What’s the secret to living until you can celebrate your 100th birthday?
Mary Snider isn’t telling. She didn’t want a fuss made of her birthday, but her family managed to put on a lovely event at the St. Davids Lions Club for her, choosing the hall where her husband George, sons Allen and Doug and daughter Betty have met as club members for decades.
In addition to many other accolades, Mary also has a meeting place named after her — the Mary Snider Room in the Centennial Arena is bright, spacious and well-used by many organizations and individuals in town.
To some it’s best known as the nickel sale room — those of us who have volunteered at the nickel sale couldn’t even guess at how many times we’ve been asked what we’re selling for a nickel, but that’s another story.
Virgil Business Association members who have helped out at the Virgil Stampede over the decades have known Mary to be unequaled in her capacity to organize and her ability to accomplish what needs to be done.
She’s an inspiration to all of us, and this community will never fully understand how much richer it is for residents of all ages, because of the $1.5 million worth of projects the stampede has helped to fund. It begins with everything you see in the Virgil sports park, where our kids play softball and soccer, make use of the skatepark, the walking path, two playgrounds, a splash pad and two arenas.
Not sure how many communities with a population of 19,000 have two arenas, and how many small towns had even one in 1967, but thanks to the huge part played by the Virgil Business Association, NOTL can boast two of the best.
That’s just the start of the list — there are school playgrounds, some of the sports park property, the community centre, hospitals, swimming pools, town fire halls, and many other organizations in town that have benefited.
The VBA has had several presidents over the years, from Dave Wall as a founding member to Richard Wall now, and I’m sure they would all agree that while Mary Snider’s title was secretary/treasurer, typing her reports on an old manual typewriter and then delivering them the next day by hand, she was as much a leader of the organization and all it has accomplished as anyone could be. All while operating a small business and raising a family also dedicated to community service.
She may be getting a little frail, but her mind is strong, and her pleasure at seeing so many familiar faces Saturday was evident. Thank you Mary, for all you have done for this community, and enjoy those 1,000-piece puzzles that keep you busy. If that’s your secret for aging, there might be a run on puzzles in the coming days.
Penny Coles
The Local
