Where in Wisconsin: The World’s Heaviest Ball of Twine
Tucked away in Highland, Wisconsin – a small town of around 900 people – sits one of the most unexpectedly remarkable roadside attractions in the country: the world’s heaviest ball of twine.
It weighs 24,100 pounds, stands 10 feet high, and spans 22 feet wide. And it was made entirely by one man.
A Man, a Mission, and a Lot of Twine
James Frank Kotera, known around town as “JFK”, started wrapping twine in 1979, and he never stopped. For 44 years, he added to his creation layer by layer, pound by pound, keeping meticulous track of its weight by measuring every new twine addition before it went on.
But this wasn’t just a quirky hobby. For Kotera, the twine ball had a deeper purpose. According to a biography written about him, James was an alcoholic searching for a way to quit drinking. Apparently, he had a divine intervention, and God told him to stop drinking and start wrapping twine instead. So… he did.
Outside of his job at the landfill transfer station in Highland, James spent much of his remaining time at home, winding and wrapping. He kept the ball in a shelter next to his house, where curious visitors would stop in to see it. His former neighbor, Terri Nelson, recalled that if Kotera spotted someone approaching, he’d rush out of the house to greet them and tell them all about his ball of twine. He even had a favorite line he liked to tell them: “Every day I am just having a ball.”
Kotera also crafted a smaller companion piece, a 47-pound ball of string he called “Junior,” made in honor of his birth year of 1947. He’d let visitors hold it while posing for photos.
A Legacy Preserved
Kotera passed away in January 2023 after nearly half a century of work on his masterpiece. He left behind not just a world record for the heaviest ball of twine made by one man, but a community that loved him.
Terri Nelson, determined to honor his memory, launched a GoFundMe campaign to move the ball from his property to a more permanent public home. Donations poured in from people across the country, some who had visited Kotera years earlier and still remembered his warmth and generosity.
With the help of volunteers and a tow truck, the massive ball was loaded onto a trailer and relocated to a spot next to the Highland Town Hall and the newly renamed JFK Transfer Station. Volunteers poured a concrete slab, built a shelter over it, and added photos and information about Kotera’s life on a nearby wall. A notebook sits at the site for visitors to sign their names and hometowns, a tradition carried over from Kotera’s home, where he previously had signatures from over 61 states and countries.
Plan Your Visit
Highland may be a small dot on the map, but thanks to James Frank Kotera, it’s one worth finding. The twine ball is free to visit and open to the public. Whether you’re a roadside attraction enthusiast or just looking for a genuine Wisconsin story, this one is hard to beat.