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Eggshelland is a unique Easter Display,
presented by Ron and Betty
Manolio
of Lyndhurst, Ohio. This will be its 45th
year. The entire front yard is
transformed
into different eggshell mosaic designs each year,
always
including a 50ft. Cross and our mascot, the Easter
Bunny, with 2,266 shells.
The display has grown from 750 shells
in 1957. We use 21 brilliant colors
of
outdoor sign paint enamel to paint the shells. As
far as we know, it is the
only
display of it's kind in the world. The idea came
from Manolio's Mother,
who placed dyed eggshells on bushes in front of
her home.
This is a family project. We
used to save our shells. Recently, we have
obtained
them from several restaurants, and the Progressive Insurance
Co.,
cafeteria.
Ron makes a hole the size of a dime in the
egg, and Betty shakes
out
the contents. The eggshells are then washed
and the edges of the hole
trimmed.
After painting, the shells are stored by
color in boxes, with 250 in
each
box. They are used over again each year, and repainted,
if
necessary,
in the proper colors.
On Wednesday April 8, 1998, just
before Easter, we had a Hailstorm that
destroyed
10,238 shells (our annual handling breakage
is about 2-3000 shells).
In
2002, 6 inches of snow covered the display most of the week.
There
was an icestorm on Thurs. that caused pressure
which broke 11,941 shells.
The theme this year is Let's Fly
. The total number of shells used in the
display
is 36,020. The display includes; The Ohio
Bicentennial with the Wright Bros. Plane with 7,614 shells, the The Power Puff Girls with 6303 shells,
Spiderman with 3,591and
Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial "To Valor"
with 3,173 shells.
We always receive excellent local coverage and
in 2000, we appeared on
the Montel Williams Show and wewere featured
on Extreme Cuisine and the Agri-Country
Network. We have also been featured on "Ripley's Believe it or Not," and a photo
was sent out by Associated Press that reached as far as an English language
newspaper in Japan. The display is lit at night with 30 floodlights at night, and will
be up from April 13th thru April 21st.
Happy Easter, Ron and Betty Manolio
NEW
EGGSHELLS
Courtesy
of
Sidewalk Cafe - Mentor
Sidewalk Cafe - Euclid
Nick Sarris
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