Bigger Is Better in Casey-- Part 6: About That Giant Pitchfork, Yardstick, Pencil, Bat and Mousetrap

Jim Bolin says, "I try to use recycled materials to keep costs down.  Pointing to the giant pitchfork outside Richards restaurant, he said the prongs were fashioned from parts of old streetlights.  The shaft was made from a telephone pole.

Before building one of his big things, he does research to find out how big things are already existing and then he builds his just a bit bigger.

"The engineering side of it is the creative part," he said,  "You don't just put a spindle in a lathe and turn a 23-foot leg."

Not everything he and his people have made has shattered a record.  Just for fun, and to add to the giants, he designed a yardstick that's 36-feet long instead of 36-inches.  He has also created a giant pencil and baseball bat which stands outside the USA Softball of Illinois Hall of Fame in Casey's Fairview Park.  He also has a giant mousetrap slated for the town's future welcome center.

--RoadDog