The Allen and Phyllis Knisley papers

Allen Holmes Knisley was born April 23, 1918 in Bainbridge, Ohio. His parents were Floyd and Lona Holmes Knisley. Phyllis Eileen Kuder Knisley was born April 13, 1920 in Tontogany, Ohio to Clarence Winfield Kuder and Beatrice Harger Kuder.

Allen and Phyllis were married on August 26, 1945 at the First Presbyterian Church in Bowling Green, Ohio. Allen and Phyllis had five children together, Mary Anita (born stillborn), Patrick Allen, Michael Philip, Timothy Frederick, and Mary Beth over the years 1947 to 1955. In 1948 they moved to Fairborn, Ohio and lived there until 2010.

Allen graduated from Ohio University in June of 1940. He was active with the Industrial Arts Club, becoming president of it in his junior year and senior year he was elected president of Epsilon Pi Tau, a national industrial arts honorary society. After graduation, Allen returned to Ohio University for graduate studies but began a full time job teaching industrial arts at the junior high school in Uhrichsville. For the 1941 - 1942 school year, Allen worked at the Bath High School in Osborn, Ohio. Much information about this time in Allen's life is found in autobiography Home on the Ranch in box 1.

In 1938 Phyllis started school at Bowling Green State University but she soon transferred to Ohio University and graduated in 1942. She happened to meet Allen while at her first professional teaching job in Bainbridge. They mostly kept in contact via correspondence seeing each other just a couple of times in person. During the war Phyllis worked at the Heinz plant where she added gum to K-ration boxes. She also did clerical work at the Rossford Ordnance Depot and served in the offices of the National Association for Infantile Paralysis in New York City. More about Phyllis's life is found in The Way it Was, an autobiography by Phyllis found in box 1.

Allen was drafted into the U.S. Army and served from May 1942 to September 1945. He was selected to go to Officer Training School, became a corporal, and trained at Fort Sill, Oklahoma to become an artillary officer. He was then sent to Denton, Texas for liaison pilot training, after which he went back to Fort Sill and soon joined with the 3rd Armored Division and was on the way to England by boat. He spent nine months in England and in May of 1944 he learned of the upcoming invasion to happen in France. He joined the invasion on June 18th. From June 27, 1944 to September 3, 1944 he flew 111 missions many of which were for directing artillery fire in combat, but also for frontline reconnaisance, column control, firing surveillance, and administrative flying.

Allen's complete story of his time serving in World War II is found throughout the collection, especially in box 1 where he outlines his experience for grandson Luke's 4th grade class.

Allen spent most of his career at the Fairborn City Schools where he worked for 39 years as a teacher, cross county coach, assistant high school principal and assistant superintendent. He retired in 1982. Phyllis worked as a teacher in Bainbridge, Napoleon, and Middletown, Ohio and retired in 1980.

Allen and Phyllis died within 17 days of each other in 2016.