Peter was born in Chicago, Illinois to Vanitah Leona Brandon and Willard Evans Hummeland. His paternal grandfather HAD immigrated to the United States, becoming an attorney and serving as the consulate of the King of Norway. His mother's father was a master carpenter and one of the first union organizers in Chicago. Peter's father was an attorney for the Navy and was the director of real estate for the 9^th Naval District. His mother began working at an early age and was later employed by AT&T for 25 years as a phone operator and then as an administrative assistant. His family moved to rural Woodstock, Illinois when he was four and he grew up spending most of his time outdoors in the woods, swamps, ponds and streams catching insects, tadpoles, building forts and exploring. The family did not own a television but often went to the movie theater on weekends. Although a shy boy Peter learned to play the clarinet while in elementary school and joined the marching band. He enjoyed the clarinet and continued to play until his death. He did well at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois and applied for a master's program at the University of Illinois where he was directly enrolled as a doctoral candidate to study the effects of lead poisoning on photosynthesis. Shortly after he was enrolled he was drafted into the Army and, after Basic Training, was sent to Vietnam, arriving in August 1969. Surviving a number of battles and skirmishes Peter became ill and returned to the U.S. for treatment in July 1970. He was discharged in the summer of 1971 then attended the University of Illinois for a year where he continued his studies and became a teaching assistant in the botany department. He subsequently returned to Ruston, Louisiana where he struggled with PTSD until he passed away in 2013.