Ben Huck
Ben Huck was a janitor in Provenance, North Carolina, during the Great Depression, known for his longstanding service at Brookhaven Public School, where he befriended a young John Avery Whittaker. Prior to this, he worked as the janitor at Provenance Town Hall. A man of quiet wisdom and humor, Huck was known for his peculiar habit of naming his mops.
Connection to Young Whit While working at Brookhaven Public School, Huck developed a friendship with Whit during his sixth-grade year. Despite their difference in age and status, the two shared a bond that extended beyond the usual student-staff relationship, with Huck offering insights and support during Whit’s early years.
Family and Legacy Ben Huck was the grandson of Ben Huck I, an enslaved man who had been owned by Captain Thaddeus Knox during the Civil War. Ben Huck I played a key role in the hidden history of the Confederate gold incident, having secretly relocated the treasure originally buried by his master and G.W. McClintock. He was also one of the many enslaved individuals secretly taught to read and write by McClintock, Whit’s great-granduncle.
Huck's presence in Provenance linked generations of history, connecting Whit’s own family to long-forgotten Civil War events that shaped the town’s legacy. His friendship with Whit marked an important relationship in the young boy’s formative years, leaving a quiet but lasting impression on the future mentor of Adventures in Odyssey.
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