Whit's End

Whit's End

Location

Odyssey

Owner

John Whittaker

Manager

John Whittaker
Jason Whittaker

Principal

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Board Chairman

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Type of Organization

Ice Cream Parlor
Discovery Emporium
Restaurant

First Appeared

#FP01: “Whit's Visitor (FP)”

Last Appeared

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For other uses, see Whit's End (disambiguation).

Description

Whit's End is a Victorian house and ice cream parlor at the centerpiece of the radio series Adventures in Odyssey, founded, owned, and operated by John Whittaker. Its name is a pun reflecting Whittaker's nickname. Whit's End has faced competition from rival businesses Dairy Dream, Blackgaard's Castle, and the Novacom Kids Center.

Paul McCusker noted on the official podcast in 2009 that

“

Back in the beginning, the idea of Whit's End was that it was like Snoopy's doghouse: you almost never really knew what was in there and how far it went. And we actually want to maintain that there are any number of rooms, and contraptions, and inventions, and secret passages that show up as we have need.

”

In Welcome to Whit's End when John Whittaker was asked what kind of place Whit's End is he replied

“	Well I like to call it an old fashioned discovery emporium.	”
— John Whittaker, Welcome to Whit's End

Whittaker further elaborated that

“

It's a place of adventure, excitement, filled with books and activities, fun and games, arts and crafts, and uplifting conversation. But most of all its a place where kids of all ages can just be kids.

”

History

The history of the building Whit's End now occupies has been explored in numerous AIO episodes, and plays a significant role in several episodes, as well.

Odyssey's Church

Originally, Odyssey's church stood where Whit's End now lies. In 1850, Higgam McAlister owned the property the church stood on and had Odyssey's first telegraph line installed there. On the day it was to become operational, Higgam's body was found at the bottom of a cliff on Forest Mountain (#168: “The Curse”).

The property consisted of the main church building with a tower, the rectory, and a tunnel going from the basement of the rectory out into the woods. The building was part of the Underground Railroad, operated by Reverend Andrew Jamison. He lived in the rectory, beside the church and built a second tunnel from the rectory to the church. He knew about the mineral (later used in TA-418), which he learned about from the natives, who called it "The Silent One". (#316: “The Underground Railroad, Part 3”, #331: “Checkmate”, #332: “Another Chance”)

Both the church rectory and the church itself were burned down at separate times during the 1850s. The rectory burned to the ground at the hands of Nathan, a slave owner trying to smoke out his former slave William Ross. The majority of the church was burned down by a mob in following years — all except the church tower, which would remain intact. After both the rectory and church were destroyed, both tunnels now led to the woods. (#316: “The Underground Railroad, Part 3”, Freedom Run)

Fillmore Recreation Center

The land on which Whit's End stands was later given by the McAlister family over to the city to create McAlister Park, on the condition that the land would always be used to glorify God, and that it could never be sold. If these conditions were broken, the land ownership would revert back to the McAlister family (#637: “The Forgotten Deed”).

The building which is now Whit's End was designed by Lyle Architects, and commissioned by the mayor sometime between the fire and 1910. It was modeled after the Tate House (the house of Thaddeus Tate, a wealthy railroad developer on the edge of town) because the building was on the edge of McAlister Park, and a house would look better than an institutional building in such a setting. The building became the Fillmore Recreation Center for years, interrupted only briefly when the mayor lived in the building for 4 years sometime closely after 1946. After this, it was continuously the Fillmore up until it became Whit's End (#244 – #245: “The Mysterious Stranger”).

In 1910, Alman McAlister installed Odyssey's first telephone switchboard in the Fillmore Center. He died that day from falling off the top of a flagpole (#168: “The Curse”).

Henri LeMonde was a wealthy missionary and eccentric treasure hider who hid a secret room containing clues to his last great treasure in the attic of the church tower around the turn of the 19th Century. The room would only open when the notes A-D-E-A-F-C-A-B-B-A-G-E were played in the center of the middle keyboard of the pipe organ in the attic. Years later, treasure hunter Rufus Cowley was arrested in the tower while looking for the treasure of LeMonde. He wrote a clue as to how to open the secret room, and hid it in the Middle C pipe of the organ. The clue remained undiscovered until it was found by Robyn Jacobs in 1990 (#102: “The Treasure of LeMonde!”).

In 1921, Thomas Newcastle buried a box that contained incriminating evidence of his accidental shooting of Dwayne Oswald's ancestor on the grounds behind the recreation center. The box would be discovered and then re-buried there sans its original contents by Dwayne, Jared DeWhite, Whit and Eugene Meltsner in 1998 (#414: “Buried Sin”).

From the 1930s to the 1950s, the Fillmore ran Odyssey's only radio station out of one of the upstairs rooms (#36: “Kids' Radio”).

Some extra construction/renovation was done to the building during the Great Depression, and Tom Riley Sr. was one of the workers. (#19: “Recollections”)

In 1946, Spencer Barfield worked as a janitor at the Fillmore. He was murdered in the basement by Alfred Myers on June 2nd, 1946, or shortly afterwards, when he saw Myers hiding a stolen $25,000 in the basement. Myers hid the body (along with the money) in a back room, then covered the door with a cabinet. The room, the body and the money were all undiscovered until 1988 (#39: “The Case of the Secret Room, Part 1”).

Whit's End

After the Fillmore closed down, city councilman Philip Glossman tried to sell the property, with the highest bid resting at $3 million, to the Webster Development Firm. It was later revealed that this was Dr. Regis Blackgaard, who was likely being assisted by Glossman in trying to attain the mineral under the building. Ultimately, however, Mr. Whittaker bought Whit's End on behalf of the Universal Press Foundation for 3.5 million dollars. The goals for Whit's End were established by Whit's late wife Jenny:

“

Whit's End is designed to be a place of discovery and adventure, filled with books and activities, arts and crafts, and uplifting conversation. But most of all, it is a place where kids of all ages can just be kids.

”

An extended version of the speech was revealed in episode #637: “The Forgotten Deed”:

“

Whit’s End will be an ice cream shop and discovery emporium. It will have a soda fountain, a museum, a well-stocked library, a theater. It will be a place of faith, imagination, adventure, and discovery, where the joy of learning will be found in everything we do. It will be a place where the Bible will come alive for all who enter. It will be a place where kids will learn respect for one another, and for their parents, and for all in authority over them; a place where kids will engage in uplifting and wholesome conversation; a place with character building activities; a place filled with constructive fun, games, arts, and crafts. But most of all it will be a place where kids of all ages can just be kids.

”

Having been been covered in dirt since the 1850s, the two underground tunnels beneath Whit's End were finally found and unearthed by Jack Allen and Carl Ross (William's descendant) in 1996. One of these tunnels was collapsed soon afterward, however, by Blackgaard in an explosion which caused minimal long-term damage to the rest of Whit's End (#334: “The Final Conflict”).

In 2008, the other tunnel seemed to collapse after Jason Whittaker detonated several explosives in it faking his own death (#635: “Accidental Dilemma, Part 2”).

Later in the same year, the city almost violated the original agreement with the McAlister family's sale of the land. Because of the Separation of Church and State debate going on at the time, the city decided to cede McAlister Park back to the McAlister family — who subsequently sold the property to the Universal Press Foundation for the price of $1 (#637: “The Forgotten Deed”).

By the year 2012, at least one of the tunnels was revealed to have been dug up or repaired, as Jason was able to walk through it and bypass the security door (#724: “Home Again, Part 1”).

Rooms

Although the above floor-plan appeared in The Complete Guide, it is made clear in the guide and from the producers on various occasions that this is only one interpretation of the building, it is not necessarily canonical or complete. This is especially a valid point when considering the description of Whit's End given in #244: “The Mysterious Stranger, Part 1” multi-part episode, where a servant staircase near the kitchen is mentioned several times as a key plot element. There is also an extensive basement which includes a secret room (#39: “The Case of the Secret Room, Part 1”), tunnel to the woods in McAlister Park, a workshop, scary pipe noises (#10: “Nothing to Fear”), and a buried time capsule.

Whit's office
Computer room
The Library
Bibles Library (#64: The Greatest of These)
Bible Room
Little Theater
Basement
Whit's workshop
Secret room in the Basement (location of the skeletal remains of Spencer Barfield)
Secret Attic (location of the first clue to the treasure of Henri LeMonde)
Secret room in secret attic (location of LeMonde's journal)
Kitchen
Atrium
Kids' Radio studio
Train Room
Inventors' Corner
Servant Staircase
A sound proof video game room, only mentioned in #296: “Red Wagons and Pink Flamingos”.
Treasure Room

Facts

Location

The shop is located two miles away from Trickle Lake (#513: “Do or Diet”)
The shop is within walking distance of Odyssey General Hospital (#50: “Karen”)
The shop is an exerting walk from The Electric Palace (formerly Blackgaard's Castle) (#83: “The Battle, Part 1”)
The shop is located several blocks away from Mizzy's Fabric Shop (#372: “For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll, Part 1”)
It is 1,558 feet above sea level (#748: “The Perfect Gift”)

Exterior

The building exterior is multicolored (#30: “Honor Thy Parents”)
The building includes a back patio (#588: “Broken-Armed and Dangerous”)
A service road originating from the rear of McAlister Park leads to the building (#333: “The Last Resort”)
Caroline Ross is buried somewhere on the grounds of the property, having died and been buried by her husband Henry Ross and Reverend Andrew Jamison in 1850 (#316: “The Underground Railroad, Part 3”)

Design

The main entrance is ADA-accessible. (#16: “No Stupid Questions”, #319: “A Touch of Healing, Part 2”)
There is a stained glass decoration above the kitchen door. (#244: “The Mysterious Stranger, Part 1”)
The building features a rear entrance that leads to the kitchen, used often by employees but not widely known to the public. (#194: “A License to Drive”, #332: “Another Chance”)
The building has a back patio large enough to host a birthday party. (#588: “Broken-Armed and Dangerous”)
There are bathrooms on the first and second floors. (#605: “The Chosen One, Part 1”)
The building has an elevator. (#299: “The Truth About Zachary”)

Electronics

A silent alarm that can be seen flashing from outside the building has been installed to alert police to an intruder (#169: “Hold Up!”, #564: “A Most Intriguing Question”)
The interior is wired with an intercom system and a paging system (#232: “Thy Kingdom Come”, #208: “Pipe Dreams”, #322: “The Turning Point”, #327: “Moving Targets”, #616: “The Other Side of the Glass, Part 1”)
Security cameras and motion-sensing microphones are installed throughout the building (#481: “Grand Opening, Part 1”, #548: “Sounds Like a Mystery”)
At least one of the landline phones lacks a redial button (#595: “A Time for Action, Part 2”)

List of Inventions

Main article: List of Inventions

Known Menu Items

Soda
Fries (#467: “Broken Window”)
Cheese Burger
Chocolate Turnover
Apple Turnover (#128: “One Bad Apple”)
Caramel Apple (#128: “One Bad Apple”)
Lemonade (multiple, including #249: “The Case of the Delinquent Disciples”)
Milk
Banana Split
Banana Fruit Split
Root beer floats
Fizz's
Coffee
Tea
Pizza
Kiddie Orange (#488: “Under the Influence, Part 1”)
Hot Chocolate

Sundae Flavors

Whittaker special double-decker sundae (mentioned in #135: “Back to Bethlehem, Part 1”)
Chocolate
Strawberry
Butterscotch
Nut Above the Rest Sundae (#556: “And That's the Truth”)

Soda Flavors

Root Beer
Coca-Cola
Wod-Fam-Choc-Sod (World Famous Chocolate Soda)
Cherry

Malt Flavors

Loc-Kno-Stra-Mal (Locally Known Strawberry Malt)
Strawberry
Banana

Milkshake Flavors

Double Raspberry Delight Shake (mentioned in “Three O’Clock Call”)
Double Fudge Shake (mentioned in “Connie Comes to Town”)
Vanilla
Chocolate
Strawberry
Jellybean Fruit Shake (noted in the second official guide)
Marshmallow Mountain Milkshake (mentioned in #592: “Now More Than Ever”)
Banana Milkshake Surprise (mentioned in #488: “Under the Influence, Part 1”)

Ice-Cream Flavors

Raspberry Ripple
Chocolate Ripple
Vanilla Fudge Ripple
Peanut Butter
Lime Sorbet
Orange Sorbet
Rocky Road
Chocolate
Strawberry
Butterscotch
Vanilla
Pistachio
Strawberry Mocha Cream
Pistachio Mocha Crunch
Cappuccino Mocha Jamocha
Peanut-Butter & Banana
Green Bean & Radish
Fudge Marble
Peppermint
Twist
Mint Chocolate
Butter Pecan
Black Cherry
Banana Pudding
White Chocolate Chip
Raspberry
Choca Mocha Chocolate Chunk

All available in the ice cream skyscraper.

Staff

Current

Connie Kendall Soda jerk and radio host.
Eugene Meltsner Computer programming engineer.
Jules Kendall Soda Jerk.
Renee Carter Intern.
Luella Custodian, volunteer

Former

Emma Douglas
Jimmy Custodian and soda jerk.
Julie Myers Soda Jerk.
Ernie Myers Handyman, soda jerk, custodian.
Jason Whittaker Manager.
Jack Allen Soda jerk.
Nick Mulligan Soda jerk.
Aubrey Shepard Soda jerk.
Lindsey Intern.

All employees wear aprons with their respective names on them. (#4: “Connie Comes to Town”, #281: “...But Not Forgotten”)

Climbing Wall (Nick Mulligan)
Skateboarding park (Nick Mulligan)
Virtual Shopping (Liz Horton)
Sped Up Imagination Station (Nathaniel Graham)
Astronomically Correct Planetarium (Eugene Meltsner)
Ice cream flavors that appeal to a bigger demographic (eg. Coffee cones for adults; cotton candy for kids; and carrot cones for vegetarians)
The woods behind The W.E. to become a candy cane forest (Bethany Shepard)
Computerized at-table ordering (Nick speaking to Nathaniel)

In real life

There is a real life restaurant in Colorado Springs based on the fictional location.

Notes

In Family Portraits, Whit's End is a bookstore/coffee shop/conversation house rather than an ice cream shop/library/discovery emporium/conversation house.