More than 50 members of the Victoria County Master Gardeners Association broke into song as Cliff Knezek entered the pavilion at the Victoria Educational Gardens for a surprise celebration of his 100th birthday Tuesday morning.
At the entrance, a large, free-standing homemade sign reading “Happy 100th Birthday Cliff!” set the stage for the room full of festive tables draped in orange for fall. Nearby, a cake with a three-wicked “100” candle flanked bottles of champagne partially submerged in ice-filled metal buckets. Fruit salad, fresh green salad, deviled eggs, pasta salad, dips and chips, and an array of sweets including orange-iced, pumpkin-shaped cookies lined another long table.
“I was not surprised,” Knezek said. “These are a nice bunch of folks.”
Soon after Knezek’s arrival at the pavilion, the gardeners held their champagne flutes high as Matt Bochat, Texas A&M AgriLife extension agent, delivered a touching toast. Bochat, who began serving Victoria County seven years ago, stressed the importance of honoring the association’s oldest member for his many contributions over the course of 15 years.
“You could not find a more active volunteer, with time, money, questions,” Bochat said. “I wish we had a lot more Cliffs in this organization. We all obviously think the world of him.”
In 2006, Knezek moved to Victoria from Austin with his wife, Nora Nell Berry Knezek, to be near their daughter Kay Knezek. He joined the local Master Gardeners Association shortly thereafter, and served as the organization’s president in 2009.
In addition to maintaining orderly meetings by enforcing Robert’s Rules of Order, Knezek made financial contributions that allowed for the construction of the Butterfly Haven and the installation of air-conditioning in the Victoria Educational Gardens pavilion.
Pat Plowman, founder and co-chair of the Victoria Educational Gardens, credited Knezek with advancing the educational mission of the gardens through the Butterfly Haven. Depending on when the children visit, they either encounter caterpillars, chrysalises or butterflies, she said.
“It’s a great place to teach children, and that’s one thing he’s big into — teaching,” Plowman said. “He’s a wonderful, generous person who has done so much for the gardens.”
Brynn Lee, who became a master gardener in 2008, affectionately refers to Knezek as “Old Poop,” the term of endearment for Henry Fonda’s character, Norman Thayer Jr., in the hit movie “On Golden Pond.”
“He is the sweetest, most ornery person I have ever met,” Lee said. “He could get your attention — his voice is bigger than mine. He could get your attention just by looking over those glasses.”
The year Lee served as president of the association, Robert’s Rules were never broken thanks to Knezek. Furthermore, members who forgot to wear their name tags or whose cell phones rang during meetings were fined.
“We had to put a quarter in the kitty,” Lee said.
As time progressed and kneeling to pull weeds in the gardens became difficult for Knezek, he continued to volunteer for the association in other ways, Lee said. For example, he made sure the boxes that hold the informational sheets about the plants growing in the gardens were always full.
Kay Knezek, the Knezeks’ only child, suggested that her father, who she described as “caring” and “loving,” join the association to stay busy and meet people when he arrived in Victoria.
“He always makes sure the yard looks nice,” she said. “I have a black thumb, but he can cut off a plant, put it in a pot, and low and behold, it’s going to grow.”
Cliff Knezek, who grew up on a couple of acres in the Czech community of Praha with his parents and two brothers, comes by his love for gardening legitimately. His mother could grow anything and had a flower cellar that she filled with plants.
After graduating from high school, Knezek attended Durham Business College and eventually began working as a stock clerk for Trinity Testing Laboratories in Austin. In 1942, as World War II raged, he was drafted by the U.S. Army Air Force. After basic training, he spent a short time at Langley Air Force Base before being transferred to Kharagpur, India. He served in the shipping and receiving department of the 22nd Air Depot Group, 97th Repair Squadron until he was transferred to Guam. When the Japanese officially surrendered, a celebration broke out on the island, and Knezek headed slowly home to Texas by way of Hawaii and Seattle. His bride, who had not seen him in two years, eagerly awaited his arrival. Knezek returned to Trinity Labs where he worked as an engineering technician until he retired in 1985.
Kay Knezek attributes her father’s longevity to his strong work ethic.
“He’s been a hard worker all his life. He’s used to a fast pace,” she said. “When he grew up, his family had a country store in Praha where he worked from a young age. He was always busy, busy, busy.”
Victoria County Master Gardener Association
