'Ben The Turkey' Reminisced In Bensalem

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA —With Thanksgiving less than a week away, it's time to talk turkey.

As in "Ben the Turkey."

For a while, this bird roamed Bristol Road for months on end, becoming so popular that the township erected a "Ben Turkey Crossing" sign in 2021 with Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo posing in front of it.

Ben captured the town's hearts and township officials tried to do their best to protect the traffic-stopping bird who roamed around the Wawa at the intersection of Galloway Road.

Residents on the FYI Bensalem Facebook page said they frequently saw Ben on their drives through town, as he weaved in and out of traffic without being snatched or struck by a vehicle, like what happened to one of the township's bald eagles recently.

"I saw Ben on many occasions," said township resident Judith McClintic. "He would go to the Dunkin' Donuts by the Neshaminy Mall. I heard they gave him some breakfast bagels. He would be around the Boscov parking lot. Other times he would be near the Wawa and gas station on Bristol Road. I miss that turkey. He brought our community together. We looked forward to seeing him."

Patch wrote about the hoopla surrounding Ben and the community support for the bird in September 2021. The local Facebook group called Bensalem's Turkey Trot was launched and had more than 2,400 members.

But then one day, Ben was gone. Vanished. While his sign stood on the street, there was no sign of the turkey.

The Bensalem Township Police Department do not believe there was any fowl play.

Sgt. Glenn Vandegrift said a police report was never filed about Ben. The mayor agreed.

"We don't know what happened to him," DiGirolamo told Patch Friday. "He wasn't hit by a car. Nobody knows. He appeared and was hanging around for a while and then gone."

Some residents said they last spotted Ben over the past winter. Others said there were a few sightings this summer.

Residents on the FYI Bensalem page had other ideas. Some said Ben was their Thanksgiving dinner. Others posted pictures of a Thanksgiving turkey all wrapped up for sale.

Still, others reminisced about their feathered friend.

"There was a little excitement for a time in Bensalem," Dee Tassone said.

The mayor hopes that Ben is doing well.

"It was a lot of fun though," the mayor said. "Maybe he'll come back for Thanksgiving."