The wild turkey known as Randi, whose story captured the hearts of many in North Aurora, will be remembered for decades to come now that village officials have authorized the installation of a memorial sign along northbound Randall Road where the bird was hit by a vehicle and killed on March 15.
Last week, North Aurora Public Works employees installed a second permanent sign concerning the turkey along Randall Road near its intersection with Mooseheart Road/Orchard Road. As of now, the original warning sign installed in February with the words “Wild Turkey Xing” remains with a smaller sign now mounted beneath it that reads “In Memory of Randi.”
In a Facebook posting from the village that appeared last week it was noted that “the Village of North Aurora installed a memory plaque in honor of Randi at the Wild Turkey Crossing sign at Randall and Orchard. We were so touched by the community’s response to our former feathered friend that we wanted to put up a sign for all to remember her and their memories of Randi sightings.”
Village President Mark Gaffino, who called Randi a “mascot of sorts,” first brought up the idea of having a sign installed at the site at a board meeting on Feb. 5, and, like many, was shocked when the bird lost her life just barely over a month later.
After her death, Gaffino said he casually mentioned maybe having some sort of memorial to the turkey, given the joy she brought to so many in the area.
“I asked the staff about putting a sign up. I just thought it was fitting, and we’re going to leave that crossing sign up as far as I know into perpetuity,” Gaffino said. “I was somewhere else and they had a sign that said ‘Turtle Crossing’ and so I thought to have one like this wasn’t that unusual. To me, this is no different. It created a good vibe and it was something nice. We had a little sign made locally – it might have cost us $20 or $30 – and we’ve added it to the original.”
Residents have been placing flowers and other items at the site in memory of Randi. Those items, Gaffino said, have been removed and “people may claim them at the Village Hall where they can come and collect the stuff they dropped off there.”
Gaffino said that items have been left at the site on a regular basis since Randi died back in March, and while he appreciates the sentiments of residents regarding the loss of the turkey, “there are safety issues involved.”
“We don’t want people constantly putting things there as it’s kind of a safety issue,” he said. “Given the busy intersection there we don’t want people stopping along the side of the road and so we thought putting a little memorial sign up would take the place of the things people are bringing. We didn’t want people stopping to put things there or to pick up something they left earlier.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
