Discover how Frank Kovac Jr.’s cosmic creativity turned an astronomical vision into reality in the new Wisconsin Historical Society Press book The Man Who Painted the Universe: The Story of a Planetarium in the Heart of the North Woods written by Ron Legro and Avi Lank. This “Field of Dreams” story describes how — with ingenuity, fervor, and endurance — a mild-mannered astronomy enthusiast from Wisconsin’s North Woods realized his galactic dreams of “touching” the stars.
As a young boy growing up in Chicago, Frank Kovac Jr. fell deeply in love with stargazing, painting constellations on his bedroom wall. Kovac never let go of that childhood dream and schemed throughout his adult life for a way to bring the universe home. Working tirelessly in his backyard, Kovac eventually found a way. He built a 22-foot rotating globe planetarium in his backyard. Despite failures and collapses, the amateur astronomer single-handedly built a North Woods treasure, painting more than 5,000 glowing stars, dot-by-dot, in glowing paints.
Today, Kovac and his unique planetarium take visitors to the stars every day, captivating a new generation of stargazers and dreamers with his one-man galactic show.
Steve Hartmann, the correspondent who featured Kovac in a CBS News interview, declares:”Nothing is as awesome as the universe, but the Kovac planetarium comes close. The tale of how it came to be will inspire you for light years.”
Media: For a review copy of “The Man Who Painted the Universe,” to interview the authors, or for more information, please contact Kristin Gilpatrick, Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 816 State St., Madison, WI 53706; 608-264-6465; email: kristin.gilpatrick@wisconsinhistory.org.
The Wisconsin Historical Society Press, publishing the best of
Wisconsin history and culture since 1855 as a division of the Wisconsin Historical Society
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About the Authors:
Ron Legrois a freelance writer and former reporter, columnist, and editor for the “Milwaukee Sentinel” daily newspaper. He was editor in chief of “Wisconsin Reports,” a weekly public affairs journal covering the state legislature. His freelance articles have appeared in the “Milwaukee Journal Sunday” magazine, “Milwaukee” magazine, “Corporate Report Wisconsin” and other publications. He was a speechwriter for numerous lawmakers and public officials and served as the City of Milwaukee’s director of telecommunications. A native of Antigo, Wisconsin, he is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He lives in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, with his wife, Michele Derus .
Avi Lankis an essayist for Milwaukee Public Radio and panelist on the “Interchange” public-affairs program on Milwaukee Public Television. For almost 40 years he was an award-winning reporter, columnist, and editor at the “Milwaukee Sentinel” and later the “Journal Sentinel.” Born in Penn Yan in the Finger Lakes region of western New York State, he grew up in Rochester, New York, and holds degrees from Antioch College and the Medill School of Journalism of Northwestern University. He lives in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, with his wife, Dannette Lank.
