The Legend of Whittles, Knott’s Berry Farm’s Forgotten Icon
Update: Whittles has made his triumphant return to Knott’s Berry Farm as a walk around character! And he’s cuter than ever!
As part of being a Knott’s Berry Farm Ambassador, I am tasked with writing posts for the Knott’s Berry Blog. Last week my first blog post for them was published, which was an overall history of the Farm. While you can read the whole post here, today I wanted to take a moment to expand upon one of my favorite nuggets from Knott’s Berry Farm’s past, Whittles, the happy miner ’49er who just didn’t quite work out.
If you’re been reading the blog for awhile, or are familiar with Knott’s Berry Farm, then you know that Snoopy, and the rest of the Peanuts Gang, represent Knott’s Berry Farm, and are present at the Farm through walk-around characters, akin to Mickey Mouse and friends at Disneyland. However, Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the others haven’t always represented Knott’s, and how they came to arrive at the Farm begins all the way back in 1960.
In 1960, the little berry farm turned theme park introduced a new employee handbook, and wanted a friendly character who could represent the Farm on the cover and throughout the book. The task was given to illustrator Pete Winters of Orange’s Paul Mitchell Advertising Agency.
Pete Winters, as photographed for the Knotty Post, Knott’s Berry Farm’s employee newsletter.
Photo courtesy of the Orange County Archives
Knott’s wanted someone who would “represent the atmosphere of the Berry Farm” and said that “the character had to be western with a lovable personality. He had to be a happy character whose appearance fairly well shouted ‘Welcome!’.” The result was a smiling old prospector simply known as “The Old Timer.” With a white beard, plaid shirt, and a burro companion named Joe, “The Old Timer” was indeed pretty cute and friendly.
Photo courtesy of jericl flickr
Eventually “The Old Timer” began to appear on more than just employee paperwork, including ticket books, park signage (including topping off the entrance to the park), newspaper advertising, and more.
Photo courtesy of the Orange County Archives
In spring of 1973 the Farm decided to turn “The Old Timer” into a walk-around character and named him Whittles. Whittles’ arrival was announced in The Knotty Post, the employee newsletter at the time, and even featured him on the cover. The neck-less, short torso’ed miner donned a massive black hat, plaid shirt, yellow vest, blue trousers, cowboy boots, and a massive button reading “My Name is…Whittles.”
Photo courtesy of the Orange County Archives
Photo courtesy of the Orange County Archives
Photo courtesy of the Orange County Archives
While Whittles may have looked like an old prospector who had spent his time panning for gold, he was first portrayed by a young woman, Diana Kerchen, now Kelly. Awkwardly proportioned, Whittles was simply better suited to the page, even after a costume redesign, Whittles failed to capture the hearts of children, “It didn’t work out…He scared the children,” Russell Knott, Walter Knott’s son, reflected.
Photo courtesy of the Orange County Archives
It’s unclear just exactly when Whittles in 3-D rode off into the sunset, but the misstep didn’t end the Farm’s desire for an icon and walk-around character and they decided that maybe they should try to secure an already established, well-known, family-friendly icon.
Ron Mizaker was the man tasked with finding and securing the new icon and, and narrowed it down to a handful of possibilities, including Snoopy and company. As the characters from Charles M. Schulz’s comic strip Peanuts were already doing work for Met Life and others, Mizaker knew there was a possibility for them to represent an amusement park. Mizaker met with Schulz up in Santa Rosa, and midway through their meeting, Schulz said he needed to go to his daughter’s ice skating rehearsal at the ice rink across the street that the Schulz family owned. Schulz invited Mizaker to join him. While the pair watched Schulz’ daughter take to the ice, Mizaker informed Schulz that located within the stage of the Farm’s Good Time Theatre there was an ice rink, “Wouldn’t it be great if we did an ice show with Snoopy?” Schulz liked the idea and asked “Could my daughter be Snoopy?” Mizaker said they could work that out and that became the foundation of the deal to have the Peanuts gang join the Farm. Soon Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and more were walking around the Farm, had merchandise, and, just as Mizaker suggested, there were Peanuts themed ice shows, which continue to this day.
On July 1, 1983, the Peanuts gang received their very own area at the Farm, called Camp Snoopy. With a high Sierras feel, Camp Snoopy blended in well with the other California themed areas of the Farm, and offered a plethora of rides just for the kiddies. Immensely successful, Camp Snoopy has been expanded and received upgrades over the years, and more recently the Peanuts gang have expanded their presence in the park with Peanuts Celebration, which takes place near the beginning of each year.
While no longer a walk around character, thanks to creatives at the Farm, Whittles can still be spied here and there at the park with his face appearing on a handful of items, ensuring that his legacy lives on.
Sources
Jepsen, Chris. “Knott’s Berry Farm’s Whittles.” O.C. History Roundup. 21 March 2009. Accessed 4 April 2020.
The Knotty Post. July-August 1960. Print.
The Knotty Post. Spring 1973. Print.
Merritt, Christopher and Lynxwiler, J. Eric., Knott’s Preserved. Santa Monica, Angel City Press, 2015. Print
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I adored this engaging post, dear Janey. Being from the other side of the 49th, Knott’s in another American offering that is entrenched in US culture, but which most folks up here don’t know an overly large amount. I’d noticed Whittles over the years, but knew nothing of his backstory or the fact that a woman wore his costume for some time. Seriously interesting!
Autumn Zenith 🎃 Witchcrafted Life
Thanks for this article about Whittles! As Diana Kirchen, I was the very first Whittles, selected by Darrell Anderson (son of Marion Knott Anderson) who was the Director of Entertainment in 1973. Before Whittles, in the Fall of 1972, I’d been working in a team of six of us who wore Pufnstuf character costumes and greeted kids who were coming out of the John Wayne Theater after the Pufnstuf stage show. The show ended at the end of 1972, and we were all laid off – but our supervisor, Dale Shaddux, said he’d call us if any new jobs came up. So I was called back in early April 1973 to interview with Darrell Anderson and got the job as the first Whittles. I then met with the Knott’s Advertising department people, George Condos and Martha Boyd, who had conceived the idea of a live “Whittles” character and developed the costume. The first appearance of Whittles was on Saturday, April 14, 1973 – the start of Easter Week. My role was to be near the Main Gate and greet children coming in. Contrary to Russell Knott’s statement, my experience was that the children liked Whittles and would come right up and shake Whittles’ hand. A few of the younger kids were scared of Whittles (in the same way that younger kids are sometimes scared of Santa Claus), but not many. There were several of us who wore the Whittles costume, all female. I only worked weekends and holiday periods because I was going to college full time. Others worked during the week. In the summer months we had a morning shift and a later shift. The original costume in your photos was small and cute. Then they replaced the costume with a much larger head and larger belly – he didn’t look quite as cute and friendly. In the summer of 1973, on the days when the Whittles costume was being cleaned, I started going out on the streets of Ghost Town as “Annie Oakley,” hanging out with the gunfighters. Gradually I transitioned out of the Whittles costume and into being “Annie Oakley” and announcing Country music shows in Wagon Camp starting in February of 1974. The Whittles character continued at least another year or two, but I’m not sure when a decision was made to end the Whittles character. The last time I visited Knott’s in October 2019, I bought a little stuffed Whittles character in the gift shop — so maybe Whittles is still around!
Oh my goodness! And thank you for your lovely comment and sharing your experience! I’m glad to hear that the children warmed right up to you as Whittles! I do think some children in general have an aversion to those they don’t know and are pushed to take photos with, as you mentioned with Santa or the Easter Bunny. I also love how your comment falls so close to the anniversary of your first appearance as Whittles!