Turkey is always on the menu just north of the border. STORY AND PHOTOS BY MARGIE WUEBKER
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hanksgiving takes place nearly every day of the year at Cornwell’s Turkeyville, located approximately 45 miles north of the Ohio border near Marshall, Michigan.
The sprawling complex is home to a restaurant offering all-turkey entrées, as well as made-from-scratch sides and desserts. It also boasts a 5,000-square-foot Country Junction gift shop, an ice cream parlor, a professional dinner theater featuring talented actors and actresses from throughout the country, a 175-site campground complete with swimming pool, and an outdoor gazebo where musicians tune up their instruments on warm summer days. Special events take place nearly every weekend in keeping with a family philosophy — “People will come to where they have been invited and will return to where they have been made to feel welcome.” These range from flea markets and antique shows to a Renaissance festival and car shows. Cooking classes are offered during the winter months, with participants learning how to make pies, prepare freezer meals, make pastries, and create holiday cookies. The destination draws people by the thousands, but its origin springs from an auspicious gesture back in 1943. Founders Wayne and Marjorie Cornwell initially planned to raise cows on their country spread. However, illness struck the herd, and they eventually decided to pursue another interest after a neighbor gifted them with a flock of 12 turkeys. The venture proved successful as the Cornwells introduced a special feed plan that ensured better and richer-tasting birds. They set up a slaughtering operation on the farm to satisfy customer demands. In the early 1960s, the Cornwells and fellow church members launched a county fair food booth offering turkey sandwiches that were made according to Marjorie’s tried-
26 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • NOVEMBER 2021