By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
Rather than carve the glory and bravado of war, local sculptor Glenn Knak prefers to base his pieces on historical aspects that pique his interest.
Such is the case of his latest piece on display in the Salina Senior Center: “Christmas Truce 1914.”
It was December 1914. World War I had been raging in Europe for only a few months. A number of the troops in the trenches did not want to be there, but did their duty because officers behind the lines ordered them to fight.
As Christmas neared, some German soldiers at various locations along the front began calling across the battle lines to the British soldiers on the other side. The message was simple: a truce for Christmas so that both sides could bury their dead.
While the legend of the Christmas Truce of 1914 has sometimes been embellished as it was passed down from generation to generation, it is known that small pockets of troops along the front did, indeed, abide by a truce with their enemies across the battle lines. In some cases, the truce lasted only long enough for each group of soldiers to gather and bury their dead.
In other locations, however, soldiers let humanity prevail and for a brief time, came together not as enemies, but as human beings. Some exchanged small gifts and showed each other photos of their families. There even is a report of a group of German and British soldiers playing a soccer match.
It is this humanity that Knak depicted in his piece “Christmas Truce 1914.”
“It’s just a story I thought should be told,” Knak said.
Knak currently is focusing his carving talents on military themes, partly due to the unspoken influence of his father, who served as a medic on the front lines during World War II.
“Like many of that generation, he didn’t talk about the war,” Knak said of his father. “All of us boys thought he was behind the lines, but we later found out that he was a medic on the front lines for most of his service.”
Knak, who began carving in 1979, now participates in the wood carving group that meets on Wednesday and Friday mornings in the Salina Senior Center, 245 N. Ninth. He estimated that he has done 12-14 major pieces, such as “Christmas Truce 1914,” and hundreds of smaller pieces over the years.
“Of course, I consider a pointed stick carving,” Knak said and flashed an ornery grin. “I just like to play with knives.”
While Knak tends to downplay his talent with knives and wood, one of his pieces has been featured on the cover of “Chip Chats,” the magazine of the National Wood Carvers Association.
He also has a couple of carving videos on YouTube. To see his “Christmas at the Front” video, please click below.