In a dim basement dining hall in Cherkasy, decorated with blue-and-white Star of David pennants, a woman who emigrated in 1988 recently watched in shock as old women dumped part of their lunch into plastic bags for dinner and breakfast.

ECONOMIST: The East European shtetl

Table settings included Colonial-style silverware and, for a contrasting sense of playfulness, loose bouquets of American flowers, reminiscent of the prairie white garden roses, blue hydrangea, star-shaped tweedia, thistle.

WSJ: Remco van Vliet, the Master Builder of Towers of Flowers | Creating