Happy Birthday, Odyssey!
By Dale Jacobs
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Odyssey Times Editor
"It's a place of wonder,
excitement and discovery!"
With those words, an era
was born--the era of Odyssey.
Adventures in Odyssey
turned 10 years old on November 21, 1997. On that day in 1987, two gentlemen
named Phil Lollar and Steve Harris came to town to record and air on the
radio the stories surrounding a remarkable local gentleman named John Avery
Whittaker and the incredible ice cream/discovery emporium he created called
"Whit's End." Those stories proved to be so popular that Phil and Steve were
soon joined by Paul McCusker, Dave Arnold, Bob Luttrell, Chuck Bolte, Mark
Drury and Marshal Younger, who all worked feverishly to keep up with the
demand for more stories about Odyssey. Later, Steve Stiles and Bob Vernon
brought our town to television with a series of animated videos. Thanks to
their efforts, people all over the country and around the world have gotten
to know not only Whit during the past ten years, but his employees at Whit's
End and many of the folks who live around town as well.
To help celebrate
Adventures in Odyssey's 10th Anniversary, we talked with Whit and the
gang about their lives over the past decade . . . and their thoughts on the
future.
John Avery Whittaker
 "My goodness, has it been ten
years already?" Whit chuckles as he sets two hot chocolates on a table booth
at Whit's End and slides into the seat. The place is spotless and the air is
abuzz with the conversation of eight-to-twelve year-olds. "I can't believe
how time has flown!" Whit continues, sipping his cocoa. "It seems like just
yesterday that we started recording the shows. We certainly didn't think
things would get this big!"
The Whittaker's move to
Odyssey came about as a result of a tragedy. Whit's oldest son, Jerry, was
killed in the Vietnam War. "I remember where I was when I found out," Whit
says quietly, his eyes glistening with tears. "I was in my study, reading a
postcard Jerry had sent to my youngest son, Jason. It was the last time we
ever heard from Jerry. There was a knock at the front door, and I put the
postcard into a book I was reading and set it on the table. At the door were
the Armed Forces representatives with the news about Jerry." He pauses
thoughtfully. "You know, I don't remember if I ever gave that postcard to
Jason? Maybe I ought to find that book I was reading, huh?"
Jerry's death nearly tore the
family apart, and Whit knew they needed to concentrate on each other--and on
their strong Christian faith. The location he chose for them to do that was
Odyssey. "Janna (his daughter) and Jason spent their junior high and high
school years here," he says. "In fact, Jason used to play in this building
when it was the Filmore Recreation Center."
The story of how the Filmore
became Whit's End has been well documented in newspapers, books and on the
radio. Whit says he really can't add much to the story, except that he
thinks his late wife Jenny would definitely approve of what Whit's End has
become. "She had such a heart for kids," he says. "If she were here today,
she'd be right in the thick of things. Her spirit really pervades the
place." Few people also know that Whit's End almost didn't survive. "When we
first opened, no one came in," Whit recalls with a smile. "I think some of
the parents in town were sort of wary about supporting a building where
their kids would just 'hang out'--and looking back now, I can't say that I
blame them. It does seem a rather odd concept." Fortunately, parents soon
started changing their minds, and Whit's End became one of the most popular
places in town.
Whit begged off picking a
single favorite memory of the past ten years, but he did share some of
the moments most special to him. "Hiring Connie and Eugene would have to be
right up there . . . praying with Connie when she became a Christian .
. . the start of the Imagination Station and Kids Radio . . . discovering
all the hidden rooms here at Whit's End . . . traveling to Chicago and
Mexico and the Middle East . . . there are so many!"
"I'm truly awed by what the
Lord has done here in Odyssey with these stories," Whit says, taking another
sip of cocoa. "It is really unbelievable that so many people around the
world would be interested in the goings-on of the folks in this little town.
I just pray that He'll continue to use them as He sees fit."
Connie Kendall
 Stationed behind the counter
at Whit's End, Connie doles out ice cream, advice and loads of personality.
"I'm so nervous," she says with a giggle. "I've never been interviewed
before."
Her nervousness quickly fades,
however, when the topics of Whit and Whit's End are brought up. "This place
is my home!" she exclaims. "If it hadn't been for Whit and this place, I
don't know where I'd be."
Connie started working at
Whit's End shortly after she and her mother, June, moved to town several
years ago. She credits Whit and the atmosphere at Whit's End with helping
her to make the most important decision in her life. "I was born again
here," she says simply, "right here in Whit's End! I became a new creation."
Not that there haven't been
trials since that moment. "They usually involve a disagreement between
Eugene (Meltsner, her co-worker) and me. Sometimes we don't see eye-to-eye
about things, and we sort of, well, you know, argue." And what about her
infamous curiosity? "Yeah," she admits with a reddening face and a sheepish
grin, "that's gotten me into trouble, too. But I can't help it! I just want
to know!"
In addition to her job at
Whit's End, Connie has big plans for the future. "First off, I'm going to
graduate from high school--and it's about time! It seems like I've been in
there forever! I want to go to Campbell County College, maybe to study
teaching. I've also got a little side business going called 'Dreams by
Constance'. I put together weddings for people--my latest one was for Jack
and Joanne Allen. I have lots of plans. But no matter where I go or what I
do, I'll always think of this place as home."
Eugene Meltsner
 "I am most grateful for this
interview and wish to use this occasion to clear up a few misconceptions--if
not outright fallacies--about myself."
It's never easy interviewing
Eugene Meltsner.
"To begin, I would like to
assure all who may be perusing this article that, contrary to popular belief
and my artistic portrayal in a certain popular animated video series, I do,
indeed have eyes!" He lifts his glasses and blinks several times for
emphasis. "They are periwinkle blue and, aside from a slight case of
astigmatism and nearsightedness, work quite well, thank you."
Eugene eases back in his
ergonomically correct computer chair and crosses his arms with satisfaction.
His dorm room at Campbell College is decorated in a manner typical of an
intellectual-- textbooks line the shelves, stacks of paper fill every corner
and the most prominent item in the room is a large black computer. The only
nod to actual humanity are two pictures: one of a lovely young lady named
Katrina, Eugene's fiance, and the other a photo of himself, Connie and Whit
at Whit's End. "It was taken shortly after I began working there," he says,
a wistful tone creeping into his voice. "That now seems like such a long
time ago."
Eugene was hired on at Whit's
End to maintain Whit's inventions and handle the computers. He took to tasks
like the proverbial duck to water, making improvements on the existing
machines and creating several inventions of his own. Both the improvements
and the originals were almost instant hits with the kids, even if they
didn't understand Eugene's rather lengthy explanations of how they worked.
Which is the second "misconception" Eugene would like to clear up.
"I would like to correct the
completely unfounded reputation I seem to have developed--how, I am quite
uncertain, I might add-- for extreme verbosity and, to borrow the regional
colloquialism, longwindedness. Where these flights of highly erroneous fancy
originate I can only conjecture, however, suffice it to say they are
outrageous, incomprehensible, ludicrous, fallacious, salacious, and lacking
in decorum, compassion, generosity and general good taste."
Eugene had much more to say on
the subject, but space limitations prevent us from printing it.
Tom Riley
 "I think the thing I'm most
looking forward to is getting back to farming," says soon-to-be-ex-Mayor Tom
Riley. "Being mayor has been a lot of fun--and one of the most difficult and
exhausting things I've ever done. It's been an honor, but I'd be lying if I
said I wasn't just a little bit anxious to hand over the reigns to someone
else."
Tom has lived in Odyssey all
of his life. His father and grandfather before him owned the Riley apple
farm, one of the town's better-known landmarks. As mayor, Tom guided the
city through what was unarguably one of its darkest times, the recent
Blackgaard unpleasantness. And now, he just wants to get back to the farm.
"It's in my blood, I guess," he says with a grin.
By nature a reserved man, Tom
has mixed feelings about his participation in the Adventures in Odyssey
program. "I was one of the ones to help Whit get Kids Radio back up and
running over at Whit's End several years ago," he says, "so naturally, I
think the idea of doing stories on the radio is a good one. I guess I just
didn't realize that Whit wanted to put so many of our stories on the
air. Not that they haven't been exciting. It's just that some of them may be
just a little too personal."
Does this mean that Tom will
stop appearing in the series? "Not at all!" he exclaims. "In fact, once I
step down as mayor, I have lots of stories I'd like to share--mainly about
the farm and its history and what I'd like to do with it in the future." He
pauses, then grins. "After all, Odyssey wouldn't be the same without the
Riley farm, would it?"
A few friends and regulars
to Whit's End celebrate the tenth birthday of "Adventures in Odyssey"
This
article originally appeared in "The Odyssey Times," a
special fictional newspaper produced by Focus on the Family to promote
Adventures in Odyssey.
Back to
The Odyssey Times
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