How a Bunch of Gigantic Objects Saved a Struggling Small Town

Casey, Illinois is a town that prides itself on being one of "strong values," with 20 churches serving 2,769 people. It rests along interstate 70 between Indianapolis and St. Louis and most visitors only stopped to buy gas. But over the past five years, more and more people have made it a point to stop in Casey to see the town's eight towering attractions—the world's largest wind chime, rocking chair, golf tee, pitchfork, wooden shoes, crochet hook and knitting needles, and mailbox.

"The wind chime started it," Jim Bolin, who first installed the 56-foot tall wind chime in 2011, told me. "Now, this past summer with eight world records, [Casey] was generating close to 500 people a day."

People passing through often stop to check out the attractions and take photos. But most importantly to those in Casey, they usually stay long enough to have a bite to eat, check out local stores, or buy "world's largest" merchandise.

While the gimmick is easy to see through, the hype and functionality of the over-sized items are very real: The wind chime's longest pipe rings in at 42 feet tall; you can mail letters out of the 32 foot tall mailbox. Guinness World Records even required local knitting store owner Jeannette Huisinga to use the town's world's largest crochet hook and knitting needles to knit a ten-by-ten square for it to qualify for the record. The needles stand over 13-feet tall and weigh over 25 pounds each.

There's other "big" things around town, too, albeit not world record holders: a gigantic coin outside the local bank, a 500-pound pencil, a birdcage so big that entire families can pose for pictures inside of it. There's even a frighteningly oversized Minion lurking on the side of the town's main road with its arms outstretched—the world's largest nightmare for some, but for Casey, it's one of the many big items popping up around town, drawing in crowds and a steady economy.

The town hasn't always been financially stable. When the recession hit in late 2007, it seemed to hit a little bit harder in Casey. And in a small town, everyone feels the impact.

"We lost two manufacturing plants during the recession," Casey resident Dave Liebenow told me. "From that point, businesses started going out of business because there weren't enough people here. To get another manufacturing plant in a small, rural town is very difficult."

Bolin said after the housing market crashed, homes were left empty all around Casey.

"You literally started to see the town deteriorating," he remembered. "In Casey, the sad thing about it is it's just one of many, many small towns that are losing their identity because we just can't compete against bigger towns. We were just surviving."

Then, about a year later, Bolin came across Georgetown, Colorado, a town that would serve as the blueprint for what Casey looks like today. It's a small town driven by tourism—there's a historic railroad for tourists and a series of quirky museums—which Bolin thought might work back in east central Illinois. He came up with the idea for the "world's largest" items after asking himself: Being right along the highway, what could cause people to make a stop?

Five years later, he first installed the wind chime.

Liebenow, who opened Casey's Candy Depot in May 2016, credits the success of his business to Bolin's vision. The entire reason he opened the store was because Bolin promised to house the world's largest pair of wooden shoes inside of it to attract customers.

"The reason the store's here is because of Jim and his big things," Liebenow told me. "Business has been very good and traffic has been unbelievable this summer."

Stories like Liebenow's are becoming the normality all over Casey.

"It's got people thinking: There's some people buying buildings downtown and spending money to fix them up and start a store," Bolin told me. "We've got four or five different buildings being renovated right now that will open up this spring."

Three more world records are on their way, including the "world's largest gavel"—something Bolin said is completed but just needs to be officially crowned by Guinness World Records. Other items on their way include a giant rocking horse, a pair of enormous softball bats, and interactive items that kids can get involved with along the town's sidewalks, which the local government recently renovated in anticipation of growing tourism.

The appointed "savior" of Casey, Illinois resents his title, but its local business owners swear by its merit. Bolin's just happy they once again have a chance.

"Hope is what life's all about," Bolin said, preaching like the man his neighbors have made him out to be. "We live our lives full of hope for a better future and that's just like our town. Before, everybody was walking around thinking, we don't have a place to throw our darts at, there's no bulls-eye. And that's bad for anything – a family, a town, whatever. The things that we've got going are hope for a better future and there's people here getting that."

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