Welcome to the Turtle Days Festival

In 1949, Churubusco attained worldwide attention when an enormous turtle was spotted at Fulk Lake. The owner of the lake was determined to trap the turtle and the hunt brought thousands of people to this tiny community in the hopes of seeing this monster. Reporters from all around the Midwest descended upon the town to try to get the scoop on the capture of "Oscar". Gail Harris, on whose farm the turtle was spotted, employed the aid of scuba divers, deep-sea gear, and even went as far as trying to pump the lake dry. But Mr. Harris fell upon ill health and was unable to get this goal achieved. Oscar was rumored to be at least the size of a car top. Oscar managed to elude all efforts to capture him (even bringing in a giant female sea turtle), and to this day his disappearance is still a mystery.
Oscar, however, does live on in memories, and is commemorated each year with a four day Turtle Days celebration. Thus, Churubusco is world renown as TURTLE TOWN, USA.

Here are some photos from Turtle Days throughout the years!
*Special thanks to Robert Workman for the old parade photos!*

1974 Turtle Days Parade - Photo by Robert Workman

1974 Turtle Days Parade - Photo by Robert Workman

1974 Turtle Days Parade - Photo by Robert Workman

1974 Turtle Days Parade - Photo by Robert Workman

1982 Turtle Days Parade - Photo by Robert Workman

1982 Turtle Days Parade - Photo by Robert Workman

1982 Turtle Days Parade - Photo by Robert Workman

1982 Turtle Days Parade - Photo by Robert Workman