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The History Behind Turtle Days and the World
Famous Oscar! |
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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. |
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It all began on
July 27, 1948, when Ora Blue and Charlie
Wilson, brothers-in-law of Gale Harris,
had their fishing rudely interrupted by
Oscar, who suddenly surfaced alongside
their boat.
They said his back was bigger than the boar and his head the size of a
childs. Oscar Fulk, the original owner
of the property, reported seeing the
turtle in 1898. Harris and townspeople
reported they actually had the turtle
trapped in about 10 feet of water off
the shore in a trap consisting of
chicken wire but Oscar was too strong
and broke out.
At the same time, Del Winegardner climbed up in a tree and took films of
Oscar. Merl Leitch and Dailey Fogle
claim they saw the turtle in the film,
that it was clearly visible just beneath
the water level and was every bit as big
as Blue and Wilson claimed.
Amidst rumors and questioning of the truthfulness of the Harris family's
tale, Whitley County Assessor, Lewis
Geiger, whose home was near Fulk Lake
where Oscar was spotted, said his
neighbors were 'honest people' and spoke
the 'gospel truth.'
On March 10 Kenneth Leitch, owner of West Side Garage in Churubusco, made
the hooks to catch the turtle. Bob
Shlater, flew over the lake looking for
the monster from an airplane owned by
Carl Sheldon and Ed Keckley.
On March 11, O.E. Jones, Churubusco, former owner of the farm said some
fellows had told him about a big turtle.
"I said it was my Black Angus cow
swimming around," he had replied. Tracks
extending 10-15 feet were found in the
mud. It was recommended that Governor
Henry Schricker form a "Department of
Conversation."
Richard Dueter, a photographer from a
Fort Wayne newspaper and former sailor
with the United States Navy, suggested
fixing a piece of pipe with glass on the
bottom to look through the murky water.
Dueter and a reporter from the
Indianapolis Times said they saw Oscar.
Harris saw two different shell patterns.
During the week of March 13 airplanes
flew over the small lake on Madden Road,
east of Churubusco, cars moved bumper to
bumper, tying up traffic in Churubusco.
At night two or three dozen men brought
lights to the lake.
Ralph Bunn hauled in a 'young silo' of a
trap, made from quarter inch pipe
fastened to a buggy wheel. The men tore
up a fence, pushing the stakes into the
lake bottom around the trap. But Oscar
escaped anyhow.
On March 14th, Leitch wouldn't divulge
his plans for a new trap and when asked
if he was getting anything done at his
garage he replied, "Gosh, no!"
Elmer Witrout, Noble County Game Warden,
gave his OK to the turtle-catching.
On March 15, the Harris family,
including Helen, gale, son Vaughn and
nephew Keith, expressed they wished
people would stop calling him up so he
could finish making a rope net.
Controversy surrounded the beast when
John C. MacFarlane, general manager of
the Indiana Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals, said, "Oscar
should not be harpooned."
James Kirtley, president of the
Churubusco Community Club got
'discouraging' news about his request to
the U.S. Coast Guard to borrow an old
diving suit. Ben S. Mayno, of Elowah,
Tennessee, wrote the turtle was his,
that it had escaped from his carnival.
"We get letters from all over," said
Helen Harris. "Some of them aren't very
nice."
The next day, a diving helmet arrived.
Woodrow Rigsby refused to go in the cold
water clad only in shorts and grease and
full diving suit arrived.
On March 19 the Harris family began
selling coffee and hot dogs.
Diver Rigsby went down but the helmet
leaked so he came back up. The search
was called off.
The Harris's counted more than 400 cars
an hour passing by their home.
On March 21, the search resumed with a
stovepipe viewer containing a seated
beam headlight. Diver Walter Johnson of
Chesterton spent two and a half hours in
Fulks Lake. He gave up when he sank to
his chest in muck.
On March 22, Mike Shea, photographer for
Life Magazine took 299 photos, none of
which were used.
Later in the spring a female turtle was
brought form Florida to lure Oscar whose
sex was accepted as male. The lake was
drained and the trees fell in.
On September 24, a truck fell in.
A year later a turtle trap was listed
among the farm machinery sold at the
auction of the Glen Harris farm and was
purchased by a man from Chicago.
On August 10, 1955, some 150 yards of
Madden Road, which borders Fulks Lake,
disappeared into the swampy area.
Residents blamed the turtle hunt.
The town hosted a festival the next
summer, and does to this day, and dubbed
it Turtle Days. The festival is a
fundraiser and helped build the
Churubusco Community Park. Money raised
from Turtle Days goes back to the
Churubusco community.
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OLD PHOTOS OF
THE SEARCH FOR OSCAR
Photos Courtesy of the Walter Johnsen
Photo Collection
Walter Johnsen before his dive to find
Oscar.
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An old diving helmet similar to the one
used in the search for Oscar
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Gale Harris looking at the draining
efforts of Fulk Lake
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A crowd gathers around Fulk Lake in
hopes to catch a glimpse of "Oscar"
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Walter Johnsen's Diving Business Card
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Helen, Vaughn, and Gale Harris listening
to a radio broadcast
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Kenneth Leitch, Walter Johnsen, and Gale
Harris with a small turtle
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Charles Wilson, the one who spotted
Oscar, describing the size of Oscar's
head
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Diver Woodrow Rigsby preparing to dive
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