Ukrainian industrial designer and artist Kateryna Sokolova create stunning melting glass vases. Melting glass vases can be done using a process called glass slumping or glass fusing. This involves heating the glass to a temperature where it becomes pliable and can be shaped, and then allowing it to cool and solidify in the desired form.
GUTTA is a sublime series of sculptural vases that pay tribute to Ukrainian blown glass, created by Kateryna Sokolova. She poetically uses the half-melted forms of her pieces to transmit the sensation of frozen movement.
In her words “The Gutta vases, by Noom’s co-founder and chief designer, Kateryna Sokolova, aim to explore the unique properties of glass and create simple yet remarkable objects that evoke the sensation of frozen movement. Made by local glassmakers in one of Ukraine’s main cultural centers, Lviv, the vases are both very modern in their shape but steeped in history with their ancient methods and techniques of blown glass work.”
Scroll down and inspire yourself. Check Kateryna’s website for more amazing work and info.
Helen Lehndorf has written the new book A Forager’s Life: Finding my heart and home in nature. Photo / Anthony Behrens
Helen Lehndorf’s earliest memory of being alone in nature, was at 4 years old, on a motorbike trip with her dad, near their home in rural Taranaki. Keen to head off with his mates further up a hill, he left her to play in a valley, reassuring her she would always be able to hear the motorbikes in the distance. After a few hours, the sun started moving across the valley floor and the engine sounds disappeared. Alone, apart from a menacing-looking magpie, she clenched her fists and bundled her jacket against the cold, before turning to a familiar friend – a blackberry bush.
Although it ended well (her dad returned shortly after, grateful for the blackberries she had thoughtfully picked for him), I’ll admit to an urbanite like me, reading the opening scene in Lehndorf’s memoir, A Forager’s Life, made my breath shallow and a little panicky, dredging up a memory as a toddler of briefly losing my parents on a crowded beach. Yet, for Lehndorf, it encapsulates something elemental about her life and her memoir: a beautiful story about creativity and belonging, marriage and motherhood, that also speaks to how we lose and return to ourselves over the course of a life, and how our relationship with nature can be a way back in.
Speaking to Canvas from her home in New Plymouth, Lehndorf recalls feeling frightened that day “mostly because of the magpie” but regards it as her most potent early memory of the wilderness being a reassuring place. “There’s the mosaic of family and you’re just a little tile in that mosaic, aren’t you?” she says, “It was my first really intense memory of feeling like an individual person, and that first tangible feeling of the elemental support of nature.”
In a post-pandemic world, growing your own food and living a simpler life, usually rurally, is the new luxury. The hashtag #foragingtiktok has 14 million views and on YouTube there are hundreds of young men and women wandering around in cottage-core outfits picking fruit for the camera. Yet Lehndorf ’s memoir of her wild food beginnings sits well outside of a trend, recounting memories from rural Waitara in the 1960s, of her father hunting for dinner and her mother foraging for mushrooms; the neighbours dropping around surplus crops, and endless cups of community tea. It recalls a way of life we used to honour in New Zealand, before “sustainability” was in vogue, and “community” meant the local Facebook page.
I sense, in the cities at least, that many people’s plant identification skills might stretch as far as the basil you can buy in a pot from Countdown, and I tell Lehndorf I think I have the plant equivalent of prosopagnosia (an inability to recognise familiar faces). Standing in the middle of the native bush behind our house it all just looks, well, green. So where does one begin? She tells me there is a common phrase in nature writing called the “green wall”, where all the plants look the same.
The first step is to be curious about the plant world and to start small. Often, new foragers have a “beginner’s mind” and a passion to learn a hundred plants right away, but if you start with one, you may find it suddenly starts appearing to you, or as she puts it, “stepping forward”.
“Obviously, I don’t mean literally, because they’re rooted in place,” she laughs, “but metaphorically plants can step forward into your life in some way. Sometimes they appear when you need their medicine or you’ll read about them in a book or see them in a piece of art, and think, ‘I’ve never seen that around here.’ And then the very next time you go for a walk, it will pop up to you.”
Lehndorf credits the community she grew up in, with the marae (Ōwae Whaitara marae, Te Atiawa) at its heart, and her dad, “a wonderful storyteller, with a wild imagination – one who could spin a yarn into an almost mythological event” – for her relational view of the natural world. She recounts a time he went down to the river with some Māori friends and an albino eel popped its head out of the water, giving him a pointed stare. His friends said it was “tohu” and sped off on their bikes. When he got home, he said that the eel had a message for him (although never revealed what it was). “He has this way of making the world seem like it’s full of mystery and things can happen – connections can be made,” she says.
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Photo / Anthony Behrens
This respect for intuition is something Lehndorf and I keep circling back to in our conversation because it’s threaded throughout her book, and because it’s connected to foraging: both require trusting our instincts and our senses. Yet when Lehndorf’s second son, Magnus, was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2, she writes that the feeling of being “fundamentally held by life and supported” faded. In a time before autism was a well-known diagnosis, his erratic behaviour meant seeing friends and family became challenging and she found herself in a season of isolation.
“I feel like they were lost years for me where I was just overwhelmed,” she says. “They sort of sucked the magic out of life for me a bit because we got very socially isolated and I’m very much a community-minded person.”
She hopes that an autism diagnosis today may be less intense for parents, because public awareness around neurodivergence is so much better, but she shares candidly the initial grief she felt in letting go of preconceptions of what her parenting life might be. For any parent in a similar situation, she would tell them not to hesitate to seek help, especially if, like her, they are used to being the “giver” and not the receiver of it.
It was only when she joined a local permaculture class a few years later and was reminded of the supportive power of “radical reciprocity”, that she remembered a way back to herself. This was how she had grown up in rural Taranaki – taking the time to look after the natural world and one another, which yields a sense of belonging to oneself and to a community.
She’s not on the autism spectrum herself but, when her son was diagnosed, she recognised that she was a sensory seeker too. “I think I am wired a bit differently because of how I experience the natural world. And mostly, it’s wonderful, but I do feel quite out of kilter with the overculture at times,” she laughs.
She couldn’t pick a favourite plant to forage, but she points toward the blackberry, not just for her early memories of it in the wild but also because of its dual nature – a pest with delicious fruit, a blight on the landscape for some and conjuring memories of a sunny day for others. A plant that can only be accessed by those willing to approach it slowly and with respect. But most of all, she writes: “It taught me about boundaries, and the strength required to live on the margins, out on the edge”.
A Forager’s Life: Finding my heart and home in nature, by Helen Lehndorf (HarperCollins, $39.99), is out now.
Helen Lehndorf is at the Auckland Writers Festival May 16-21.
A Forager’s Life: Finding my heart and home in nature, by Helen Lehndorf.
Make sure to get your documents in order before heading out this summer
Welcome to The Check-In, our weekend feature focusing on all things travel.
U.S. passport processing times are taking longer than usual
Check your passport — if it’s expiring within the next six months and you’d like to travel overseas this summer, send it in for renewal now.
The State Department said there is “unprecedented demand” for new passports and renewals, with requests up 30 to 40 percent compared to this time last year. As of March 24, wait times are 10 to 13 weeks for standard processing and 7 to 9 weeks for expedited. This does not include the time it takes to mail your application to a passport acceptance facility.
Most countries will only grant entrance if a passport has six months of validity left, and some airlines heading to these destinations have blocked passengers who don’t meet these requirements from boarding.
Flight attendants want to ban babies from sitting on laps
When it comes to the safety of their smallest passengers, flight attendants aren’t messing around.
Right now, children under 2 are allowed to sit on a parent’s lap on a plane at no charge. This is dangerous, Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, told The Washington Post. “We’ve seen airplanes go through turbulence recently and drop 4,000 feet in a split second,” she said. “The G-forces are not something even the most loving mother or father can guard against and hold their child. It’s just physically impossible.”
The Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill expires in September, and the union is recommending a rule change so that every single passenger, regardless of age, has to have their own seat with a restraint. Nelson said the union has been fighting for this since 1989, when United Flight 232 crash-landed in Sioux City, Iowa. Parents holding babies on the flight were told to wrap the children in blankets and put them on the floor; three infants were injured and one died. “We must have children safe on the plane and in their own seats with a proper restraint device to make sure it never happens again,” Nelson said.
Ben Hoffman, president-elect of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told the Post that the safest thing parents can do is purchase their child their own seat, then secure the youngin in an FAA-approved car seat. To help offset the cost of having to pay for this, Hoffman suggests that airlines offer discount tickets for small children.
Considering ‘cancel for any reason’ insurance? Here are some things to keep in mind
When booking a trip, in addition to basic travel insurance, travelers can opt to add “cancel for any reason” insurance, also known as CFAR. But is it worth it? Stan Sandberg, co-founder of TravelInsurance.com, told USA Today Blueprint that the decision to purchase CFAR “comes down to the level of concern a traveler has for things that can disrupt a trip that aren’t covered under a standard plan.”
CFAR can only be purchased at the same time as a travel insurance plan, and while it allows you to cancel the trip for any reason, it still has to happen at least 48 hours prior to your departure date. How much you’re reimbursed for the canceled trip depends on your base travel insurance plan — if your reason for canceling is covered by that policy, you’ll get back 100 percent of your investment. If it’s not covered by that plan, you’ll cancel under CFAR, and get back 50 to 75 percent. Megan Walch, product manager at InsureMyTrip, told Blueprint that adding CFAR to a travel insurance policy can add another 40 to 60 percent of the base policy cost.
Experts say CFAR is a good option for people with health issues that might prevent them from taking a trip, those concerned about the spread of COVID-19, and anyone planning an expensive, nonrefundable vacation. It’s definitely pricier than regular travel insurance, “but if your trip is going to cost thousands of dollars, then getting comprehensive insurance is a no-brainer,” Matthew Kepnes, founder of the blog Nomadic Matt, told Blueprint.
Plan accordingly: Upcoming events to add to your calendar
The Santa Fe International Literary Festival is drawing some big names, with this year’s featured authors including Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl), John Irving (The World According to Garp), David Grann (The Lost City of Z), and Jennifer Egan (A Visit From the Goon Squad). The event will take place May 19-21 at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, and the schedule includes author readings and discussions, book signings, and meditation sessions.
Take in the beauty of the night sky during the Lake City Star Fest, running from June 7-11. Lake City, Colorado, is in Hinsdale County, which is known for its “extraordinary darkness,” event organizers said. The festival’s schedule includes the Dark-Sky Summit for astronomy professionals, as well as events for amateur stargazers, like the Celestial Celebration — a night of art, astrophotography, and film — and plenty of opportunities to (safely!) view the sun through a solar telescope. Tickets are limited.
It”s early morning, as horses graze on the Hexigten Grassland, administered by Chifeng city. [Photo by Mei Changhua/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The photography exhibition Impression of Inner Mongolia will kick off at the National Art Museum of China in the capital Beijing on April 1.
Jointly sponsored by the publicity department of the CPC Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regional Committee and the National Art Museum of China, the exhibition will run to April 11.
Scores of wind power turbines stand on hilltops in the Horinger New Zone in Hohhot city. [Photo by Hu Xiaoyang/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – The Rivanna Conservation Alliance is encouraging nature lovers enjoying the Rivanna Watershed to snap a picture or two.
Once a year, the alliance holds a photo contest for adults and children.
“We hope that people that already enjoy the Riviana will be able to show other people what they love most about it, and we hope that this will be another opportunity for people to fall in love with the Rivanna River, RCA Development and Communications Coordinator Sophie Elliott said.
The deadline to submit an entry is Monday, May 1. Winners will be featured at the Rivanna Riverfest.
Do you have a story idea? Send us your news tip here.
Whereas March gently ushers in the spring season, it’s April that enthusiastically flings open the doors to warmer days and balmy nights. The transformation is most noticeable during the evening hours, when the hushed silence of winter gives way to a lively symphony of insect chatter, celebrating a world awakening from its frosty slumber. Amidst this jubilant nocturnal resurgence, the relatively early darkness of the evening still offers a perfect opportunity to gaze at the starry skies! Here are some celestial highlights that await curious eyes. Wishing you clear skies!
Get That Telescope Ready: It’s Galaxy Season (all month)
As the northern hemisphere welcomes the onset of spring, it simultaneously heralds the arrival of galaxy season for those equipped with a reliable telescope. What makes this season so special? During winter and summer, the plane of the Milky Way galaxy comes into direct view, casting a veil of “local” galactic stars that obscure the distant galaxies. However, in spring, we gaze “above” this plane, while in autumn, we peer “below” it.
Until the close of May, the night sky brims with exquisite galaxy “clusters,” such as the renowned Virgo Cluster, captivating the hearts of astrophotography aficionados. Eager to embark on a celestial expedition? Astrobackyard provides valuable guidance on how to spot 8 magnificent galaxies during this period. To achieve truly “out-of-this-world” results, it is suggested that you acquire a telescope with a focal length of at least 600mm or greater.
Blush at the Full ‘Pink’ Moon (April 6)
April’s full moon, nicknamed the ‘Pink Moon’ after the rush of color from springtime blooms of creeping phlox (Phlox subulata), reaches its peak in the early morning hours of April 6 at 12:35 a.m. EDT.
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, some additional nicknames given to April’s Full Moon include “Breaking Ice Moon” (Algonquin) and the “Moon When the Ducks Come Back” (Dakota). Down in the southern hemisphere, where the transition to winter is underway, the Māori of New Zealand refer to April’s Moon as Haratua, which means ” Crops are now stored in pits. The tasks of man are finished.”
Mercury at its Highest After Sunset for the Year (April 11)
On April 11th, Mercury will reach its Greatest Eastern Elongation, presenting the most favorable evening of the year to observe the small planet. During this period, Mercury will be at its highest point above the horizon, although still low in the western sky, and will shine at magnitude 0. If you’re in a spot with some light pollution, the dazzling glow of Venus positioned above Mercury can help point the way.
Mercury’s elevation will be at its peak for the year in the days leading up to and following its maximum eastern elongation on the 11th. As the month of April comes to an end, Mercury’s elevation will gradually decrease, with its apparent position approaching the Sun, which in turn makes observation more difficult. This celestial event offers a unique opportunity for skywatchers to witness the beauty of both Mercury and Venus in the same frame.
Just like last month, we’re headed into the later part of April with a New Moon and exceptionally dark skies. For a few days leading up to and after April 20, you can train your eyes, binoculars, or telescope and be treated to pristine views of galaxies, shooting stars, and other wonders otherwise dimmed by moonlight.
Need a target? This month, we’re recommending The Cigar Galaxy (M82). Located about 12 million light-years away, this cosmic beauty is labeled a “starburst galaxy” due to its exceptionally high rate of star formation. It is overall roughly five times as luminous as our Milky Way (with its center portion nearly 100 times brighter) and can be found in the constellation Ursa Major.
An Extremely Rare Hybrid Solar Eclipse Unfolds Down Under (April 20)
On April 20, a rare event called a hybrid solar eclipse will occur for a select viewers in the Southern Hemisphere. This type of solar eclipse takes place when the moon comes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking the Sun’s light either completely or partially. In a total solar eclipse, the Moon looks bigger than the Sun and creates total darkness by blocking all direct sunlight.
A hybrid solar eclipse is distinctive because its appearance changes as the Moon’s shadow travels over Earth’s surface. In this case, complete darkness only occurs in a slim path on the Earth, while a wider area, covering thousands of kilometers, witnesses a partial eclipse. Hybrid solar eclipses are quite rare, accounting for only 3.1% (7 out of 224) of all solar eclipses in the 21st century. The next one will give the southern U.S. a partial eclipse on November 14, 2031.
For the upcoming hybrid solar eclipse, the regions that will experience complete darkness include the North West Cape peninsula and Barrow Island in Western Australia, some eastern areas of East Timor, Damar Island, and parts of Papua province in Indonesia. To learn more, jump over to Time and Date here.
Catch a Lyrid Star and Put It In Your Pocket (April 22/23)
The Lyrid Meteor Shower will reach its peak on the evening of April 22/23, with a New Moon keeping skies dark for even the faintest shooting stars to shine.
Lyrids aren’t known for being a particularly prolific shower, averaging around 20 meteors per hour at peak. That said, EarthSky reports that about a quarter leave behind glowing trails – a nice bonus for those otherwise ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ shooting stars. If you’re willing to wait until 2042, you can witness a Lyrid outburst with an expected output of dozens of shooting stars per hour. This event takes place every 60 years as Earth passes through a dense debris stream left behind by Comet Thatcher, the origin of the Lyrids. In 1982, the last outburst showcased nearly 100 meteors per hour at its peak.
To spot them, find a nice patch of the night sky free of light pollution. The Lyrids will appear to radiate from the constellation Lyra (which is easy to spot thanks to its inclusion of Vega, one of the brightest stars).
Laowa, a renowned player in the world of innovative optics, has recently introduced the Proteus 2X Anamorphic Lens Series, designed specifically for Super 35 sensors. With a constant 2X squeeze ratio across the series, the Proteus lineup features four distinct focal lengths, a universal T2 aperture and delivers exceptional image quality paired with classic anamorphic characteristics, such as elliptical bokeh and signature flares in blue, amber, and silver options.
These new lenses cater to modern filmmaking needs while providing a minimum focusing distance of 55cm, enabling cinematographers to capture stunning close-up shots. The Proteus series comes with a default PL mount, but an interchangeable EF bayonet is also included, adding versatility to the package. Both imperial and metric versions are available, and the 4-lens set is delivered in two hard cases.
Over the past two years, Laowa has collaborated closely with cinematographers, taking their feedback seriously and adapting cutting-edge technology to deliver classic anamorphic characteristics while maintaining impressive image quality. The result is a lens series capable of supporting any type of cinematic production, irrespective of resolution or aspect ratio.
The patented anamorphic design of the Proteus 2X series adopts a front anamorphic design for a robust optical composition. This design allows the lenses to deliver the sharpness of modern optics while retaining the vintage look of anamorphic characteristics, such as elliptical bokeh and signature flares.
With a constant 2X squeeze ratio, the Proteus lenses exemplify the classic wide-screen anamorphic look for cinema use. They work seamlessly with 4:3 or 6:5 sensors, which are commonly found in professional cinema cameras, delivering a 2.66:1 or 2.4:1 image after de-squeeze. Filmmakers can use the footage in its entirety or crop to a 2.39:1 aspect ratio with minimal loss of resolution.
The Proteus series offers a large aperture, with the iris ranging from T2 to T22, accommodating various lighting conditions and on-set demands. This enables the creation of a stunning shallow depth of field while preserving the organic waterfall focus roll-off in the background, a distinctive anamorphic characteristic highly sought after in the film industry.
The Proteus lenses boast outstanding sharpness, excellent color rendition, and contrast. The series can reproduce high image quality even when shooting wide open, and chromatic aberration is well-controlled. The lenses also deliver pleasant bokeh, with thinner and longer elliptical shapes compared to 1.5X or 1.8X anamorphic lenses.
To learn more about the Laowa Proteus 2X Anamorphic Series and to explore its unique features, visit https://laowacine.com/product/laowa-proteus-2x-anamorphic-series/.
I’ve written recently about groups of birds that are doing well, such as waterfowl and woodpeckers. On the other end of the spectrum, from a Connecticut standpoint, are species known as grassland birds.
In a state naturally cloaked in forest, grassland is essentially farmland. Our farmland has been disappearing and along with it birds such as vesper sparrows and bobolinks. Near the top of the list of birds severely reduced in numbers is the eastern meadowlark.
When I moved here in the early 1990s, there were still a few places within minutes of Waterbury where I could go out after mid-March to listen for the sweet song of males returning to territories in hayfields. Now some of those hayfields are gone and some others no longer support a nesting population of these handsome birds.
A meadowlark stirred a lot of birder excitement this week, but not because of good news about our eastern species. A western meadowlark, a real rarity here, was found at Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison. In keeping with meadowlark habits, it was easy to find, because it favored the wide-open short turf of the park’s Meigs Point parking field.
As sometimes happens these days, the bird’s true identity was figured on a computer screen rather than in person. A photo was posted on Facebook by someone who not surprisingly assumed it was an eastern meadowlark. The two species are very similar and there had only been about four previous records of western meadowlark in Connecticut.
Aidan Kiley, a sharp young birder from Fairfield, saw the photos, suspected it was a western and got the word out. Since then many photos and close observations have confirmed the subtle plumage differences pinning down the identification. The vocalizations of the two species are also quite different, but as far as I know this bird has been silent.
Western meadowlarks are widespread in their normal range, and are state birds of Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and Oregon. Like some other species widely shared as state birds, such as the cardinal and mockingbird, it is a conspicuous singer on its home range.
This one is a long way from home right now, but it will most likely find its way back to a more appropriate home territory.
Greg Hanisek writes “Nature.” Email him at ctgregh@gmail.com.
French visual artist Clémentine Bal creates peculiar sculptures in meditative expressions. Clement lives in Val-Revermont and she uses sculpture to create imaginary characters, mixing shapes observed in nature. The clean lines of these creatures, as well as their meditative expressions and delicate postures give them a lot of softness.
Clémentine imagines spirits in everything, so faces can appear on volcanoes, objects or plants. Inert material comes to life, layer after layer. These characters evoke the manga universe, the creatures of Miyazaki, and traditional Japanese statuary, like little deities, gentle and sensitive.
Scroll down and inspire yourself. Check Clement’s website for more amazing work and info.
Steve Strack begs for Anna Strack’s forgiveness outside a Chicago divorce courtroom in 1948.The Chicago Tribune/Public Domain
A 1948 photo shows a groveling husband begging for his wife’s forgiveness outside divorce court.
Insider spoke with a Chicago historian about the subjects of the photo and divorce norms at the time.
Despite the husband’s public pleas, this wife was ultimately unmoved.
This decades-old photo is worth more than 1,000 words.
The black and white image, which made the rounds on social media and Reddit in recent years, features a suited man on his literal knees, begging for the forgiveness of his fur-clad, soon-to-be ex-wife outside a Chicago divorce court.
The looks on their faces seem to say it all: The scorned husband appears desperate, mouth slightly agape as he looks up at his one-time lover; the woman, meanwhile, appears utterly unbothered.
“It’s a powerful photo today because you can sort of imagine your own story behind it,” said Jeff Nichols, a Chicago historian who acquired a copy of the 1948 newspaper photo via an eBay listing of the image.
But thanks to Nichols’ sleuthing, as well as the digitization of old newspaper records, we don’t have to merely imagine who this couple is.
The image depicts one of the final moments in the marriage of Steve and Anna Strack, who were 37 and 33 at the time, according to Nichols’ research. The photo was a one-off picture published in the Chicago Tribune, unattached to any particular story, and seemingly printed due to its evocative nature.
“It’s just one of those dramatic photos,” Nichols told Insider. “I’m sure it was just a photographer who was roaming the halls of the courthouse looking for a picture.”
Prior to the camera flash, Anna Strack had filed for divorce from her husband on the grounds of habitual drunkenness, Nichols told Insider. In Illinois at the time, a spouse seeking divorce had to provide the court with a reason for the split, often choosing from maladies like abandonment, mental cruelty, or adultery.
If the suing spouse could successfully prove the destructive behavior, the plaintiff spouse was found to be at fault and could be punished by the courts with a smaller share of marital assets or alimony.
It wasn’t until 2016 that Illinois became a no-fault state and residents were able to officially end their marriages without giving a reason for the failed union.
Nichols, whose previous historical work includes the discovery of lost footage of the aftermath of the SS Eastland disaster, posted the Strack photo to his Twitter account earlier this year and said it was a particularly popular post among his followers and fellow history devotees, whom he believed got a kick out of seeing such an obvious display of a 20th-century woman in “the driver’s seat” of her relationship.
Anna Strack was unconvinced by her husband’s public display
The young wife, who shared a then-4-year-old son with her husband, told The Tribune at the time of the photo that she would think over her decision, according to Nichols’ research.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Chicago was the subject of frequent jokes about its apparently lax divorce laws, Nichols said, describing the perception as a sort of regional joke that people instinctively understood: “Oh, people in Chicago just get divorced as a problem to have,” Nichols said as an example of the kind of jabs the city suffered.
As a result of the culture of divorce, it’s entirely possible that Steve Strack had an ally on the bench in Judge Julius H. Miner. The longtime Illinois justice believed divorce to be an inherently destructive process and usually preventable, according to Nichols, who cited old newspaper stories and profiles on Miner.
“Judge Miner, in particular, believed in the power of his court to mend relationships,” Nichols said.
Miner was a strong proponent of changing the law to make quick divorces tougher to acquire in Illinois, according to Nichols, who said the judge blamed World War II for undermining women’s values and their responsibilities as wives and mothers. Miner was particularly concerned about divorce’s impact on children.
In a Tribune profile on Miner published a couple of months after the Strack photo appeared in the paper, the judge discussed his efforts to keep couples together, Nichols said, essentially turning his courtroom into a sort of couple’s therapy session as he tried to secure reconciliations.
Miner, however, failed to keep Anna and Steve Strack together. The 1950 census shows the couple as divorced, according to Nichols’ research, with Anna Strack working as a packer at a gum factory, living with her parents and son. Steve went on to work as a railroad mechanic and lived as a boarder, Nichols said.
Steve Strack remarried in 1953, but died just over a decade later in 1964, according to Nichols. Records suggest that Anna Strack never remarried. When she died in 1983, she was buried under her ex-husband’s name, Nichols said.
Miner, meanwhile, was elevated to the federal bench in 1958 by President Dwight Eisenhower.
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