Peter Vido 1950–2018

Peter Vido — June 10th, 1950 – June 23rd, 2018

[From http://scytheconnection.com/updates/]

“Gramma said when you come on something good, first thing to do is share it with whoever you can find; that way, the good spreads out where no telling it will go. Which is right.”

— from The Education of Little Tree, by Forrest Carter

Many years ago, Peter Vido came upon something good, something he knew right off he had to share.  The more he learned, the more he wanted to share, and continue to learn.  His appreciation and respect for this humble but graceful tool grew, and as he glimpsed the extent of what the scythe has to offer to our battered world, it became his mission to share the Gift of the Scythe with all.  He started down the path of a scythe missionary with no way of knowing where it would lead him or how much he would eventually accomplish.  Though he touched multitudes through his work, he still saw a great deal of unrealized potential.  The burden of responsibility, to share with others the knowledge and wisdom he had gained through the years, weighed heavily on him, yet he carried that burden the best he knew how.  Shrugging at a terminal illness diagnosis, he determinedly continued the work he had begun with more relentless optimism than most of us muster in the face of unrelenting challenges, ignoring his rapidly declining health to give a final push to the humble beginnings of a book project several years in the making, and making one last trip to Europe — where years ago he had earned the lighthearted title “Sensen Papst” (Scythe Pope) — in hopes of inspiring another step towards the scythe renaissance he first envisioned over two decades ago.

Then, early one morning as dawn broke on the other side, he slipped off to more peaceful meadows where scythes inspire only cooperation, not conflict.