Chris Umscheid
Xiang helps RJ fist-bump Trixie the Tyrannosaurus during the 4th annual Dinosaurs at Dusk event on the patio at the Solon Public Library. The event celebrated the life of Jack Neuzil, who hand-crafted well over 100 wooden dinosaurs combining his love of woodworking, dinosaurs, and improving the lives of children.
Jack Neuzil (Nov. 25, 1930-April 19, 2025), better known to many simply as ‘The Dinosaur Man,’ was remembered and honored Friday, August 1 as the Solon Public Library held its fourth annual Dinosaurs at Dusk event, featuring dozens of wooden dinosaurs hand-crafted by Neuzil.
A retired teacher, Jack began making the wooden replicas approximately 25 years ago after seeing a young niece attempting to make a dinosaur out of cardboard. The next time he saw her, he had three cut, sanded, glued, stained and varnished, and ready for play and loving. Soon after Jack made 20 or so for his sister, a teacher at the Braille School in Vinton.
After the dinosaurs were expelled by a superintendent who called them “a distraction,” Jack found a new home for them in the Solon Public Library with the enthusiastic blessings of then-Library Director Kris Brown.
Many of the little creations can yet be seen sitting atop bookshelves while the largest stands outside near the entrance to greet visitors.
In 2022 the Library welcomed Jack for the first Dinosaurs at Dusk event, with dozens of the dinos, from small to large, brought outside to the patio and back yard for kids to play with, and learn about dinosaurs from “The Dinosaur Man” himself.
With Jack’s passing back in April, this year’s event featured a memorial tribute to Jack and a change to a popular activity – the dinosaur scavenger hunt.
“In addition to finding three pictures they also had to answer some questions about Jack. We made a memorial to Jack, so they needed to look at some of the (newspaper) articles and the information in order to answer some of the questions,” explained Library Director Liz King.
One “fun fact” King noted about Jack was the fee he charged for visiting schools and showing his dinosaurs.
“The fee for Jack coming to your school was the donation of a book for the Solon Public Library. We found a couple that are still in our collection that are signed by littles who maybe are here or will be here tonight with grandchildren or children.”