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I had the best "Gramps" ever.  I have extremely vivid memories of his smile and his very distinct laugh.  I remember him reading me books, singing me songs in Pennsylvania Dutch while bouncing me on his knee  I would help him dig potatoes and pick beans from his meticulously manicured garden, and sometimes I would not listen and he'd have to scold me for running off to the front yard by the street and send me into Grams.  When he scolded, you knew it.  One of the things I could always count on when visiting my Grandparents as a child was M&M's, candy of all sorts really, but my favorite was M&M's.  Grams would pour several into a plastic margarine dish and I'd sit at the kitchen table and eat (fress) them.  My Gramps would get the biggest kick out of teasing, tricking, and hoodwinking me.  He'd tell me to look at something out the back picture window (a birdie, a butterfly, bumble bee, etc.) and then steal a green M&M from my dish and fress it. You see, the green ones were my favorite.  Boy, would I get upset.  The more upset I would get, the more he would laugh.  I can still hear him laughing.

When I got older, he gave me away when I got married and has been a constant as someone to look up to.  He led by example.  I respected that.  I think that's what I loved best about him.  In an extremely close tie for second were his detailed stories that he would share about courting my Grandmother, being a hired farm hand at the mere age of 12, how much a pair of dungarees cost "back in the day," the things his mother used to cook to feed everyone in his family, what he'd receive at Christmas when he was just a boy, and on and on and on.  I sat for hours listening to these stories.  I cherish every on  The couple years or so before he and Grandma moved to Pleasant View, I would visit to have Sunday dinner and watch football with Gramps.  I am a New York Giants fan and if they were playing, in typical Gramps fashion, he'd root for whatever team was playing against the Giants to get me going.  I'd holler, Grams would giggle, Gramps would cheer and laugh with his signature laugh, the game would end, and then we'd take a nap.

I was lucky to have him to also be a positive influence throughout my children's lives as well.  What a privilege!  Any and all trips to PA from North Carolina HAD to include a visit to see Great Grandma and Grandpa Knauer.  They would always have us for a meal and would fix our favorites.  My children became awfully fond of chicken pot pie, chicken corn noodle soup, corn pie and Grandma's icing cookies  They adored watching (and helping) them in the kitchen, listening to them talk (fuss) to one another, and raving about how yummy the food was.  In their older years, the girls would ask to copy Grandma's recipes and would write them out during visits. The day after Grandpa's passing, my eldest daughter made miniature corn pies in his honor. When asked to give a distinct memory of their Great Grandpa, I would venture to say that all three would agree and say his hugs.  They were fierce.  They were real.  They were genuine and they were sincere.  Just as when you knew you'd been scolded, you also knew when you had been hugged.  I've tried to carry on his legacy with my hugs.  I'll grab my kids in a tight embrace  and call it a "Grandpa hug."

Since his passing, I've shared with my friends, colleagues, and family alike, that first my Grandpa stole my "green" M&M's and then he stole my heart.  I truly wish that everyone could have a Grandfather like my Gramps.  He truly was and is the best this girl could have ever wished for.