The 61st annual Churubusco Turtle Days Festival is Wednesday through Saturday. Kirk Gray, president of the Turtle Days Association Board, spoke with editorial writer Stacey Stumpf about the popular festival.
Here are excerpts of the interview; listen to the entire interview by going to The Journal Gazette’s home page at www.journa1gazette.net. Click “opinion,” then click “5 Questions for Kirk Gray.”
1 How did the festival get started?
It actually got started in 1950, and it was the result of the search for “Oscar,” the big turtle that was supposedly sighted in Fulk Lake in March of 1949. And the festival came as a result from that because it was such a big event. It didn’t really catch on here locally, but what happened was newspapers from Indianapolis picked it up and it went on the AP wire service. And then in a matter of 48 hours, it was from one coast to the other coast. Next thing you know, here was the phenomenon of a turtle seen in a small little lake here in Whitley County.
2 What are the most popular events at Turtle Days?
The most popular events we have – grand finale fireworks on Saturday night, of course, our parade on Saturday evening. We have amusement rides. Saturday morning is kids’ day specifically in the park. The Chamber holds our annual turtle races, which is a big thing, naturally, kind of goes with it. But over the last several years, we have added several other things with it, kind to just expand and make it more enjoyable for more age groups in the community.
3 It’s a four-day festival, but if you could go only one day, what day would you suggest?
One day, I would pick Saturday. You could make a day out of it. You could come Saturday morning, bring your kids, bring them back to the park, go through the things back there. We have a corn hole tournament, we have a barbecue cook-off going Saturday morning. In the afternoon we have a dance competition. And then hang around Saturday evening – at 6 the parade starts. And then fireworks will be at 10:15 on Saturday night.
4 How has Turtle Days changed through the years?
If you look back through the history, it was really started out as a really small community festival. You had tractor pull activities – which ironically we brought back this year, believe it or not. It was more rural kind of farmy kind of thing. And we have kept that flavor a little bit. But yet we know we are more of an urban community now, so we have tired to expand into things that more people would enjoy.
5 Have you ever seen Oscar?
No, I haven’t, but I will say I can actually see the lake he was supposed to be in from my kitchen window. Actually, my grandparent’s house, which I bought after they passed away, overlooks where Fulk Lake is, and we have some family photos of when that all went on. That whole road lined up with cars, 1940s vintage, just up and down, and of course it was all gravel roads, and I remember grandmother talking about she couldn’t hang any laundry out during that time because it was so dusty out there.
