Stop by these five towns to see some of our favorite animal sculptures
Rhinos in Marion
Marion has 80 rhinos around town, only these rhinos are two feet tall and made of concrete. Each rhino is decorated differently. One rhino is painted as “Zippy Code” the mail carrier, and another rhino is painted as the Easter bunny. A real baby rhino is called a “calf,” but the rhinos in Marion are called “Petes.” Pete was the name of a man who helped make one of the city’s most popular festivals and loved rhinoceroses.
Black Squirrels in Marysville
Squirrels are the official mascot of Marysville. Some people think the town’s first black squirrels escaped from a circus in 1912, and many generations of these wild black squirrels have made Marysville their home since then. City laws protect the animals, saying the squirrels can go anywhere and eat any black walnut they find. The city has more than 50 squirrel statues that are five feet tall. One of our favorite statues, “Choo-Choo,” stands outside the train depot.
Rabbits in Rice County
Each of the eight towns in Rice County have a rabbit statue. Artist Toby Flores made the eight bronze statues. They are nearly the same size as real rabbits—even their floppy ears look life-sized! A second artist, Valerie Rynoso, drew pictures and wrote a children’s book about the rabbit statues. Each statue has a different name, and each name is connected to their town. The people in Bushton named their rabbit “Clarence” to honor Clarence Huebner, a World War II army general from the town.
Totos in Wamego
The statues in Wamego honor Toto, the brave dog from the Wizard of Oz movie and books. There are 19 Toto statues in Wamego, including “Wizard Toto” and “The Lollipop Guild Toto.” Artist Lorinda Sultzer painted three of the statues, including one with sunflowers because sunflowers are a beautiful symbol of Kansas. Sultzer’s statue “Toto in Tulips” stands in a city park where tulips bloom in spring. Sultzer’s “Tired Toto” stands outside a hotel, ready for bed with green pajamas and a yellow suitcase.
Swedish Horses in Lindsborg
A Dala (pronounced “daw-la”) is a toy wood horse from Sweden. Lindsborg is filled with Dala statues because Swedish families founded the city. The traditional Dala color is black with orange-red decorations, but the 42 Dala statues in Lindsborg are all different colors. “Yankee Doodle Dala” is painted red, white and blue. (Can you guess why?)
Cool Kansas Careers
April Spicer works as an artist in Marysville, where she painted 12 of Marysville’s 51 squirrel statues. She taught art at the Marysville Junior-Senior High School. April and her students helped design the squirrel statue. A trailer truck delivered the original squirrel statues. “What a sight it must have been to see a trailer loaded with five-foot-tall squirrels driving down the highway,” she laughs.
In 2016, Marysville honored the first 21 painted squirrel statues with a large parade. April says visitors to Marysville should get an official map showing all the statue locations. Finding all the squirrel statues is a fun family activity. “Snap photos with the squirrels!” she says. Don’t worry: You will meet some live black squirrels, too. They are all over town, but especially in the city park. “You’ll spot them gathering acorns and chasing each other up trees,” she says.
