Mcminn County TN Archives News....."Granny" Snyder is good neighbor to all May 8, 1984 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/tn/tnfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Tom Long tlongjr@cfl.rr.com September 28, 2009, 7:15 pm Daily Post Athenian Newspaper May 8, 1984 Article by Sue Jolly-Carpenter, published in the Daily Post Athenian Newspaper in celebration of Mother's day, May 8th, 1984 "She's on the go all the time, we can't keep up with her" commented a family member about Mrs. Alpha Snyder, who will celebrate her 84th birthday on May 12. Known to all in Niota as "Granny," Mrs. Snyder has lived in the approximately 100-year-old, two-story white house near the railroad tracks for some 50 years ever since she was married to Bob Snyder, who is now deceased. Mr. Snyder will be remembered as being a mail carrier for some 30 years. Asked if she ever wanted to move away and live in a larger town or city, "Granny" stated that Niota is plenty big enough for me. I've been happy here. The mother of four children herself, she considers her six step-children "just like my own." Mrs. Snyder's two sons, Bill and Joe, make their home in Niota with their families, and a daughter Sue, and her family live in Orlando, Florida. Another daughter, Mary June (sic), died in 1967. It is characteristic of Mrs. Snyder to go out visiting her shut-in friends, sometimes carrying along one of her fresh-baked apple pies. "She doesn't wait for someone to come calling on her," said her daughter-in-law, Boots Snyder, "she goes to see them." She is what is called a "good neighbor" by those in Niota who know of her good deeds and sincere wish to help someone out. In talking about her growing up years, she remembers picking strawberries ("we got to keep the money we earned") and buying a beautiful wooden bedstead which she is using in her Niota home. She and her mother used to spin and loom, make quilts, garden, can, and do all the necessary jobs related to making a home and working a farm. Her parents were Luke and Mary Jane Simpson who lived in 'Middle' Sewee Community. A religious person, she feels it is her duty to "do things for people, and to make them happier." "The Lord has blessed me," she said, "and I want to do things that would please him." One of the things she remembers about the recent past was in 1973 when she and another sister (who was 86) flew for the first time out to Portland, Oregon to see another sister who is now 94. "I enjoyed the plane ride," she said, "even though I had never been close to a plane before I flew out there." But the important thing to Mrs. Snyder about this trip was "the closeness we all felt a being together." Visiting with her neighbors, tending her flowers and vegetable garden, cooking, keeping house all keep Mrs. Snyder busy. When asked if she still cooked the old-fashioned way and "loaded" down the table, she almost said no to that but then commented that, yes she did. "I may be stingy with some things, but not when it comes to food. I try to have enough so folks won't go away hungry." Although Mrs. Snyder hasn't been weaving too much lately, she still does some quilting. In fact, she had completed a quilt for a doctor in Chattanooga and says the money will go to the young people's class of one of the churches she attends, Fisher Street Church in Athens. Alpha Smith (sic) is happy, she has relatively good health, she is respected by her family, friends and neighbors, and she tries to do the Lord's work. She is, in the opinion of many, a fine example of a mother and good neighbor. Additional Comments: The families of Alpha Simpson's father Lewis J. Luke Simpson, and mother, Mary Jane Wattenbarger, were among the early McMinn County pioneer families. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/mcminn/newspapers/grannysn15nw.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/tnfiles/ File size: 4.1 Kb