Remembering Will Knight, the Spider Web Guy [SIV516] | Stuck in Vermont | Seven Days | Vermont's Independent Voice

Please support our work!

Donate  Advertise

Remembering Will Knight, the Spider Web Guy [SIV516] 

Published December 28, 2017 at 6:00 a.m.

Willet (Will) Knight was known to the thousands who visited his Spider Web Farm in Williamstown over the last four decades, as the Spider Web Guy. Always handy with a joke and happy to chat, Will tended to his spiders and captured their one-of-a-kind webs on blocks of wood which he sold to tourists who drove up Spider Web Farm Road to visit.

The success of the roadside attraction was partly thanks to the spider web artwork but mainly due to Will’s vibrant personality. He regaled you with stories of his life in the Merchant Marines (he had the tattoos to prove it), his time in the Navy during WWII and the Korean War, teaching vocational education classes at Spaulding High School and being the town appraiser on Barre for 10 years. And of course, Will could talk about his beloved spiders for hours, he especially liked to educate children about his eight-legged friends. Will loved people, and people loved him back.

Eva visited Will and Terry in August of 2015 and experienced the magic of the Spider Web Guy for herself. You can watch that Stuck in Vermont video here.

In October of 2016, the old barn that housed the Spider Web Farm burnt down. The community rallied around Will and Terry Knight, a local elementary school raised funds to help them rebuild. But for the Spider Web Guy, the loss was too much. Will passed away in June of 2017, surrounded by his beloved family. He was 91 years old.

Terry, Will’s wife of 59 years, and their son Will Jr, have rebuilt the barn and are hoping to reopen the Spider Web Farm by spring. Will Jr will be in charge of capturing the spider webs and Terry will do the socializing up front. They hope to carry on Will’s legacy and welcome the many visitors who have made the Spider Web Farm such a success over the years. Keep an eye on their website for details.

Read Will's obituary: Willet Knight, 1926-2017

This episode of Stuck in Vermont was made possible by

Hotel Vermont and New England Federal Credit Union

Speaking of Will Knight, spider Web Farm

Comments

Showing 1-1 of 1

 

Comments are closed.

From 2014-2020, Seven Days allowed readers to comment on all stories posted on our website. While we've appreciated the suggestions and insights, right now Seven Days is prioritizing our core mission — producing high-quality, responsible local journalism — over moderating online debates between readers.

To criticize, correct or praise our reporting, please send us a letter to the editor or send us a tip. We’ll check it out and report the results.

Online comments may return when we have better tech tools for managing them. Thanks for reading.

About The Author

Eva Sollberger

Eva Sollberger

Bio:
Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger has been making her award-winning video series, "Stuck in Vermont," since 2007. New episodes appear on the Seven Days website every other Thursday and air the following night on the WCAX evening news. Sign up at sevendaysvt.com to receive an email alert each time a new one drops. And check these pages every other week for insights on the episodes.

Keep up with us Seven Days a week!

Sign up for our fun and informative
newsletters:

All content © 2024 Da Capo Publishing, Inc. 255 So. Champlain St. Ste. 5, Burlington, VT 05401

Advertising Policy  |  Privacy Policy  |  Contact Us  |  About Us  |  Help
Website powered by Foundation