The World’s (Second) Largest Ball of Twine
A tribute to the American way of life is our, at times, boredom. The two largest balls of twine in the world aren’t in Saudi Arabia, Japan, or Mexico. They are right here! Today I will focus on what is technically the second largest, but I believe it to be the de facto largest and I will also explain why.
Seated in Darwin, Minnesota is a big ass ball of twine and without a doubt it is the largest in the state. In Kansas there is a larger ball of twine, but I believe that one deserves an asterisk since it was complied by multiple people, visitors, every year. The ball of twine in Darwin is the largest ball of twine put together by a single person. The Darwin twine ball is the largest in Minnesota without argument, but I argue the case for this to be the largest in the world. Period.
I was telling one beautiful Minnesotan about my experience seeing the Largest Ball of Twine and she instantly said, “Minnesota’s got a lot of weird things like that.” I was sad that she didn’t punctuate that statement with, “geez,” but she doesn’t have that Minnesotan accent.
The twine ball was rolled by Francis A. Johnson, a life-long Meeker County resident and son of U.S. Senator Magnus Johnson. Most likely an outlet for an obsessive compulsive disorder, Johnson would roll twine in his basement for hours starting back in or around 1950. Eventually the twine ball was moved outside while he was still able to get it out of his basement and it was placed on his front lawn. To make sure it stayed round (it is a ball after all), he used railroad jacks to secure the ball from all sides. Finally in 1979 Johnson retired from the project after 29 years of his love labor. A circular building was built to protect his time investment. Johnson died shortly thereafter from emphysema, assumedly from breathing twine dust for 29 years.
The town moved “Minnesota’s Largest Ball of Twine” or “The World’s Largest Ball of Twine Rolled by One Person” to its current location near the Darwin Water Tower and a relatively sealed protective shelter made of wood and plexiglass shields it but makes it fully visible.
This was really one of the coolest experiences of my life. First, it says loads about America and our greatness because the rest of the world doesn’t have time to just sit and roll twine. It also says a lot about small town America and the pride we have in the most iniquitous things. Beyond the twine ball you see America on all sides. Flags, a youth baseball field in a park, a quaint little library lending box on the street corner, and white picket fences. Though it may seem boring to many and frankly it is, it’s a way of life free from box stores next door and everybody knows everybody else. This Twine Ball represents the anthesis of my piece title Times Square and that duality is what makes this country so damn beautiful.
Thank you for reading this piece from Michael Beebe. For more about Michael, please visit TheMichaelBeebe.com or VagabondingAmerica.com.
Picture a young Michael Beebe, fresh out of La Porte High School in ’93, diving headfirst into the world of hospitality with a busboy gig at the old La Porte Holiday Inn. That hustle led him to an Associate of Science from Purdue-North Central in ’95 and a Bachelor’s in Hospitality Management from Purdue-Calumet in ’97 (those schools are now merged into Purdue-Northwest, by the way). Michael’s early career was a whirlwind—running a 140-room hotel in Indianapolis, where he learned the ins and outs of the industry but realized it wasn’t his true calling. What did spark his passion? Teaching. He found himself thriving in front of students at Ivy Tech Community College and Lake Michigan College, sharing the art and science of hospitality management. Oh, and he also moonlighted at WIMS radio in Michigan City, juggling both on-air and behind-the-scenes roles with his signature high energy.
Politics? That’s been Michael’s sidekick since he was 18, registering to vote with a fire in his belly to make a difference. He threw his hat in the ring for La Porte County Council in 2010, where he got a crash course in the power of social media marketing. Undeterred by not winning, he campaigned for Indiana’s General Assembly in 2012 and took another shot at the County Council in 2014 and 2016. Though he hasn’t clinched a seat yet, Michael’s relentless drive to serve shines through. Lately, he’s been pouring that energy into helping other candidates who champion personal liberty, amplifying their voices with his knack for strategy.
Here’s a twist: Michael once co-owned a tattoo shop, despite having no ink himself. As the business manager and marketing guru, he leaned hard into low-cost, social media-driven campaigns to put the shop on the map. That experience fueled his love for digital marketing, and now he spends his free time crafting websites and boosting businesses online—a true labor of love.
These days, Michael’s living the dream as an independent contracted transporter, crisscrossing the country while getting paid to soak up new places and cultures. When he’s not exploring, he’s parked somewhere scenic, laptop open, building his digital consulting company, Spark Plug Strategies, or penning his thoughts. He even wrote a few books.
Based in La Porte County, Indiana, Michael’s embraced a “decentralized laptop lifestyle,” blending work, travel, and passion projects into a life that’s as dynamic as he is.