Knight family's Wainwright garden is a sight to behold

Denver Lett and Katherine Knight.

I got the chance to have a nice visit with Robert and Katherine Knight last Thursday afternoon at their beautiful homeplace at Wainwright.

Robert is widely known throughout the county, especially in law enforcement circles. He has served as a county constable for years and was even named the national constable of the year in 2009. Most county citizens have likely encountered his friendly smile at the front door of the county courthouse, where he works two days a week.

A week or so ago Robert asked me to ride up to his house on County Road 17 to see his wife’s garden, an offer I couldn’t turn down. I’d been to their house several times before, but I hadn’t seen Katherine in years. You can search Monroe County from Hybart to Little River, and you will be hard-pressed to find two finer folks.

I pulled up in the yard around two o’clock, and Katherine greeted me in her front yard, which is filled with blooming flowers. Close on her heels was her grandson, eight-year-old Denver Lett. I learned that he is a good student at Monroeville Elementary School and a topnotch outfielder in the Monroeville YMCA baseball league.

Robert joined us as Katherine gave me a tour of the grounds, showing me rows upon rows of collards, butterbeans, peas, peppers, watermelons, tomatoes and a variety of other vegetables. They also have a chicken coop containing half a dozen yardbirds as well as pens of rabbits and raccoons.

What makes all of this remarkable is that Katherine has no legs. Both of her legs were amputated in 2009 due to diabetes, but that doesn’t slow her down. Now, she gets around her yard just fine in a motorized chair.

“When I hear someone make excuses, I just don’t want to hear it,” she said with a smile. “You can do whatever you set your mind to.” One of her favorite verses in the Bible is Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Katherine explained that she uses a long-handled hoe as a plow, dressing the rows of her garden, planting and weeding. She said that every time she puts a seed in the ground, she puts it down in the Lord’s name and says a little prayer. “Ask and it shall be given,” she said.

Robert and Katherine have been married since 1965, and Robert admitted that he doesn’t have to help his wife much with the garden. He said she pretty much does it all herself. He jokingly said that his father broke him of farming decades ago during a comically stressful venture into cotton farming.

We eventually made it back around to the front yard and talked under the shade trees for what seemed like a long time. Denver was darting in and out of some bushes not far from the blacktop, and Robert warned him that snakes were on the move.

Before leaving, Katherine loaded me down with a sack full of small pumpkin pies. They were in tiny pie pans, reminding me of the shiny pans that my Granny Stacey used to hang in her garden to keep the deer away. These delicious, homemade pies are one of Katherine’s specialties, and they have made their way into the hands of many prominent county officials over the years.

Eventually, I had to go, but on the ride back to the newspaper office, my thoughts returned to Robert and Katherine. As the aroma of those pumpkin pies filled the cab of my truck, I thought about the fine example the Knights set for the rest of us. No doubt, if the country had more good, God-fearing folks like them, we would be so much better off.