Casey, Ill. —
The largest wind chime on Earth seems hard to miss on the small town’s Main Street.
Dozens gathered Friday night to hear what has been officially confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the World’s Largest Wind Chime at 109 E. Main St., Casey, Ill.
Deb Beasley, marketing and human resources manager for Bolin Enterprises, said streams of visitors have been coming by the town’s new landmark, and a Facebook page established last week had 91 members in its first day.
“It’s definitely gotten a lot of attention,” she said, snapping photographs and answering questions.
The brain-child of Casey businessman Jim Bolin, the 16,932.4-pound wind chime took about three years to construct, built with spare parts and the labor of his employees. Located on a corner of the town’s Main Street, the structure towers 55 feet from ground to top, and rests in a new courtyard next to the Bolins’ recently opened coffee shop, Whitling Whimsey. Decorative landscaping, bricks and flowers surround the chime, which features a rope for visitors to pull and to ring the chime.
“The community support throughout this whole project has just been great,” Bolin said, explaining his hope that tourists and visitors drive through town to see the sight. “I hope it brings so many people here we can’t feed them all and they have to go to Richard’s Farm and Moonshine.”
Bolin said the project’s inspiration came from memories of his grandmother’s wind chimes. A few years ago, curiosity struck him and he wondered just how big the biggest wind chime was. After searching online and finding structures laying claim to the title, the professional metal fabricator decided he could better them.
Among its many business lines, Bolin Enterprises fabricates metal pipes for the agricultural and oil industries. Bolin credited members of his family’s 250-plus workforce for offering their talents to the project.
“No idea,” he said when asked about total costs. Built with extra parts while waiting for other jobs to come through, three years of work were finally rewarded Dec. 15 when witnesses for the Guinness organization made the official measure.
Meanwhile, tour buses and visitors keep dropping by, many giving a tug on the rope attached to the chime to make it play.
“A true wind chime is tuned to a certain key,” he said, explaining the size of this one made it impossible to keep in tune. But the sound which emanates is low and deep, and Bolin said it was designed with that range in mind so as to not bother the neighbors.
Bolin friend and Casey resident Zeb Meyers said he had yet to play the chime himself.
“It’s cool,” he said Friday evening. “I do love wind chimes. And I love to listen to them.”
Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Big news: Jim Bolin of Bolin Enterprises in Casey, Ill., makes it official. The Guiness Book of World Records has recognized the wind chimes at the restaurant Whitling Whimsey in Casey to be the world’s largest.
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Record setter: Jim Bolin, co-owner of Bolin Enterprises in Casey, Ill., talks about the ideas and work behind creating the world’s largest wind chime. With the longest tube measuring 42 feet long, it outclasses its nearest rival by 13 feet.
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