By Deb Bohannon/Bolin Enterprises
It’s not every day that a small town of 3,000 receives national attention. However, Casey, Illinois has done just that with the help from Guinness World Records. Each year, thousands of travelers from Interstate 70 get off Exit 129 to see the unique attractions that have made it into Guinness’ world-famous book.
To understand Casey’s success, it’s best to look back to June 22, 2012. On that day, Jim Bolin received the record title World’s Largest Wind Chime from Guinness World Records. What started out as a dream to build something from his childhood memories and become a record holder ended up inspiring the addition of even more BIG things.
Since that day, Bolin and his team have created and achieved seven more World’s Largest record titles: the golf tee, knitting needles and crochet hook, pitchfork, wooden shoes, rocking chair and mailbox.
After receiving the last four titles in October 2015, Guinness World Records’ PR team contacted Bolin and requested a confidential photo/video shoot in preparation for their 2017 book release.
On September 8, the 2017 book hit the streets. “Smalltown Big Stuff” on page 100 of the book, features Casey’s items.
Additionally, a special Guinness World Records video “Meet the Record Breakers,” featuring Bolin, was released:
“It is awesome to be a Guinness World Record holder,” says Bolin. “I take a globe and look how big the world is and then pinpoint Casey, Illinois on that globe. To imagine that an idea that I had to be a Guinness World Record holder is just mind blowing to me. It’s a great feeling.”
On September 24, Casey plans to celebrate by hosting a book signing event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Whitling Whimsy Cafe, at 107 East Main Street.
Special edition books will be for sale. Bolin, and several of the team members that helped create the items, will be available to autograph the books.
Currently, the special edition books, which include a Big Things Small Town bookmark and Jim Bolin’s autograph, are on sale at several locations. Those locations include Whitling Whimsy Cafe, Casey’s Candy Depot, The Yarn Studio, Dollars N’ Sense, Richards Farm Restaurant and the Casey Country Club.
Visitors are encouraged to post on all social media platforms using the hashtag #BigThingsSmallTown. Big Things in a Small Town website is bigthingssmalltown.com. You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
–
Other big things in Casey: token coin, ruler, corn on the cob, bike, No. 2 pencil . . .
*
Also in Casey: The Popcorn Festival!
–
See also: Bolin Enterprise Inc.
–
Comments welcome.
Posted on September 14, 2016