Egg Harbor, a small town in scenic Door County, Wisconsin, is home to a local celebrity known as the Egg Lady. As you might expect, the Egg Lady or Kathleen Mand Beck looks forward to Easter with great egg-citment. Actually, she becomes enthusiastic about anything involving eggs.
Kathy established an Egg Museum, located within the Dovetail Gallery, her shop, to share her love and knowledge of eggs with others. Why, in little Egg Harbor, Wisconsin you can view a 70 million year old Hypselosaurus dinosaur egg formerly owned by Steven Spielberg.
Turn the corner and find glass cabinets containing a rare collection of over 70 species of wild bird eggs. This egg-stra special display arrived in 2007 from a family from Appleton, Wisconsin. Seems youngsters collected these eggs decades ago and the specimens were hidden in an attic. A special mandatory permit had to be acquired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, to grant the public showing.
Kathy felt her museum was not complete until it included a Faberge egg and indeed she has one with cloisonné enameling, a trademark of Peter Carl Fabergé. He was a famous goldsmith and jeweler to the Russian Czars and European aristocracy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In addition, Dovetail’s Egg Museum also exhibits nearly 500 decorated eggs from around the world, including many crafted by Kathy herself. I was enchanted with an egg radio from Prague, a German zippered egg, a globe from New York and a Texas rhea egg purse. Ethnic, antique, contemporary, and whimsical… all varieties of decorated egg styles are on display and for purchase in the gallery.
Kathy’s next big dream is to showcase an eagle egg. The only people allowed to keep an egg or feather from this awesome, symbolic bird are Native American Indians, but one could be displayed on loan in the gallery.
Should you be hopping around for an Easter present or unusual gift any time of the year, call upon the Egg Lady. I’m sure you will discover Door County makes a delightful getaway for a multitude of seasonal recreation options and local farm fresh food.
If you go:
DOOR COUNTY
The northeastern Wisconsin location sits on a 70-mile long sliver of land that juts out into Lake Michigan and includes five state parks, eleven lighthouses and 300 miles of shoreline. Additional information on Egg Harbor and Door County at: www.doorcounty.com
DOVETAIL STUDIO & GALLERY
7901 State Hwy 42 • Egg Harbor, Wisconsin,
Door County Peninsula
920.868.3987