1959 and his family soon moved to Bryn Athyn for his first three grades in
the Bryn Athyn Elementary School. “This was a wonderful experience, having
Wren Doering in second grade and Claudia Racik Gladish in third grade as
my teachers. But then we moved to Connecticut and Ohio. There were years
of fishing in the creeks and hiking in the fields of Ohio as I prepared to go to
high school at the Academy.
“Every ‘girlfriend’ in Ohio knew not to get too close to Calvin Odhner
because he’s leaving for some strange school far away in junior year – far
enough away never to be seen again. And they were right. Bryn Athyn took me
in and I felt it was my new home, even though my parents still lived in Ohio.
“The year before I came to school in Bryn Athyn there was a Church
Assembly. It was then I laid eyes on Maggie van Zyverden at Cairncrest. I was
utterly and completely overcome with an unexplainable love for her that can
only be described as love at first sight!”
Calvin says, “I have always been a bit of a self-starter so it’s not surprising
that while in high school I put an ad in the Bryn Athyn Post: ‘Have chainsaw,
will travel.’ That was the beginning of Odhner Tree Company, which kept me
busy on weekends for the next two years and allowed me to save $848 for an
engagement ring for Maggie.
“This was also the beginning of many different jobs as I was trying to figure
out what I should do to make money to raise a family. Although I always knew
I would be a minister I thought that would have to wait since I needed a career
path to take care of my family.”
He worked on the Tanner and Jungé Farms, Davey Tree Company, a
construction crew (for Maggie’s father, van Zyverden Construction), Acme
Engineering (building hydroelectric gates), H&S Electric, camp counselor
at Camp Westmont in upstate New York, Jungé Construction, and finally his
own company, Odhner Electric, for six years.
Then he worked in sales for 15 years, selling all kinds of things, including
caskets for the Elders, forklifts and medical equipment. He also worked for
Sterilogic Inc. during this time selling medical waste contracts to hospitals.
In the midst of all this, he graduated from the Academy Boys School,
received an AA degree from Bryn Athyn College and earned a bachelor’s
degree in Agricultural Mechanization at The Pennsylvania State University.
He returned to school to get a degree in Clinical and Counseling
Psychology from Chestnut Hill College, with a specialty in Marriage and
Family Therapy (MFT) in 2005. Then he taught Psychology at Bryn Athyn
College as an adjunct professor for six years. And the learning continues. Now
he is in the doctoral program at Capella University.
He started his own therapy practice in 2005, operating Balance Point
Counseling from his home in Kempton, Pennsylvania, until 2008. That is
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