By Richard Mabey Jr.

My dear uncle, Peter E. Knothe, was a most devoted and dedicated writer. I think folks who knew Uncle Pete would be surprised to know just how hard he worked to preserve the golden history of Randolph Township. If you enter the wording, “Peter Knothe Randolph Memories,” in an Internet search engine, you will find a sampling of some of Uncle Pete’s reflections of Randolph history.

I often would visit with Uncle Pete, for a week or so, when his beloved wife Alice would take a little vacation time, with her three daughters, to visit places like Dollywood in Tennessee. It was during those times that I discovered just how serious Uncle Pete took his role as an author of Randolph’s colorful history. 

Uncle Pete would sit at his desk, in the corner of the large living room of his family homestead, and spend hours researching the history of Randolph. Along with his own vivid memories of growing up in Randolph, Uncle Pete was the perfect person to contribute writings of the history of Randolph.

I have taken many, many courses and seminars on the subject of creative writing. But, even in light of my studies, I learned a lot about writing from my dear Uncle Pete. One of the things that Uncle Pete loved to do in his writings, was to focus on a natural landmark as a reference point to define an area of about 10 yards in diameter. Whether it was the tall pine tree on a corner lot, a large boulder in an open field, a point in a flowing stream where there was a fallen oak, or the path along a rock wall; these were time-tested landmarks that the reader could find on his own. 

Uncle Pete loved to write on those long, yellow, legal pads. And, he just loved to write with number two pencils. With his wonderful sense of humor, Uncle Pete would say something like, “I’m not as smart as these young people who write with ink pens. I make too many mistakes along the way. I guess that’s why they put those erasers at the end of the pencils, for people like me!”

Uncle Pete loved to do his research with open books. He basically didn’t really trust the Internet. As best as I can remember it, Uncle Pete would say things like, “I like the feel of an open book. There’s just something about a book lying flat on a desk. And, besides who knows how much radiation that computer screen is giving off on you!” He loved to have this tongue-in-cheek perspective on life. 

One of Uncle Pete’s hard, fast rule about writing was to write to be understood, not to write to impress people. As best as I can recall, this was Uncle Pete’s philosophy on writing to be understood. “What good is it going to do if I use a lot of big words and practically nobody can understand me? One or two syllable words are the best. You start using those three and four syllable words and you’re going to lose people’s interest.”

One of the greatest gifts that Uncle Pete passed onto me about writing, is that he inspired me to return to writing with pencil and paper. He taught me to abandon writing on the computer and once again feel the grip of a pencil, to see my writings in my own handwriting. To have that feel of open books on my desk, as I write and do research. 

“It’s like that old farm tractor out there. People come to the farm stand and ask me why I plow the corn field with that old contraption. I guess I’m just old fashioned at heart. One thing’s for sure, I don’t have to worry about this number two pencil getting a virus or stealing my identity,” Uncle Pete would say. And, when all is said and done, he was right.

I so dearly miss dear old Uncle Pete. He was a man of great wit and humor. He had such a wisdom of life. He loved life. He understood God’s love for mankind, in very practical ways. “See that tree there, it’s giving off oxygen. It takes in the carbon dioxide and gives off oxygen for us to breathe. You need better proof that there really is a God?” Uncle Pete would say. 

Today, there is a park bench in Freedom Park on Millbrook Avenue, in memory of kind Uncle Pete. He was such a good man, a kind man, a hard-working man who dearly loved his family. I so dearly miss him.

Richard Mabey Jr. is a freelance writer. He can be reached at richardmabeyjr@hotmail.com. Please put on the subject line: My Life Publications.