A baseball player, musician, trial judge, shopkeeper, selectman – Charles E. Knight wore many hats in the 90 years he called Wiscasset home. The day journals he left behind were the subject of the Feb. 21 Town Talk, a monthly program hosted by Wiscasset Public Library.

Born in 1854, Knight was the son of James and Emeline (Sewall) Knight. The Knights moved to Wiscasset from Woodfords, now part of Portland, and opened a mercantile store in the 1850s or 1860s.

A lot can be learned about Knight from the handwritten notes he kept. They span 53 years. He recorded the weather and often jotted down some local happening in the community.

Dean Shea, a Wiscasset native who lives on Gardiner Road, got the Knight journals from someone who bought them at an auction for a dollar. The collection of 48 books spans from 1880 to 1933.

The dozen or so people attending the program took turns reading entries from the pocket-sized books. They’re pretty tricky to decipher because Knight wrote in cursive and his penmanship leaves much to be desired.

Knight lived on Main Street for over half a century. His house, known then and today as the “Blyth House” for its original owner, still stands on the corner of Main and Pleasant streets.

He attended Bowdoin College, graduating in 1877 with a degree in law. He was a classmate and close friend of arctic explorer Robert Peary. After graduation, rather than seeking his fortune in the big city, Knight returned to his hometown where he became a justice of the peace, trial justice and notary public. Along with practicing law, he clerked in his father’s grocery store.

He continued playing baseball and was a member of two amateur teams based in Wiscasset, the “Samosets” and “Pawnees.” He also found time to play cello in the Wiscasset Town Band that held concerts on a bandstand on the town common.

The Knight grocery store sold fruit, vegetables, canned goods and other food staples along with hard goods and household essentials. It was on the first floor of the Wawenock building still standing on the north side of Main Street.

In 1879, Knight was admitted to the Lincoln County Bar Association. His journal frequently mentions being called to court to arraign tramps, hobos, or other minor lawbreakers. According to his journal, the “jailing of tramps” seemed to occupy a good deal of Knight’s time during the winter of 1884. That was a cold winter, too. Knight notes the mercury never got much above zero for the entire month of February.

Along with recording day-to-day happenings around town, Knight occasionally noted a national event. His entry on Feb. 15, 1898 includes: “Maine blown-up at Havana,” a reference to the mysterious sinking of the battleship USS Maine in Havana, Cuba, an event triggering the Spanish-American War.

As the journals progress through the 1890s, Knight assumed more of the day-to-day responsibilities of operating the grocery business. This was due to his father’s failing health.

“Father pretty sick,” reads his entry on Nov. 5, 1899. James Knight died four days later. His death left Charles to care for his mother along with the store and his own family.

He married Carrie Dodge Knight. Their only son, James, continued to live in the family home on Main Street.

Judy Flanagan, who coordinates Town Talk, suggested each person take a journal and read the entry for Christmas Day. Most revealed the Knights celebrated the holiday in much the same way as we do today, although one entry from the late 1890s mentions a dance he attended.

Several later entries mention the Quinnam family, relatives of the Sheas; and a place on Gardiner Road once known as Quinnam Pond.

Throughout his long life, Knight stayed active in the community. He was a faithful member of the First Congregational Church, an Odd Fellow and a 60-year member of the Wiscasset Fire Society. A number of fires are recorded in his journals over the years.

The final journal in Dean Shea’s collection is for 1933. But Knight’s story doesn’t end here. In 1938, at 83, he was elected to the Wiscasset Board of Selectmen and continued serving through World War II. He died in 1951 at 96, a month short of his birthday.

Participants at next month’s Town Talk are invited to share one of their favorite family recipes.