A father is someone you look up to no matter how tall you grow. Don Snyder sits under the saying on his wall at The SUMMIT as we ask him to share his secret to being almost 98 years very young. It turns out there are none beyond “I took care of myself.”
Born in Fisher on a farm, Don grew up with a younger and older sister and a good many chores to keep him busy. “I never really got to be a kid. There were always LOTS of chores. I was busy with cattle, pigs, sheep, and turkeys. What didn’t we have to do? My dad took me out at seven years old and started me milking. That makes for some strong wrists. He needed lots of help as he lost his hand in a corn shredder after World War I where he served as a Mechanic in the Army Airforce. My mom died quite young so there was lots of work to be done. I farmed for 4 years before my dad sold the home place and I moved on into construction work.”
“I did various jobs to make a living. They ranged from building granaries when I worked for a contractor, then landscaping when construction work would get slow. I worked for Jennie-O loading 50 pound crates of turkeys into boxcars, those were long days. I bought my own truck and trailer and pulled piggyback for 9 years. I was happy to get my job with the city. I enjoyed every day of it. For the first 12 years I was on the wastewater end of it as a foreman, and then the Public Works Street Superintendent for 8 years before I retired.”
Don met his wife Gladys when she was working as a waitress in a restaurant in Red Lake Falls. They married and went on to have 2 children, Duane and Bev. “We enjoyed many wonderful years together, she passed about 5 years ago, we were already living here at The SUMMIT at the time, I sure miss her”.
Don is being honored by the Crookston Eagles this spring for his years of dedication and service to fellow mankind. For a man that helped make 24 dozen chocolate cookies for the mission (“I can cook a bit too” he adds with a twinkle in his eye) it seems very fitting he is being celebrated for his impact on our community. “People helping people, that’s what I like to do, it is gratifying”.
The SUMMIT Senior Apartments with Assisted Living Services treasures the life experiences of its tenants. To learn more: www.benedictineliving.org/crookston-mn/
