is why we are here. This is the home for Latvian people and culture in Philadelphia. Here, we believe that Latvian culture means something not just for us but can also give something to the world.
-Janis Chakars, Board President