'Great Gobbler Gallop' featured event in Cuero

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

Erwin Rath, Texas' turkey racing team coach, holds this year's "Ruby" who will strive for the "best time" during the upcoming event in Cuero.

October 3, 2002 -- Each year, on the second weekend of October, that thundering sound and pounding of little feet in Cuero is just the annual "Great Gobbler Gallop!"

Since the first "Turkey Trot," as it was called in 1912, the festival has evolved into a big community- and family-fun event, and people come from several states, especially, Minnesota, to participate.

"The reason (the festival) was started was because all of DeWitt County had a very agricultural background, and there was a lot of turkeys raised on the farms, at that time, explained Erwin Rath, coach of the turkey racing team. "Instead of trucking (the turkeys) to town in wagons or vehicles, they (farmers) just herded them into town on foot! Just like the cattle were driven to market, these turkeys were driven to town."

In the early years, as many as 10,000 to 12,000 turkeys were herded down the main streets of Cuero, as producers "drove" them to the one packing plant, or to the railroad depot to be taken to other plants outside of Cuero.

In October, when the turkeys were ready to harvest, people started coming from all around to watch all the turkeys come through town.

"The town leaders, at that time, decided to start a festival around the turkey trot, and that's where the original Turkey Trot festival originated," added Rath.

According to literature published by the Turkey Fest committee, the event was held every four years from 1912 until 1972. In 1972, the committee decided it should be a yearly celebration and include street dances, food booths, vendors and other entertainment.

Throughout those early years, Cuero considered itself the "Turkey Capital of the World." Only one problem - the editor of the Cuero Record newspaper learned of another festival, "King Turkey Day," in Worthington, Minn.

The Cuero editor issued a challenge to the editor of the Worthington Daily Globe to participate in a turkey race, with the winner claiming the real title of "Turkey Capital of the World." As they say, the rest is history!

The Minnesota team chases their bird at the recent King Turkey Day event.

For the past 29 years, the two cities have had a turkey race in Worthington and one in Cuero, with the fastest turkey winning their city the title for the year.

The contestants include "Paycheck" (so called because he goes so fast) from Worthington, and "Ruby Begonia" (so called because she can handle a paycheck) from Cuero.

(Ruby was actually named after the first turkey who raced in the Turkey Trot who was said to have been a bronze-colored female with a bright, ruby-colored head. Begonia was a girlfriend from the early radio show Amos and Andy.)

Each team has a coach, a team captain and two handlers. According to the rules, once the race starts, there can be no physical contact between handler and bird. Penalties range from five seconds, for any physical contact, to a two minute penalty, if the handlers pick the bird up and run with it.

So far, Worthington has 16 national titles, and Cuero has 11.

But with trophies named the "Traveling Turkey Trophy of Tumultuous Triumph" for the winner, and the "Circulating Consolation Cup of Consummate Commiseration," no one is really a loser!

The 2002 title will be claimed during the Oct. 11-13 celebration. The event, held at Cuero Park, includes street dances, featured singers (Roger Creager headlines Saturday night, and Dean Seltzer and the Red Neck Mothers on Friday night), a petting zoo, a tractor pull, a rock-climbing wall, water volleyball, an antique tractor show, and chili and barbecue cook-offs.

"We'll have about seven or eight heritage camps, from the 1800s to the 1900s eras that will be set up. They'll actually be lodges, tepees and people dressed in garbs from each era. They'll show you how to throw a tomahawk and whittle on a piece of wood," said Rath.

Last year, the festival started including a program called "Ag in the Classroom," which the local Farm Bureau helps present. Area fourth graders are bussed from surrounding schools to spend the day, learning about baling hay, cutting wood and even milking cows.

"It's a lot more of a family atmosphere that it was, originally," said Stacy Cordes, president of the committee.

If you're interested in a weekend full of "gobbler fun," Cuero is where you should be for the Turkey Fest said Rath. "Turkey Fest is a lot of fun times, it's a lot of food booths, but we're gearing it for a lot of educational type stuff for the community, too."