Tom and I recently took a fast trip to a bunch of national park sites. We started our adventure in Casey, Illinois, whose motto is “Big things, small town.” We had been to Casey in 2012 to see the “Biggest Wind Chime in the World.” Since then, many more big things have joined the wind chime in Casey.
Until 2011, Casey, Illinois was a typical small town. There are only 2,700 residents in Casey and the town is surrounded by farms. In 2011, Diane Bolin decided to open a tea shop in downtown Casey. Her husband, Jim Bolin, owns Bolin Enterprises, a pipeline and tank maintenance company. One night they were talking about how to draw more people to Casey to support local businesses. The sound of wind chimes gave Jim the idea of building the 54-foot-tall wind chime in the middle of town. Here is a story written by Jim in Guideposts Magazine.
The wind chime idea was such a success that Bolin Enterprises started building more big things in Casey. They used recycled materials and volunteer labor and now, 13 years later, the town is filled with big things and businesses that are supported by the people who come to see them. Tom and I read about the twelve “world’s biggest” items and the 21 other big things and knew we needed to spend some time in Casey.
We went to Casey on our way to Springfield, Illinois. We spent several hours there on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon in early October. Instead of the sleepy small town you might expect, there were dozens of people walking around holding a checklist. The checklist was a map and listing of all the big things in Casey. Tom and I downloaded ours from the internet, but all the shops in town also distributed copies.
Tom and I had a wonderful time exploring Casey and checking out the local businesses along Main Street. We parked between the “World’s Largest Barbershop Pole” and the “Big Birdcage.” From our parking spot we could see the “World’s Largest Mailbox” and the “Big Pencil.” Each of the attractions has a Bible verse attached and some of them are very creative. Most of the items are outside, due to their size, but some of them are inside businesses, which encourages people to check out the business.
The “World’s Largest Wooden Shoes” are inside the Wildflour Bakery and Candy Company. After checking out the shoes, we purchased a couple of cookies that were delicious! The “Big Pokemon Ball” was inside a souvenir shop, Model Tees. Some of the shops were closed, open only on the weekends. Because of this, we weren’t able to see the “Big Rocking Horse,” or the “Big Pac-man Game.” But we hit all the places that were in and around Casey and had a marvelous time doing it.
Tom and I love it when someone comes up with an idea to revitalize a small town. The cafes and restaurants of Casey were doing a steady business because of the tourists who came to see the big things. Everyone we met was very welcoming and eager to have us enjoy the town. Jim Bolin came up with a big idea and the people of Casey have embraced it. Because of it, there is new life in this lovely small town.