Boissevian, Manitoba, Canada.
The home of the Canadian Turtle Derby has put a new twist on turtle travel. This year they have begun sending "Tommy-grams" in honor of the towns 28 foot tall, 10,000 pound Tommy the Turtle statue, erected in 1974. These Tommy-grams are sent by painting a message on a trained turtles back with a special polish that long time resident George Tantum created. "I got the idea from a turtle I saw along the road once. On it's shell someone had painted 'Tina was here' with hot pink finger nail polish. I knew that Penny was working on training some of the derby turtles to do more than just race so I decided to go with it." Working on discarded turtle shells found in the surrounding wilderness of the town, Tantum created a bright orange polish that can be painted on without harming the turtle, and wiped off with a cloth much like a dry erase board. He then took his idea to Penelope "Penny" Gonzalz, a turtle derby trainer in the town, who fell in love with the idea. "I thought it was a perfect way to capture the town's history and spirit." Gonzalz said. "I always thought that they [the turtles] could do more than just race." she added. After many trials and errors the team finally was successful in sending a message on September 27, 2011. It was a single word "Tommy" and was sent from Gonzalz house to her next door neighbor. They used a fish scented formula to mark the trail in order to lure the turtle to follow it. The turtle obliged and the message was sent successfully. Gonzalz and Tantum both hope that these fun messages will become a tradition at the towns fall festival. "I think if everyone is just really respectful towards the turtles and remember that they are a live animal then it could be a really fun activity for the town."Gonzalz says. Though the Tommy-grams were not part of the 2011 fall festival, which included a town-wide garage sale on September 24th, most of the town is hoping for it's appearance next year.
Boissevian Daily Volume 23 Edition 8 published September 30, 2011
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