The Living Poetry In California Amusment Parks - Knotts & Castle Park

The Voyage of the Walter K: A Living Poem for the Children of California

There is a story hidden in the waters of Southern California. It is a story of amusement parks, of steel and wood, of a brutal family fracture, and of a love that refused to sink.

Decades ago, a master wooden boat builder named Jim Oberst, working out of Hills Marine, laid the keel and shaped the hull of a magnificent steamboat. It was named the Walter K., crafted in honor of Walter Knott, the founding visionary of Knott’s Berry Farm. For years, the Walter K. carried thousands of children across the waters of Camp Snoopy, a floating vessel of joy in the heart of the park.

Time passed, parks evolved, and the Walter K. was eventually retired. Whispers in the community suggest her bones, her scraps, or her spirit found a second life down the freeway in Riverside at Castle Park—a park built by the very same dreamers who shaped Knott’s early days.

But behind the creation of that joyful steamboat was a real family weathering a devastating storm. Jim Oberst, the hands that built the Walter K., and his wife navigated a deeply painful divorce. Jim would eventually pass away as a dedicated Scout Master in Santa Barbara County. His ex-wife would go on to dedicate 26 years of her life to the relentless, uncompromising mission of Children's Day USA.

Through the tears, the crisis, and the distance, neither of them lost the core truth they fought to instill in their children: Family is everything.

Today, Children’s Day USA is calling upon Knott’s Berry Farm, Castle Park, and the community of Southern California to engage in an act of "Living Poetry."

We seek to honor the memory of the Walter K., the hands of the man who built it, and the fierce heart of the woman who dedicated her life to protecting kids. We want to bring the healing power of standing up for children back to the waters where the Walter K. once sailed.

Amusement parks are not just places of rides and ticket booths; they are where childhood memories are forged and where families, no matter how fractured, come together to smile. We invite Knott’s Berry Farm and Castle Park to join us. Let us honor the legacy of Walter Knott, Jim Oberst, and Children’s Day USA by ensuring that every child has a safe harbor, a day to be celebrated, and a family that stands for them.

The boat may be gone, but the wake it left behind is still moving forward.