Turkey Run Memories

Compiled by Judy Duchan

A favorite gathering spot for some Felson family members was Turkey Run State Park in Indiana.  The visits there started after Walter Felson returned from the war.  He and Roslyn had an anniversary around Thanksgiving, and began celebrating it at Turkey Run State Park in Indiana.  The celebration eventually included the families of Chippy and Sophie, Walter’s siblings. Other family members and friends joined on occasion over the years, but the core branches were Sophie, Chippy, and Walter.  The first cousins, Judy, Elaine, and Jerry, Lois and Jane, Bob and Alan, came regularly as children, and later brought their spouses and their children.  The tradition has now been carried on through five Felson generations. The youngest generations are Sol and Esther’s great, great, great, great grandchildren!  We had a full-blown Felson family reunion at Turkey Run in 2003.  Here we are, as a group, on the front steps of the inn.  

Specific Recollections, Collected in 2019

Elaine Felson Vanzant on the different generations at Turkey Run:  

I have lots of wonderful memories of Turkey Run. It goes all the way back to when I was a little kid of 5 or so. Judy and I would go into the caves and collect wooly worms and take them back to the room. Now it’s my great grandkids up to the same antics.  I can trace my life in thinking about our vacations there. As kids, we enjoyed extended family–Sophie and Phil with Bobby and Alan, Chippy and Helen with Lois and Janie, Eddie and Mickey shortly after their marriage. Then we brought our husbands and wives and the next generation. I remember Alan and JoAnne driving Helen around the parking lot to get her to sleep. And Helen’s broken leg on the trail.  And Jerry’s walk of shame through the lobby after he took Judy’s car on a joy ride and wrecked it.

The lobby was always a special place. The same people would come back year after year, so they seemed like family too.

One of my fond memories is spending half the night in the lobby with my granddaughter Kari, helping her knit a hat for her now husband Rob.

And when I had knee surgery, they asked what my goal was. I told them “to climb the ladders on trail 3.” My family helped make that happen. 

Turkey Run has been a wonderful way to bond with family and I am so proud that my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren want to continue the tradition.

Jane Felson Brown on the Chippy Branch:

Our branch didn’t start coming to Turkey Run until Chris was 6 months old.  What a shame I missed those early years!

Alan Travis’s recollections: 

I remember many things, starting with Helen age 6 months crawling face forward down the 3 steps across from the reception desk.  Also I remember when Phil fell into the creek on trail 3 and Bob and me hustling him back to lodge to get dry clothes.  Also, I remember driving Helen around the parking lot in the rain to get her to sleep.  Each time I stopped to get her to bed, the rain would wake her.  Also memorable was the time I completely failed to catch Helen when she jumped from the hill to the wooden walkway as she took the shortcut at the end of trail 3.  Then there was the time Chippy wouldn’t take Walter’s advice on the treatment of Chris or Drew.

Judy Felson Duchan’s tidbits:

I remember Jerry, our brother, taking a night ride as a teenager, with Judy’s car.  He had an accident and broke his collarbone, putting a quick end to the Thanksgiving weekend.  He was below driving age, maybe 14 or 15. 

Phil Travis supplied us with pre-dinner snacks and drinks for many years. They included Oscherwitz salami, pumpernickel, cheeses, and schnapps. 

Jerry Minton, Janie’s first husband, joined us during those early years, when Chris and Drew were young.  He introduced us to the game “deep but not profound” that we still play on occasion, to Judy’s chagrin.  Jerry Minton also complained about the food one year to management, and we weren’t able to get reservations the next year.  We blamed that on Jerry. 

There were mishaps.  One year Helen fell and broke her leg.  I think she was a pre-teenager.  Another year that Alan Duchan ventured on a trail by himself around dusk and didn’t return.  He decided to settle in for the night, once he realized he couldn’t see well enough to make his way home.  He called out “I’m on Trail 3.”  A woman who lived near the park went to feed her chickens, heard Alan, and reported it to the park.  We gave him a ball of twine for his next trip out with instructions to tether himself to the inn so he could trace his way back, like Hansel and Gretel did. 

On a third occasion one of Chippy’s grandchildren was running a high fever and Chippy, rather than rely on Walter’s medical expertise, called a specialist in Cincinnati for medical advice.  Walter was hurt, but got over it in due time.  I don’t remember Chippy apologizing.

Those who were regulars at Turkey Run loved it.  No so for those who came now and then.  This was especially the case for those who came to the Felson family reunion in 2004.  There were lots of complaints about the food and not much appreciation of the trails and activities.  Trail 3 was the most challenging of all—the one with the ladders and slippery ledges along the creek.  It was a ritual for everyone.  Elaine, for example, decided her knee operation had been a success when she maneuvered Trail 3.  Some of us no longer attempt Trail 3. Not traversing that trail is rite of passage to old age.

I remember family and friends besides the regulars coming to Turkey Run.  They included Ben Felson’s family, Helen and Sol Bloom (Sophie’s friends), Jean Rothenberg (Jo Anne Travis’s mother).    

More recently we have been switching Thanksgiving weekends between Turkey Run in Indiana and Hueston Woods in Ohio. Hueston Woods is near Cincinnati, allowing for day visits from various members of the Felson clan—including Paul Travis, Bob Travis, Ginny and Steve Felson, Ed Felson and Marsha Weston, Nancy Felson, Nancy Paula Brant and and Irv. Felson. 

Unlike Turkey Run, Hueston Woods offers cabins where families can cook together…a favorite activity of the Vanzant women:  Elaine, daughter Lori and all the Vanzant daughters-in-laws (Theresa, Sherry, Leslie).

Nancy Felson, not a regular:

I’ve only been there once (at the reunion in 2004) and maybe one other time, long ago. I didn’t realize there was such a history behind the Turkey Run gatherings! (BTW, do they still serve white bread?  Velveeta or American cheese?)  

Jo Anne Travis’s vivid memories:

I remember putting a towel over the drain in the shower to stop it up and make a shallow bathtub…….and watching the bugs crawl out of the drain!  Also, staying in the two bedroom suite on the first floor with Sophie and Phil, who walked into our room every time I sat down to nurse the baby.  Also, waiting for Walter to arrive because one of our kids always arrived with croup!  And chasing the kids all over while the men watched endless football games!  Oh, has anyone mentioned the square dancing every night, and the hikes that Glenn Harvey led every day.  How about when Phil fell into a creek when he was out on a trail (trail 3, perhaps) which was the first indication that he had myasthenia gravis. Also, our sending a ham in gratitude to the person who heard Alan Duchan shouting at night from trail 3, and having it delivered to the wrong person!

Here are some more specifics (collected from Jo Anne and Amy Travis in 2024):

• Popcorn in the Great Room.
• Hopping on the Suspension Bridge.
• Fireplaces.
• Placemats in the dining room. We collected them!
• Watching “snow” on the tv instead of football (because there was no reception).
• Men crowded in corner of great room, while wives watching kids and sending dirty looks
• Working on puzzles:  searching all over for the last few pieces that were missing.
• Boots too short on hikes: water flowed in over the top and soaked our feet.
• Fried biscuits and apple butter.
• Canned green beans every day.
• Grandma crocheting in Great Room in front of the fire.
• Uncle Walter leading the hikes.
• Playing cards – adults played Bridge, kids played War or Spit.
• Playing “statues” with the cousins.
• Square Dancing in the Lusk Room.
• Climbing the stacked chairs in the Lusk Room.
• Alan D. going to Oxford for pizza for some “real” food.
• Uncle Walter having balloons in his pocket, then blowing them up and tossing them to us.
• Piano in the Lusk Room (black and white tile floor).
• Ping pong downstairs (turning key in to the desk for paddles).
• Family that adopted Native American Indian kids (Virgil and Yvette).
• Helen showing Dad the “shortcut” on a hike, only to fall and break her leg.
• Swimming pool, although frequently closed for maintenance.
• Playing Aggravation.
• Walking through the covered bridge.

Memories from going to Turkey Run:

• Games in the car – finding the letters in the alphabet; license plate state game; VW bug game.
• Stopping at Stuckey’s and Fostoria outlet in Altamont, IL.
• Dutch Pantry for lunch – learning the Der Distal Fink poem.

Ah yes, I remember. 

Pictures from Turkey Run postcards