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CHARACTERS (in order of appearance)
These
are all the named characters that I consider to be important, as well as a few
unnamed ones. Peter meets most of these
people on his journey.
Tommy: Tommy is a tobacco chewing
stranded farmer who, at the beginning of the story, asks Peter why he is hiking
in a blizzard. After hearing Peter’s
response he offers Peter to come to his house for some grub.
Doc: Doc is a doctor who, along
with Tommy, confronted Peter in a country store at the beginning of the story
and asked Peter why he’s hiking across America.
Peter Jenkins: The main character of the
story, Peter Jenkins is hiking across America with his dog to get to know the
country as well as give it another chance from turmoil. He started in upper New York and plans to
head down through the Deep South and then to the West Coast. Some of his experiences were that he learned
secrets of life from a hermit mountain man, lived with a black family in North
Carolina, worked in the southern mills, and almost died on a mountaintop. Peter grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut and
graduated from college in upper New York in May 1973. In fact, Peter thought that all towns in America were just like
Greenwich. Peter suffers from hollowness
within himself that does not go away easily and college and being on his own
make it worse.
Cooper: Cooper is an over two year old
half-Alaskan Malamute dog who is going across America with Peter. He is ninety-five pounds strong and has
great reflexes. Peter will never forget
that time when Cooper saved him by killing a copperhead snake that would have
killed him. This would not be the last
time that Cooper saved Peter. Cooper
also goes after people who come after the Sub Shop with food. He is also a great hide-and-seek player and
loves snow.
John Wood: Peter’s art teacher. He rode to work on a Bultaco Motorcross bike
in the spring, and on cross-country skis throughout the winter.
Peter’s Girlfriend (name unknown): This girl was one of Peter’s best friends. She went to college in Philadelphia and sent
Peter a love letter in his first semester at Alfred University inviting him to
her college. Peter knew her in high
school but never saw her during the first four years of high school because she
was at a girls’ prep school that tried to get students into Ivy League
schools. She and Peter phoned each
other a lot until she was transferred to Alfred University with Peter. She and Peter got married in the summer of
1971 and the couple moved to 51 North Main Street in Alfred. They eventually separated and Peter lived
with Cooper and his girlfriend to her parents in Greenwich.
Rhonda Jenkins: Rhonda is Peter’s
step-grandmother. Peter asks her if he
can borrow two thousand dollars for his motorcycle trip along the Americas, but
she tells him to use his own money.
Stu Wigent: Stu is a security guard at
Peter’s college. Peter tells Stu that
he wants to move somewhere other than America, but Stu tells him to give
America a chance, and this is how Peter got his idea to walk across America.
Cliff Dubriel: Cliff is a track and
cross-country coach who tells Peter that he should prepare for his journey by
traveling a cross-country route every day.
Scott: Peter’s younger brother and a
sophomore at Alfred. He gets Peter’s
car and stayed with Peter on the first night of his trek.
Charlie: A friend of Peter and
Scott. He stays with Peter and Scott on
the first night of Peter’s journey.
Mr. Harvey Arden: Man at the National Geographic
headquarters who has a meeting with Peter about getting the walk across America
published.
Mr. Gil Grosvenor:
Editor
at the National Geographic headquarters who is told by Peter that he wants a
camera and some film.
Freddy: Peter’s brother. He has obligations and couldn’t see Peter on
his walk.
Winky: Peter’s sister and a senior in
college. She sees Peter in Washington
along with her boyfriend Randy.
Randy: Winky’s boyfriend. He sees Peter in Washington.
Douglas Allison: Homer’s only neighbor. Lived on the mountain for sixty-two
years. Gave Peter directions to get to
Homer.
Homer Davenport: Mountain man who Peter lives
with on a mountain for several days.
Buck: Homer’s youngest son. He lives on the Davenport farm.
Jack Neff: Peter’s friend and a potter
who works in Penland, North Carolina.
Peter sees him on his walk.
Larry: Owner
of a pottery studio where Peter got Cooper.
Larry saw that a dark black shadow fathered Cooper.
Ray Shuler: Robbinsville police officer
who invited Peter to stay in a trailer.
The town goes against him when they believe that Peter is a drug dealer.
Terry: The most aggressive player on
the basketball group. He invited Peter
to camp with the group at the old schoolyard.
Eric Oliver: One of the
boys in the black Smokey Hollow family where Peter lives. Nickname is Buba.
Bruce Oliver: One of the boys in the black
family where Peter lives. Nickname is
Onion.
Zack Oliver: One of the boys in the black
family where Peter lives. He loves to
listen to music.
Mary Elizabeth: Mother of
Eric, Zack, and Bruce. She has orange
brown skin and is pudgy with thin girlish hips. He is a firm believer in God.
Nickname is Red.
Hugh: Manager of Webb’s
restaurant. Peter goes to him for a
job.
Mr. Weber: Hugh’s boss. His house foundation needed to be painted
and Peter earned sixty dollars by painting it.
Frank, Jr.: Man living with the Olivers
who claims to be Mary Elizabeth’s husband.
Pau Pau Oliver: Mary
Elizabeth’s father. Smokey, his
nickname, is what Smokey Hollow is named after.
Reverend Lewis Grant:
Reverend
at the Mount Zion Church.
Miss Lucy Ann Siler:
Mother
of the Mount Zion Church. She is eighty
years old and enjoys the church music.
Lemm Smith: A worker at the sawmill that
Peter worked at wile living at Smokey Hollow.
Lemm is five-foot-six, 150 pounds, and seventy-four years old. He is missing finger parts on his hand from
log sawing.
Preacher: Preacher, whose real name is
Oscar Winkler, is sixty-eight years old and works at Timber Products. He drove Peter to work. He is tall, lean, and quiet and always has a
pipe in his mouth.
Matt Carter: Mary
Elizabeth’s uncle. A fight broke out at
one of his parties. He lives in Smokey
Hollow.
Annie: Preacher’s wife. Her cooking is great and she serves food to
Peter.
Bart: Preacher’s brother. He rarely ever sees visitors and hardly ever
leaves home. He’s in his seventies.
Margaurite: Mary
Elizabeth’s mother. She goes shopping
with Mary Elizabeth and Peter.
Shike: A deacon at the church and Mary
Elizabeth’s uncle. He owns a pickup
truck that loads the pigpen wood.
Dwight Bennett: High school student and a
member of Peter’s church. He finds a
dead baby that Peter and the Olivers are looking for.
Red: Escaped convict who lived with
Mary Elizabeth’s sister and three daughters in the Hollow. He doesn’t like Peter and Cooper.
Abbi: Peter’s sister. She visits Peter when he’s with the Olivers.
Father Klas: One of the members of the Klas
family that is having a picnic. He
gives Peter some of his moonshine that made Peter feel “light.” He is sixty-six years old.
Owner of the Dane:
This
man owns a Dane that fights with Cooper.
Leslie: Ex-marine who keeps an eye on
who is coming and going at the Farm. He
leads Peter on a Farm tour.
Stephen Gaskin: The founder
of the Farm, Stephen tells many words of wisdom to his people on the Farm. He also marries couples.
Patrick: Originator and operator of the
grain mill on the Farm. He graduated
from Stanford and was a former professional rock musician.
Ruth: Patrick’s wife. She graduated from Bennington College and is
now a member of the farming crew and works in the fields.
Joel Kachinsky: Farm’s one and only
lawyer. He graduated from Tufts Law
School.
Roberta: Joel’s wife.
Jeffrey: Minnesota native who was chief
of the tent farming crew.
Marilyn: Jeffrey’s wife and head
teacher for the Farm’s school. She’s
from Minnesota.
Michael: Farming crew chief on the
Farm. He also drove the water truck
that killed Cooper.
James: One of Cooper’s few friends on
the Farm. He helped Peter bury Cooper.
The Green Family: This family
invited Peter for food in Alabama. They
are made up of Leonard, Sara, Sandra, Rusty, Anthony, David, and Mark.
The Qualls Family:
This
family, which had a doctor in it, invited Peter to stay with them in their
Alabama home. The doctor takes care of
Peter when he’s sick.
Mr. Earl Martin:
This
man sees Peter walking in Alabama and gives him a fifty-cent piece, peppermint
stick, and candy bar. He tells Peter
that he would like to come with him.
Roger and Pat McGuire: This
couple moved to Alabama from Chicago and Peter lives with them for a little
while.
Big Drunkard:
This
man is a member of the Shelby County Drunk Four. He almost picks a fight with Peter and later apologizes. His son was in Vietnam and is on drugs, and
this troubles him.
Waldos: Family that Peter lived with
in Alabama. The father was a reverend.
Walkers: Family that Peter met in
Alabama. Jordan Dorman Walker was the
big-businessman father, Gloria Steward Walker was the mother, and Madrue Lanier
Walker was the beautiful daughter.
Governor Wallace:
The
governor of Alabama who Peter met. He
was a boxer and is crippled. He likes
people of all kind.
Calvin Orsborne:
Man
born and raised in Selma who Peter met at a burger palace. He owns a cotton gin and sent his kids to a
private school. He loves America and
talked politics with Peter.
M.C. Jenkins:
One
of Peter’s southern relatives, M.C. lives in an antebellum mansion on a ranch
with his wife Miss Margaret. He invited
Peter to stay with him and told Peter stories of his past and gave Peter chores
to do. He is sixty-three and is often
dressed as a cowboy.
Miss Margaret:
M.C.’s
wife. Peter loves her food.
Packy: A five-year-old grandson of
M.C. that was given to him by his eldest son.
Packy went where M.C. went.
Randy Brown: Randy Brown is a Mobile guitar
player who hitchhiked cross country to Mobile.
Peter stays at his place for a little while.
Hal: Man who Peter met at a
pub/café who invited him to a party at his apartment.
James Robison:
Preacher
at the Revival at the City Auditorium.
He preached a lot about salvation, Christ, and church.
Floyd Luttrell:
Man
who Peter stayed with before leaving Alabama.
Dr. Wiseman: Man with six kids who Peter
stays with after the Luttrells.
Teko: Dr. Wiseman’s wife.
Tom Smith: Peter’s picture editor at
National Geographic. He told Peter to
stop at New Orleans and write about what had happened to him so far on the
walk.
Robert Mark: Member of a Connecticut Yankee
family in Alabama. Peter stays with
him. He is an executive at Ingalls
Shipyard in Mississippi.
Oscar Kyles: An Alabama state trooper
ordered by the governor to watch Peter.
He meets Peter by a store and makes arrangements for him to camp the
night by the store.
Bill Hanks: Graduate student at a New
Orleans seminary who invites Peter to stay with him.
Judy: Bill Hanks’ wife.
Barbara Pennell:
Woman
who Peter falls in love with and goes out with. He eventually stays with her.
Anne Green: Barbara’s roommate. She said that Barbara could handle the walk
across America.
Charles Green:
Reverend
at the church where the sign that Barbara wants is given.
Mom Beall: Beall is an over
eighty-year-old woman who came from Detroit.
She tells the story of Isaac and gives Barbara the sign that she is
looking for.