The monument reflects the unique personality of J. Tumas-Vaižgantas, who extends his hand as if inviting people to get to know Birštonas better. When he lived in Kaunas, he liked to visit Birštonas, admire the Nemunas River and its banks, and enjoy the benefits of the spa. He even described the chemical composition of the mineral waters. The locals called him "the chronicler of Birštonas" and the godfather of the names of the mineral waters "Vytautas" and "Birutė.”
Vaižgantas was a great priest, much loved by the people, who wrote for newspapers, worked as a critic, pedagogue and museum keeper. Many legends and amusing stories are still told about this versatile and interesting personality. Vaižgantas was one of the first in Lithuanian literature to describe a love scene, publish an obituary for his dog in the press, and was even arrested for... hooliganism.
From an early age, little Juozukas was told by his parents that he was destined to become a priest, so he was brought up in that direction. After graduating from the seminary, Juozas Tumas was unpopular and dangerous as a Lithuanian with a sense of nationality, so he was appointed vicar not in Lithuania but in the church of Mintauja in Latvia. He was involved in the national activities of the local Lithuanian intellectuals. Tumas's behaviour displeased Pastor Valentas, who wrote a letter in Polish asking Tumas not to attend meetings of Lithuanian intellectuals.
J. Tumas felt insulted and replied in an even harsher letter to Valentas:’ I am not a pupil to a tutor or a shepherd to a farmer, but your assistant, an equal in personal freedom. <Valentas apologised to Tumas, but only 'for the sake of appearances', and reported his alleged disloyalty to the Catholic Church to the Liepaja provost, who was Polish and disliked Tumas for his nationalist ideas.
After his return to Lithuania, J. Tumas was persecuted by the authorities and the diocesan hierarchy. Vaižgantas was also involved in underground activities; he maintained contact with local book smugglers, looked after their secret society, received and distributed a forbidden press, and taught children to read. On October 2, 1896, Vaižgantas's brother Jonas was arrested for carrying a forbidden press. Juozas was so distraught over his brother's fate that his hair turned grey one night. His brother spent three years in prison in Petrapil and two years in exile in Bessarabia. On his return, he fell into debt, sold his farm to strangers and "disappeared" with his family. The Tumai homestead was torn apart and lost.
Tumas, like many Lithuanian intellectuals of the time, was an idealist; he was more concerned with the nation than with his personal affairs or those of his relatives.
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