The World’s Largest Ball of Twine
Somewhere in the Code of Federal Regulations (I think) , it says “It isn’t a cross-country roadtrip unless you visit the World’s Largest Ball of Twine.” Welcome to Cawker City, KS.
Sometime in 1953, a farmer named Frank Stoeber (above) began to gather up the loose twine that had been used to tie up bales of hay—which was cluttering his barn floor—and roll it into a ball to burn it. Instead of burning it, however, he simply continued to add twine to the ball, and neighboring farmers added their loose twine to the collection. By 1956, it was 7′ 5″ in diameter and weighed 4,305 lbs.
The ball attracted visitors, and the local businessmen suggested that Stoeber donate it to the town. The ball was put on display downtown, and in 1973, the Guinness Book of World Records awarded it the title of World’s Largest. A Wall Street Journal article about Kansas tourism that mocked the ball of twine only increased traffic to the town.
[Suspenseful music plays.] In 1978, however, one Francis Johnson of Darwin, MN contested Cawker City’s claim to fame. His ball of twine—allegedly begun in 1950 and continuously built for 29 years—was 13′ in diameter, 40′ in circumference, and weighed 17,400 lbs. In 1979, the Guinness Book of World Records dethroned the Kansas ball of twine and awarded the title to Francis Johnson’s sisal wunderball.
The Cawker City community rallied to the cause, and began a campaign of sisal wrapping—only sisal twine is permitted, no plastics, cotton, or other fibers—until, in 1994, their ball regained the title of World’s Largest Ball of Twine—albeit, one built by a community rather than by an individual.
By 2014, the ball had a diameter of just over 8′ and a circumference of 41′ 5”; it presently weighs 27,017 lbs., and it it still growing.
When you visit Cawker City and stop into the local café/tourist center, the staff will call Linda Clover, the current custodian of the ball. She’ll tell you the ball’s history and hand you the official spool of twine, so you can tie the loose end to an existing strand, circumnavigate the globe, and add to this historic achievement.
Dodge City
We got into Dodge. We got out of Dodge. I posted on Facebook that we were going to get out of Dodge, and Facebook’s AI decided that meant I had to plan an event for the occasion. The planet is going to fry so that Meta can burn vast amounts of fossil fuel in its goal of enabling AI to suggest that I plan a party to get out of Dodge.
As for Dodge City itself—there’s the touristy part, and outside of that, agribusiness. The tourist part was a nice stop.
Pizza Hut
Did you know the first Pizza Hut was opened in Witchita? Two brothers, Dan and Frank Carney—both recent graduates of Witchita State University, wanted to open a business. In 1958, they opened their first location after learning to make pizza from (if I remember the story right) a local and not Italian chef. Supposedly, they called the store “Pizza Hut” because they could only fit eight letters on their sign.
According to Dan Carney, opening night was “absolute chaos.”
Pizza Hut’s grand opening was delayed in part by some old bird’s nests. Like much of the equipment in the Carney brothers’ restaurant, the stove came secondhand and in disrepair. When the brothers fired up the oven, the nests inside caught fire, which meant the crew had to repaint the restaurant. The old roasting oven also didn’t generate enough heat to cook the pizzas, so Dan and Frank clipped the leads to the thermostat, drilled out bigger holes in the gas lines, and started the oven again. Finally the oven was hot enough to properly cook the pizza. It was also hot enough to melt its control knobs.
The ancient cash register didn’t have an amount key larger than $1, so the night was punctuated by the register ringing over and over when larger orders were placed. The oven had hot spots, so pizzas had to be moved constantly to keep them from burning. None of the ingredients were precooked. Frank recalled a tossed crust catching in the blades of a fan.
Within a year, there were six Pizza Hut locations. It began franchising in 1959, and one of their fraternity brothers designed the famous red roofed building in 1963. PepsiCo acquired the chain in 1977.
Next: Sulphur, OK.