Charles Alvin DeTurk (1906-1967) received the state level Pugsley Medal in 1961 for “sustained and substantial achievements in advancing state park programs in California, Indiana, and Washington and for his leadership in the state parks field.” He was born in Martinsville, Indiana, and graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in landscape architecture. He started his career in the parks field as a landscape architect for the Allegheny County Bureau of Parks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He became a director of state parks in World War II from 1939-45, and subsequently was a landscape architect with the Wayne County Road Commission in Detroit, Michigan, 1945-49, became director of education and public relations with the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority in Michigan, 1947-50, and from 1950-59 he was with the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.
DeTurk was appointed California director of parks and was a time of political transformation in California, with the Democratic party gaining domination of the political system after a long period of Republican domination. DeTurk’s varied out-of-state experiences were seen as an asset, and he was an active member of the National Conference on State Parks and had been president of that organization from 1954-1956, so was widely respected in state park circles. He was described as “exceedingly charming and well-spoken—a gifted public speaker, who was easygoing and friendly.”The incoming state governor, Pat Brown, was convinced that parks needed to be especially important as the state continued to grow. Soon after his election, he keynoted the annual meeting of the National Conference on State Parks, which was held at Asilomar, and promised that the people of California would not be short-changed on the development of our present state parks, nor on the acquisition and development of new areas.