A giant ball of divine twine
PLUS: April terrors and SOMEONE PLEASE BUY THIS DRIVE-IN
Sometimes God tells you to build a boat. Sometimes he smites you with frogs. Sometimes he tells you to weave a giant ball of twine.
The lord works in mysterious ways.
In 1979, James Frank Kotera was looking for a reason to stay sober. That’s a tough one here in Wisconsin. He prayed for answers, and eventually God gave him something to do: Make a giant ball of twine.
“He had a conversation with God who encouraged him to stop drinking and turn to twine,” a biographer wrote of Kotera’s epiphany.
So James left the drink behind and poured the next 44 years of his life into meticulously crafting this “World Famous Ball of Twine,” one piece at a time.
As Kotera was fond of telling visitors, he was “having a ball.”
In 1993, Guinness certified James’ creation as the largest ball of twine in the world. And the curious masses came from around the world to his home to see it. Over the years his guestbooks logged visitors from 61 countries.
By the time James passed away in January 2023, the ball had become 10 feet high, 22 feet around, and weighed in at 24,100 pounds.
After his death, with the ball stuck on James’ property, his friends and family were concerned about what might become of it. They raised funds to have it relocated to the Lake Nebagamon transfer station where James worked for 50 years.
Now, thanks to their efforts, the divine twine is officially back on public display.
Terror in April
Dominion of Terror is a creative and immersive haunted house in Sheboygan that’s run by people who love what they do, so it’s no surprise they’ve been haunting for 50 years. Celebrate with two special nights this April. Get your tickets now!
Who Wants to Buy a Drive-in?
Last fall, we finally made it to the Highway 18 Outdoor Theatre in Jefferson for a killer night at the drive-in. This place was built in 1953 and has been owned for the last 25 years by Lee Burgess.
It’s authentic, has the largest outdoor screen in the state, and is almost all original. Even though the projector is now digital, you can still see the original in the lobby of the concessions stand.
Plus it has this amazing website that should never ever change:
Not long after our visit and the drive-in closed for the season, Burgess announced he was selling the business.
We were devastated.
A recent WISN article reports this summer will be Burgess’ final season. If no one buys it, one of Wisconsin’s last drive-ins will close.
Now, we don’t have a spare $895,000 to buy it and give it the Mahoning treatment it deserves, but we’re hoping someone does so it doesn’t go away.
It could be you.
Yeah, you.
And if you do buy it and want some help, hit us up. We have ideas.