Another turning point…
Time grabs you by the wrist,
directs you where to go.
So make the best of this test
and don't ask why.
It's not a question
But a lesson learned in time…
I hope you had the time of your life.

I know I had the time of mine.

Welcome to our final trip to Oakdale USA. We will soon be boarding for the last time,  promptly at 3 pm E.S.T. so don’t be late. We leave with or without you; there’s no turning back now, the attendant has started to close the gate. Make sure to check and secure your valuables, they are all you have left, especially your memories.

As we settle back in our seats for one final visit to our favorite town, our favorite time, and our favorite people, let’s remember that our memories are the things that will last forever, even if our future trips here have been cancelled. We can hold on to them forever. 

ATWT was the brainchild of Irna Phillips, who loved to develop characters and realism, and wrote, “As the world turns, we know the bleakness of winter, the promise of spring, the fullness of summer and the harvest of autumn—the cycle of life is complete."  Her cycle of life included mainly doctors and attorneys, and their families, all interwoven together in the cycle.  She believed in conversation, and invested in the emotions of her characters over time, instead of rushing things at the speed of light.  Her characters lived in the real world.  In Irna’s world, evil never went unpunished, and conservative values were honored.  During her reign as headwriter, ATWT was consistently at the top of the ratings. The show was done live, and was on the air broadcasting when Walter Cronkite broke in to tell the world that President Kennedy had been murdered.

Over the years we met many memorable characters in Oakdale, folks whose names have passed into the back of our memories, like Jeff Wade, Doug Cassen, Michael Shea, Ellen and David Stewart, Claire Cassen, John Dixon, Dan Stewart, Liz and Betsy Stewart, Carol Deming Hughes, Jennifer Ryan, Grant Coleman, Jay Stallings,  Steve and Frank Andropolos, Shannon O’Hara, Georgia Tucker, Carolyn Crawford, Duke Kramer, Cricket Montgomery, and Natalie Bannon.  You might not remember all these names, but I know they are all packed up in the collective memories of some fans, somewhere in the world. 

Although the show centered on the lawyers of Lowell, Barnes, Lowell, Hughes and Hughes, the show was always built around the Hughes family. We got to witness five generations of them as they grew up, grew old, married, gave birth, watched their grandchildren, and their great grandchildren go through the joys and sorrows of life.  My first memories are of Grandpa Will Hughes, who lived with his son Chris, daughter-in-law Nancy, and their children, Don, Penny, and little Bob. Grandpa enjoyed a hot cup of coffee on a hot day, and loved to fly the flag. Not a Fourth of July went by without him in the backyard, saluting the flag and country he loved.  He gave good, old-fashioned, homespun advice to everyone in his family, and he and his grandson Bob were especially close. 

There was Nancy, the no-nonsense  housewife who couldn’t resist meddling in her children’s lives.  The phone used to be glued to her hand as she filled her friends in on what was happening, which conveniently kept viewers up to date on past episodes. I remember her husband Chris, the hardworking, long suffering attorney, who wanted to be a partner in Lowell, Barnes, and Lowell, and who finally got that reward after many years.   He was a great example of a family man.  Nancy and Chris were the backbone, the tentpole of the show, setting the example for midwestern values.   Eventually Bob and Kim took over as the main family in town; although both of them had checkered pasts in the romance department, their 25 year marriage became a legend.

And there was Lisa.  The poor girl who saw a young man from a good family, with a promising career as a doctor, Lisa couldn’t resist and snapped up Bob like a fish after a worm.  Lisa was so popular on the show that at one time she had her own spin-off show, “Our Separate World,” which was a prime time soap.  Eileen Fulton was eager to play Lisa as evil, and Irna Phillips said of Fulton, "I can write for that little rascal. She can play a bitch!"  For 13 years in the 60s and 70s, Lisa was one of the top ten most popular girls’ names in the US, and it was partly because of her.  Lisa was a dreamer, a schemer, a villainess, vindictive, and manipulative.  She was a fan favorite, and the term, ‘the character you love to hate’ was created with her in mind.

There were other families in town, the Stewarts and later the Snyders took center stage too, but whoever was on screen, they created memories for us, the fans, to cherish. It was a family thing, to watch the show. I’ve heard from so many fans who told me of how they started watching ATWT with their mothers, or grandmothers, and passed this love down to their daughters and granddaughters. I’ve heard from fans who loved Betsy and Steve, Barbara and Gunnar, Jenny and Jeff, Craig and Rosanna, Van and Reid. Fans loved James Stenbeck and Emma Snyder. They wondered what had happened to Cal Stricklyn and the Ward quadruplets-- Lowell, Gregory, Maria, and Nancy. They cried when Chris Hughes Sr., passed away, and when we lost Jennifer Munson. They held their breaths when Jack Snyder went over the bridge in the car, Parker almost drowned trying to find him, and angel Norah led them both back to life. They cried when Benjamin Hendrickson died. There were so many stories, of love, lust, marriage, divorce, babies, miscarriages, incest, homosexuality, HIV, euthanasia, rape, triangle relationships, and so much more.  We watched life unfold in front of us, with all its problems, joys, laughter, sighs, passion, fury, ferocity, pain, and comfort. 

Well, I could go on an on—after all, 54 years is a long time to visit in a town like Oakdale, and I know there are tons of memories to go around.  But I find that I am tearing up a little, and getting a lump in my throat, just thinking about all the time I spent at Java, the yacht club, the Mona Lisa, and other Oakdale haunts.  I know it’s time to move on, even though my feet begrudge every step I force them to take.

So I’m all packed, and ready to board the last flight out of Oakdale. I take one look back as we depart, and I see everyone sitting in the old Hughes’ living room.  They’re smiling, waving, hugging each other; promising to never forget us if we never forget them, Bob and Kim and all their friends and family, ‘old friends like bookends…waiting for the sunset, settling like dust,’ fading into black and white. It seems ‘terribly strange’ to be saying goodbye for the final time, ‘memory brushes the same years.’ Goodbye, Oakdale, I’ll miss you more than I can ever imagine. But it’s time.

Time it was and what a time it was,
A time of innocence,
A time of confidences
Long ago it must be,
I have a photograph,
Preserve your memories,
They’re all that’s left you...