By Brandt Mannchen

A. Y. “Pete” Gunter, professor at North Texas State University and staunch defender of the East Texas Big Thicket, has died.

I always admired Pete and his optimistic pessimism.  Pete was an “up” person who thought a lot about the world (he truly was a philosopher) and the environment we depend upon for our lives.

Pete was so dedicated that driving from Denton, Texas to Saratoga (300 miles and 5 hours) and to other places in the “Big Thicket” was not simply a “pilgrimage” but a “way of life” for the man who wrote and sang “The Last Big Thicket Blues” in a folksy, bluesy manner.

Pete had a way with words and in the early 1970’s as President of the Big Thicket Association, toured East Texas, the rest of Texas, and Washington, D.C. and spread the word about the “logging disaster” that was “cuttin down the Thicket”.

He was an ace communicator and a friendly person who, although considered high-falutin, with this professorship and education, could talk to anybody in plain spoken words about why the Big Thicket was important and should be saved. 

Pete was a productive academician and wrote many books and research articles.  He saved his best for the Big Thicket with his 1993 “The Big Thicket:  An Ecological Evaluation” and his seminal 1972 book, “The Big Thicket:  A Challenge for Conservation”.

Pete worked with the Big Thicket Coordinating Committee, which the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club helped by providing leadership through the work of Orrin Bonney and Emil Kindschey.

Pete often made plans with other Big Thicket stalwarts, like Geraldine Watson, Maxine Johnston, Lorraine Bonney, to spread the “holy ghost” in the Big Thicket, rouse the troops for action, and battle for the good of Nature.  Pete had that little bit of “rabble-rouser” in him which electrified and motivated his audience.

There won’t be another in the future who protects the East Texas Big Thicket like Pete Gunter.  He was truly “one of a kind” and a blessing to all who met him.  Pete believed that Nature has the answers if we allow ourselves to look, hear, see, and smell its essence.

I firmly believe that Pete is “upstairs” talking and successfully convincing the “heavenly hosts” why the Earth should be spared, and humans given a second chance.  Bless you Pete and your soulful “Big Thicket” ways.