‘Sunflowers are so friendly, so fun.’ Visit this ‘quirky’ collection in Lenexa

Bill Nicks’ sunflower collection began as a simple way to brighten up his office. Over the years, the number of his sunflower objects grew and grew — and even got national attention.

Now about a half of Nicks’ collection is on exhibit through August at the Legler Barn Museum & Depot in Lenexa.

The idea of putting the sunflowers on display came about when researching Lenexa’s City of Festivals exhibit, said Ashley Nguyen, recreation supervisor of history at the city of Lenexa’s Parks & Recreation Department.

Nguyen discovered the collection. Nicks is the former director of Lenexa Parks & Recreation.

“It was a fun discovery,” Nguyen said. “I realized it had been several years since the collection was on display. I thought the exhibit would help bring some joy to people and be a great exhibit to have up during our participation in the state’s Sunflower Summer program.”

The Sunflower Summer program offers school-age children and their families educational attractions to explore at museums, historic sites, zoos and nature centers

For Nicks, the collection has always been about sharing, even when he began it in 1988 with the help of his wife.

“We went out and bought a little shelf,” Nicks said. “I had maybe 20 to 24 items on that shelf.”

The interest was immediate.

“A fellow I was working with asked, ‘What are you doing?’” Nicks said. The viewer said he had a stained-glass sunflower sun-catcher to add to the collection.

“Then people just started bringing me stuff,” Nicks said. “The idea of it just spread.”

He thinks the reason is simple.

“Sunflowers are so friendly, so fun, quirky,” Nicks said.

Somewhere along the way, Nicks decided to name the collection.

“When it got to be 50 items, I started calling it the world’s largest sunflower collection,” Nicks said.

Of course, Nicks acknowledges the title wasn’t likely accurate then or now. But the name got attention.

Nicks said when General Mills decided to launch its Sun Crunchers cereal 1994, company executives called the National Sunflower Association looking for marketing props. The association told them about to Nicks. The cereal company asked what it could do in return.

Nicks asked for a billboard to be placed near Interstate 35 and 87th Street, encouraging people to visit the world’s largest sunflower collection in Lenexa at the Convention Center.

The billboard was up for a few months, Nicks said.

Nicks retired from his post in Lenexa in 2008. The collection got boxed up in his basement.

He estimates he has between 2,000 to 2,500 items.

“I don’t have a count of it anymore,” Nicks said. “It’s a moving target.”

His favorite piece is a senate page pin that was given to him by a man who got it when he worked as a page in Topeka in 1943.

“He read about my collection and called me,” Nicks said. “He said, ‘Bill, I’d like to you have it. My kids would just get thrown away.’ It’s my favorite because of this gentleman. It meant something to him and that we would entrust it to me.”

Nicks has both big and small items — all with sunflowers. He’s got an 80-pound manhole cover. Souvenirs items from Paris and China. Money from Sudan.

“A lot of people bring me things from their vacations,” Nicks said.

Nicks and his collection once appeared nationally on the QVC when the shopping channel was featuring the state of Kansas. After Nicks appeared on a collectible television show out of New York he got a lot of things in the mail.

“Some were simply addressed to the Sunflower guy, Lenexa, Kansas,” Nicks said.

And he hasn’t stopped purchasing sunflowers items.

“If I see something unique, interesting or cute — sure,” Nicks said.

For more information about the Legler Barn Museum & Depot, go to lenexa.com, and click on Parks & Places, then Legler Barn.

This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 5:00 AM.