A small town dreams big, with very big things

[@xelamercedes]

I love this story. Almost 50 years ago I was in a van with other "hippies" on our way to CA from IN and the van broke down in Casey. We were there two days for repairs and enjoyed ourselves immensely. The people were so friendly, the food was good. A complete stranger put us up at his house for two nights for no charge. I'm Black and didn't see a single other Black person the whole time but gosh I had a good time. I've since begun collecting miniatures. Seeing this story makes me want to go back to Casey with my little things. Good for you, Casey! And thanks for the memories CBS.

[@kyxxit3664]

Thanks for sharing such a nice experience.

[@camofrog]

You were brave and lucky!

[@el7jake]

Nice!!

[@lorrie2878]

Wonderful comment!

[@wownewstome6123]

Thank you for sharing that story.

[@dla1964]

Where my parents are from, and my grandparents. This brings back so many memories, every childhood 4th of July was spent in Casey, driving from Colorado.

[@mikeandjuliecarson5067]

That man saved his town! Bravo!!!

[@levinawalsh2015]

Love this!! Just fabulous. Love from Ireland ☘👏👏👏.

[@b.visconti1765]

Don't Forget The Big Man With The Big Heart Who Showed Big Love For His Little Town..We Give Big Thanks To You!😘

[@stevekile1919]

I only live 30 miles from Casey and get there often. I drive a school bus for another district and our various sports teams compete often with the Casey/Westfield Warriors. Wonderful & friendly little town.

[@citrine65]

The people seemed nice.

[@brianhumphrey6791]

Casey is an awesome place to visit. We’ve been there several times!!!

[@Carolina-ux1sz]

What a fabulous story😊. So lovely to see this little town flourishing in tougher times 😊😊

[@ryders_mom]

Just stopped in Casey a few weeks ago on our long move to Florida. GREAT little town that's clean and has a good vibe!

[@genevadouvier2473]

Was just there yesterday (April 9,2024) They also have giant knitting needles, crochet hook, taco, Chevy key, piggy bank, mouse trap, golf club, and working giant teeter totter too!

[@AntoinettePeterson]

I live in Illinois and never heard of this town. Definitely going to put it on my list of places to visit when traveling through the state.

[@saxonray4071]

What a wonderful story and a wonderful man..

[@BrooklynBaby100]

Wonderful people is exactly what I miss…. They’re dying off in this country 😔

[@el7jake]

@@BrooklynBaby100 No, they're still there. They just don't get the press that the whack-jobs do.

[@maryannsulic1174]

I've visited there several times. Stood inside the mailbox. Neat place.

[@shoshannafachima1306]

Beautiful and whimsical+magical

[@chrisfinch8637]

The moment you see how large these objects are, down in Casey, you then think you’re one of the kids in “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids”.

[@littleman1l.549]

Nice story & would love to visit there one day.... And it all started with a big idea.... Love all the big items.... Those wind chimes are just great! 😊💜

[@margieerwin5798]

Way to go, Casey!

[@accutronitisthe2nd95]

This is the kind of story we need right now! Thanks...

[@Abby-yc7tt]

Great story!! TY

[@dianamateo5443]

Great way to bring people in. I think my favorite is the mailbox. Makes me want to visit Casey.

[@HappyLife693]

Very clever. Good for him to do what he can for his community.

[@triciag3311]

We were going to Indiana (from St. Louis) this past weekend and saw the sign for these world's largest things in Casey, IL, and I wanted to stop so bad but I couldn't convince the husband! I'm so mad! This looks awesome. I must go back that way and see this stuff! This is on my bucket list now!

[@Crazygirlgoodvibes]

It was on my bucket list, I made it, have been back several times time and it keeps growing!!! 🥰 the big things and there’s an arcade, gem shops, mini golf and so much fun stuff popping up there!!!!

[@SheriLatulip]

I visited it is a great town, friendly people. Take the trip.

[@citrine65]

They seem like nice people.

[@joanneweiss3864]

He's brilliant! This is genius in creativity & planning, wish I still travelled, would love to do the Midwest!

[@HawthorneHillNaturePreserve]

Ingenious

[@crystalcooper1358]

Oh my goodness now I wanna go see these things. I'm going to swing in that bird cage. Fun.

[@kellymccall3491]

The mailbox is incredibly clever! Great job! Makes us want to detour- your hook caught it

[@lorrie2878]

So fun! A nice break from the news.

[@patriciaschuster1371]

Thank you for this wonderful video!

[@SantiagosFakeBeard]

I am man from Poland. I bring family to American village for holiday.

[@thyslop1737]

Smart dude.

[@madhabitz]

Fabulous :)

[@FBandSpin]

Awesome

[@KyleXB]

We visited Casey to witness the 2024 total solar eclipse. Pretty great little town, worth a visit.

[@gracie2298]

How absolutely creative & fun. People traveling see this episode now know a great place to stop on their journey. Wouldn’t have hurt to give a shout out to the local eatery. Foodies are always looking for their next epicurean feast!

[@debrahelmlinger6256]

Thanks, needed this segment this morning🤗

[@CollinCordery]

An American Hero. God Bless Casey, IL.

[@tomatlanta2665]

We adore Conor ❤

[@jeffersonsmith2728]

This story was originally broadcast August 20, 2017

[@SheriLatulip]

I was there in 2017

[@mililaniman]

I would love to visit Casey to look at all these big attractions.

[@wonderwhat4]

Road Trip!!!

[@debbiecali5987]

Will have to go visit . ♥️

[@terpen7375]

Cool story! So refreshing considering everything else going on.

[@hummersd]

Great segment, Conor and Sunday Morning!

[@LMays-cu2hp]

Thank you for sharing the town of Casey, Illinois. Your reporting made me laugh!! LOL!! The big chair is big!!!! Wow!!! I love that "big pencil". Too cute....

[@HOHLfmly]

They should have a stamp given at each one ion a map of the city

[@ediebaxter6194]

Awesome story. I loved big rocking chair and mail box.

[@1Doug2002]

I worked at WCBH when Casey was the location of the transmitter. Is there still a radio station there? The town was always friendly, the people were wonderful, and I loved the time I spent there. So glad to see the way the town has responded to the challenges that so many small towns face. Mr.Bolin, I wish I would have met you, I might still be there!

[@ryanamari2233]

I need 17 more pencils for my students who lose them …

[@crawnyxx]

Add a "slide" on some of those staples and you will get an additional increase!

[@Just.G]

Thank You for doing this segment, next time I drive to KC, from Upstate NY I'm stopping in Casey! Very cool!

[@janetpattison8474]

This is great. 🥰 Now I want to see the biggest rocking chair in the world. ❤️💕❤️ And I love that mailbox. 💕💕💕At some point these items need to be in a movie about a giant.

[@TheNameisPlissken1981]

Nice story.

[@marysmith9361]

So cool, I like the painting on the building "Kroger, self serve".

[@emiliobello2538]

Amazing

[@rubychew6535]

The city council needs to bring in businesses that are close to bedroom communities where people can commute, for example, Nissan or Toyota that pay well.

[@ollie1464]

Cool story. I grew up in downtown California and California and there was a furniture store called Posey's patio furniture store. They had a huge rocking chair like the one in this story in front of their store store.Cool story. I grew in Downey California and there was a furniture store called Posey's patio furniture store. They had a huge rocking chair like the one in this story in front of their store store.

[@davidlong1786]

I need a mailbox that size to keep my post man from leaving packages too large to fit inside on top of it or lying beside it on the ground. No kidding I got a computer motherboard sent all the way from China and it made it unscathed only to find it balanced on top of my mailbox where a slight breeze could have toppled it off. 🤨

[@9liveslisa]

Very clever idea!

[@joseluisgduran2909]

@tracysmith I love seeing you hosting. Been a fan since Channel1. The clearest choice for the gig full time (once Ms. Jane Paully (love her so much) is ready to pass the honor of host on) I mean it's not even a discussion... if you want it, you got it Ms. Smith the house down.

[@dancingqueen0728]

“We have road rage now” Ah, the trade off for being a tourist town 😉

[@sooz9433]

Necessity... Mother... Invention... ✨️💞💞💞💞

[@SilhSe]

Honey, I shrunk the kids !! 👩‍🔬⚗

[@joannejohnson7006]

Isn’t this great 😊

[@technicolordreamer]

This reminds me of an episode of the t.v. show "Boy Meets World." Eric and Cory stopped in a little town just like this one that had an attraction of the world's largest yogurt cup.

[@bthsr7113]

Do they have a giant rubber band ball confining a living battery with a trickster personality? Or a light bulb with several of them?

[@ladyyaya3270]

Very cool! They should paint some art on those old brick storefronts. There must be more than one artist there ❤

[@saltytroopa6578]

Need a giant gearshift, steering wheel, battery cell, water tap, etc

[@steveconn]

Clark Griswold found the world's largest ball of mud.

[@intheshell35ify]

I know Casey Illinois. That guy is fighting an uphill battle.

[@deborahstrickland4624]

Reading the comments I guess I'm the only person who is not fond of items being super-sized.....getting near them would give me heart palpitations and horrible anxiety.

[@graffic13]

"My uncle's world's largest ball of twine, ball of twine in Bundy Minnesota. Makes makes me proud proud to be an American. I think I misunderstood the assignment...... "

[@arbo_ii]

All the license plate numbers 😳

[@atenrok]

I can't believe one can sit at the edge of that chair and there's no guardrail or an attendant to yell at you... This almost doesn't feel like US... 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@manuelbello5806]

Like in Downsizing

[@ladydeerheart1]

All the towns in southern Illinois are all in sad shape. It's really scary.

[@citrine65]

Why, because industry was lost to foreign countries?

[@el7jake]

How about the largest ever US flag? Or a giant Casey, IL license plate?

[@bobbg9041]

So whats the Big Idea, worlds largest steak. Worlds largest hamburger Worlds largest crafts event someplace people from all over can come set up tents to sell home crafted items thats pretty big in your state ive been to a few. Worlds largest carnival Worlds smallest ferrous wheel. Dont forget tiny things are cool to some people. With the traffic the towns getting i don't see why shops haven't opened back up. T SHIRTS items made in your town. Woodworking store, candel maker, glass blower metal shop, welder, stained glass store, fabric center. Items usually ment for craft persons. You have a whole row of empty store fronts. Worlds largest rifle that works. Custom bike manufacturer. So many stores could open back up drawing from close by farms and ranches. This country is full of things like worlds largest ball of twine. You stop off strech your legs and just visit usually a gift shop But people stop they don't spend a lot Unless you've got something small they value, after all most people have enough junk in the car as it is And store fronts are cheep to rent, let's not make it worlds biggest rent payments. Small town American is dying. Why someone closed thee

[@antar5801]

I can still remember when Lil Wayne, Monique K Cheeks and I had a wonderful time

[@MegaFuncrusher]

It's a fun idea, but also most of these things are covered with religious imagery and bible versus. So it's not just to get attention for the town. It's also to prosthelytize, which turned me off a little when I visited.

[@thelugoffgamecock792]

Lol, "they packed up and moved to larger cities.... " Translated, those plants moved to Mexico. The media has no shame in them

[@stafonvoncamron]

Gimmicks still work.

[@ellaroberts1812]

What do you think they should build next!?

[@JeffDearman]

How about the worlds largest Beer can.....for a brewery or pub.

[@lemmykilmister873]

😄👍🏻

[@librarynan4610]

The reporter failed to say that the factories move to larger towns in China.

[@silkwoodart]

If you put the red flag up on the huge mailbox will armed Postal Workers send the people inside the giant mailbox to their final destination? (Dark Humor)

[@hollitheexaltedempress6957]

After watch your film about Mayberry, "small town" is a code word for a place that systematically practices discrimination against people who are not "white," yet their officials are in denial that the town practices and supports those discriminatory beliefs. That fantasy of being a city that practices equal opportunity is why those towns are struggling. There is no Mayberry., But there is a New York. The town does not have to grow to become a metropolis but they should sit at the table with the leaders from larger cities and decide how to include people they have never experienced. The new policies of a "small town," should not be aimed at criminalizing people and controlling people at levels that they would not like to experience being "white." I sincerely hope that the u.s. gets a clue about these facts.

[@suziecreamcheese211]

No where did it say POC were not welcome, KAREN. Oh and you forgot to mention that you live on land stolen from Native Americans. Lmao.

[@JOEYZReAcTiOnMYHOSPICEJOURNEY]

You tricked me! I thought you were on your way with life flight to hospital! Your a stinker lol. That looked fun! Your friend Joey

[@choosepeace2393]

Have we sent so much manufacturing away? May we buy USA made!

[@teresaferrer4748]

Giant covid mask

[@lewstone5430]

United States culture, no quotation marks.

[@annhett]

I just visited casey. I was offended by all of the bible verses.

[@aditideepakmishra4580]

First

[@Extinctanimals22]

Negative 75th.

[@citrine65]

You're special.

[@katzgar]

its really all about the WIFI

[@gusgus8134]

Maybe try for the worlds largest brain.

[@suziecreamcheese211]

I think he has that.