13 May 2026 - Moonshine Store, Casey IL "Big Things in a Small Town"

 

It has been an interesting day to say the least!  When researching the area for things to see and do, I stumbled onto Casey IL.  It is not a very big town, population about 3000, but it's claim to fame is that it's described as the certified home of "Big Things in a Small Town," featuring a collection of over 30 oversized roadside sculptures. These items are categorized into two groups: those officially recognized as the World's Largest by Guinness World Records and various other interactive Big Things.  As we plotted out the map this was quickly turning into a scavenger hunt!  These oddities are scattered all over town and some are hidden in stores.  What a great idea by someone to draw people in!

When my sister read my blog from last night she gave us some intel on a "wide spot in the road" as my dad would say, called Moonshine IL, an unincorporated town with just one store and population 2!  Their store / restaurant serves up some great sandwiches, specializing in burgers, and it is not too far from Casey!  Well, heck yeah, let's go!  But not so fast!  We need to do our homework first, and I'm glad we did.  They make it known the grill is shut off promptly at 1230 hrs each day, so get here early or go hungry!

So we headed out, realizing Terre Haute is Eastern time and Casey IL is Central time zone.  We made a quick stop in Martinsville IL to see the World's Largest Horseshoe!  It is located at their fairgrounds.

We continued south from there to Moonshine, and I mean to tell you, it is just out in the middle of nowhere! 

So Moonshine has been featured on the CBS Sunday Morning Show. The only building (not including the outhouse), was a grocery store built in 1912. It was later sold to Helen and Roy Tuttle in 1982, who created a restaurant that serves their famous Moonburger. One feature is that the store/restaurant has a guest-book with visitors from all 50 states and around the world. During the 2017 Terry Hammond Memorial Moonshine Lunchrun, a new record of 3362 sandwiches were served.

When we arrived there was only a bus there with about a dozen folks and they were already eating on the picnic tables outside (there is no seating inside).  Opening the front door to the store was like walking back in time.  So cool!  

There is nothing fancy in here including the kitchen!  Simple grills with a simple menu.  

AS you can see, they are noted for their burgers, and they all start at 1/2 lb - that is a "single"!  You can get a double, triple, or quad with or without bacon and cheese!!  I ordered a single and Doreen got the grilled tenderloin.  The condiments were about as amazing as the sandwiches.  Fresh sliced tomatoes, an assortment of what looked like home-made pickles, relishes, etc etc.  We took our sandwiches outside and enjoyed the morning.  

This guy was enjoying the morning too!  Crossed paws and all!

In case of inclement weather, they have sheltered seating.

I cannot imagine being hungry after those sandwiches, but if you have a sweet tooth, they have an ice cream shop around the back!

After lunch we headed towards Casey to see all the "Big Things in a Small Town".  Our first stop was on the south end of town, which was supposed to be the "Big Softball Bat". 

We indeed found the big bat but so much more!  The bat is out in front of the  USA Softball of Illinois Hall of Fame and Museum, established in 1976!  The building was open but we did not see anyone around.  We were walking through the Hall of Fame portion when a couple gentlemen came in and greeted us.  One of them was Steve Voris who is the president of the museum.  Steve was also a 2006 Hall of Fame Inductee!  An absolutely intriguing guy with amazing stories!  He gave us a guided tour and pointed out some great things. 

Steve's Hall of Fame plaque

This facility pays tribute to ASA (USA) fast pitch Illinois players and the Casey High School players too.  Casey IL has a long history of softball championships and softball champions that came from here.  

This bat with a curved handle was allowed for several years.  It belonged to Steve!

Actual catchers gear from a women's team in the 1940's

There is no padding on this catcher's mitt at all!!

Steve explaining things to Doreen.  

This is the team I would play for!! The famous "Beer Nuts" men's fastpitch softball team was based in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. Sponsored by the local snack food company, they were a major force in central Illinois fastpitch from the 1960s through the 1980s. 

We finished up inside and said our goodbyes to our new friend Steve Voris.  On our way to the truck I grabbed a couple more pictures:

An awesome bird bath

Beautiful!  Both our daughters played high school softball 

and Jennifer went on to pitch college softball in Nebraska.  

Well we thought that was going to be a quick stop and a picture of a big softball bat!  An hour later we are just leaving!  What a great stop.  From here we headed into the downtown area where it was obvious the best thing to do was to grab the list and take off walking around to see the oddities.  We took pictures of everything we saw, but I will only include a few here so as not not explode the blog!

• Big Softball Bat (pictured above)
• Big Bird Cage
• Big Horseshoe (also pictured above)
• Big Pencil
  
  
  
• Big Nail Puzzle 
• Big Yardstick
• Big Cactus
• Big Ear of Corn
• Big Green Bike
• Big Minion
  
  
  
• Big Piggy Bank
• Big Mouse Trap
• Big Spinning Top
• Big Token Coin
• Big Taco
  
  
  
• Big Clothes Hanger
• Worlds Largest Mail Box
  
  
  
• Worlds Largest Windchime
• Worlds Largest Rocking Chair
  
  
  
• Worlds Largest Wooden Shoes
• Worlds Largest Truck Key
• Worlds Largest Golf Tee
  
  
  
• Worlds Largest Pitchfork
• Worlds Largest Barbershop Pole
• Worlds Largest Twizzle Spoon
• Worlds Largest Teeter Totter
  
  
  
• Mural of Soldiers
• So God Made a Farmer Mural
  

That was a fun day!  Tomorrow we will visit the Holocaust Museum here in Terre Haute and a winery, and then fuel the big ol' brown truck and make preparations to bug out on Friday.