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There's no place like his home: Local artist to have work displayed at Netherlands U.S. Embassy

It was an opportunity he said he couldn't pass up and he knew just what to send.

HOLLAND, Mich. - An Ottawa County man is getting a unique opportunity to share, some of the hidden gems here in West Michigan, internationally. Larry Sybesma will be sending a piece of art to the U.S. Embassy in the Netherlands to be on display over the next few years.

It was an opportunity he said he couldn't pass up and he knew just what to send.

"There's a lot of history here in town and you don't know hear much about it," Sybesma said. That history he referred to was that of his hometown and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Legend has it the old Macatawa Post Office was one of the reasons why L. Frank Baum, the author of the Wizard of Oz, summered on West Michigan's lakeshore.

"He liked to mail letters to all the kids that wrote him about his stories," Sybesma said.

For decades its been rumored that much of the Macatawa/Holland area was a muse for the vintage book.

"L. Frank Baum had a neighbor that had a monkey and another neighbor who was Dorothy so it's a lot of debate on where it was written."

Some even say the old Castle at Castle Park was the inspirations for the witches in the book. It was these connections to a classic that Sybesma wanted the world to know about.

Now he's getting his opportunity to do that. He refurbished a bike filled with themes linking the Wizard of Oz and its link to the lakeshore.

The bike will be on display at the lobby of the Netherlands U.S Embassy in hopes to attract more people to the West Michigan area.

"I've lived here for a lot of years and I'm a descendant from the Netherlands and I can't say that I see a lot of Dutch people coming over here," Sybesma said.

"So we're going to try to get a few over here and show them what we got and try to do it with this old bicycle," he continued with a smile.

The bike will be picked up and shipped to the Netherlands on Thursday.

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