Czechoslovakian Egg

In a small park in Wilson, Kansas, a fibreglass egg 20 feet high and 15 feet wide sits under its own gazebo, hand-painted in a traditional Czech pattern. A historical marker at the site says Bohemian and Moravian immigrants settled in and around Wilson in the 1870s, and that the State of Kansas declared Wilson the Czech Capital of Kansas in 1967. The egg honours kraslice, the Czech art of decorating eggs, which the marker says were traditionally exchanged at Easter as a symbol of new beginnings, love and friendship.

According to the Wilson Chamber of Commerce, the idea dates from about 2003, when a chamber president contacted Erika Nelson, creator of the World's Smallest Replica of the World's Largest Things in Lucas, Kansas. Nine years and many fundraisers later, Hess Services of Hays delivered the fibreglass egg in August 2012. Volunteers sanded it in 2013 and painted the black base coat in 2014; in 2015 local art teacher Christine Slechta designed the pattern, and students and volunteers painted it. The marker credits more than 50 volunteers and over 2,000 hours. A gazebo was built around the egg in 2016, and it was dedicated on 29 July 2016.