2022 Perry Photo Challenge Hailey Haar, First Place
Echoes of a Matriarch
An echo radiates from its source, often an impactful event, until it dissipates and is absorbed by its surroundings. On January 18th, 2022 at 3:23 p.m., Paul Haar lost his mother, Dorothy Haar, at the age of 93, just two and a half years after she moved to Lincoln to be closer to family. At the age of 14, Dorothy became an adult when she took a job as a waitress, a position she would hold for 65 years until she closed “Harr’s Restaurant” in 2007. Paul is carrying himself through the “Life After” stage with a beacon of grace and resilience, traits instilled in him by his mother.
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Paul Haar is hit by a wave of grief while sitting in his mother’s lift chair at his home on Friday, March 4, 2022 in Lincoln, Neb. Her belongings spilled into his garage when he began the process of combining two households worth of possessions into one. “Some days you’re not going to feel like you’re actually grieving anything,” Haar said, “Other days it hits you like a title wave.” Photo by Hailey Haar / Junior / Broadcasting major
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Paul Haar glances at an old menu from a restaurant location of his mother’s in Dodge City, Kan. at his home on Friday, March 4, 2022 in Lincoln, Neb. His mother then went to open restaurant locations in Nebraska. Photo by Hailey Haar / Junior / Broadcasting major -
A painted portrait of Dorothy Haar rests on the floor of a storage unit filled with her furniture on Saturday, March 5, 2022 in Lincoln, Neb. The arm of her upholstered kitchen chair is stained from meals she ate the last few years of her life. Photo by Hailey Haar / Junior / Broadcasting major -
Paul Haar holds photos of Dorothy Haar and her siblings from a bag of her belongings at his home on Friday, March 4, 2022 in Lincoln, Neb. Family photos and her oxygen tubing were constant companions of Dorothy in her final days. Photo by Hailey Haar / Junior / Broadcasting major -
Paul Haar looks through his impromptu collection of his mother’s outfits that are being saved at his home on Friday, March 4, 2022 in Lincoln, Neb. He gathered pieces that were a blend of his mother’s staples as well as those that will be passed on. Photo by Hailey Haar / Junior / Broadcasting major -
Paul Haar holds up his mother’s knitted blouse at his home Friday, March 4, 2022 in Lincoln, Neb. This piece was worn by his mother in family portraits that rested on her nightstand for many years. “She always wore this,” Haar said, “It still smells like her.” Photo by Hailey Haar / Junior / Broadcasting major -
Paul Haar sits at his mother’s maple Baldwin piano and works through a song he is writing as an homage at his home on Friday, March 4, 2022 in Lincoln, Neb. In 25 years of collegiate music teaching, Haar never composed a song. “I don’t know where it came from,” said Haar “I thought I’d have more time to sing it to her.” Photo by Hailey Haar / Junior / Broadcasting major -
APaul Haar snaps time while checking over his song’s notation at his home on Friday, March 4, 2022 in Lincoln, Neb. The title came from a quote of his mother’s about regret, “Too late too soon we get smart.” The piano was in Haar’s childhood home and his mother often played songs by ear as she never learned how to read music. Photo by Hailey Haar / Junior / Broadcasting major -
Paul Haar rehearses for his faculty recital with pianist Christi Zuniga at his home on Saturday, March 5, 2022 in Lincoln, Neb. Haar decorated his living room entirely with his mother’s furniture. “It brings me comfort to be in there,” said Haar. Photo by Hailey Haar / Junior / Broadcasting major -
Steffani Nolda, one of Paul Haar’s applied saxophone students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, emphasizes her eyebrows while getting ready for work at her home on Saturday, March 5, 2022 in Lincoln, Neb. Nolda became close with Haar’s family in the time since he moved his mother to Lincoln. “She has the same intensity in her eyes my mother did,” said Haar. Photo by Hailey Haar / Junior / Broadcasting major -
Steffani Nolda situates her blouse and skirt, both previously owned by Dorothy Haar, while getting ready for work at her home on Saturday, March 5, 2022 in Lincoln, Neb. This summer, Nolda started her position at Von Maur, a luxury department store. “My mother worked hard so she could have nice things,” Paul Haar said, “Now they are going to someone who can use them to look good at work. Photo by Hailey Haar / Junior / Broadcasting major