Francis A. Johnson, creator of the world's largest ball of twin was born on Apri 17, 1904 in Kingston Township. He died October 24, 1989 in Litchfield. Johnson helped on the family farm, worked for Minnesota Dept of Agriculture, and as a carpenter.
In March of 1950, Francis wound the first piece of baler twin around two fingers to form a ball. As it grew, it was no longer possible to manually wrap the twine. He began using massive railroad jacks designed to lift boxcars tomove the ball around.
In 1979, The World's Largest Ball of Twine was completed and recorded in the Guiness Book of World Records, where it remained until 1994. It weights 8.7 tones, is 11 feet high and measures about 40 feet around.
Twine Ball Days is the second Saturday of August.
