The
Echoes of Lithuania Radio Program went off the air with its final program on May 31st. It was the last remaining Lithuanian radio program in
Western Pennsylvania. The program wsa hosted by Dalia Yucius each Sunday with assistance from her mother. Dalia had hosted the program for the last several years
after taking the reins over from her father, Vito Yucius. Vito hosted the
program for many years on a number of different Pittsburgh radio stations.
Listen to Dalia's last broadcast (file is approx 35 MB)
The following article appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on May 29, 2009
A long-running ethnic radio program is signing off this weekend. "Echoes of Lithuania" will be silent after more than four decades. The program airs Sundays at 12:30 p.m. on WEDO-AM (810).
Host Dalia Yucius blames the current economic climate for what she termed "a difficult decision." Hosts for shows like these don't get paid. They buy radio air time, which is funded through sponsorships they get and listener donations. That support "just dwindled away," Yucius said.
"Sponsors are having financial difficulties. There's just no money. That's the bottom line. It's not that I want to give it up."
"Echoes of Lithuania" was founded and hosted by her late father Vito Yucius. For the past 30 years, the program aired on WEDO, a McKeesport station that carries ethnic and informational shows.
Dalia Yucius joined the show in 1998. When her father died in 2001, she continued as host, with assistance from her mother, Lorraine Yucius. The show is a mix of music and news from Lithuania, along with announcements about happenings in the local community. Yucius says she plans to play some of the older records her dad used to play on his show during Sunday's final broadcast.