Longtime county fair enthusiast

My name is Lois Snyder. My husband and I, we were lifelong supporters of the fair. I started entering projects in the fair when I was 9 years old. My mother, Frances Blackburn, was the 4-H leader, and 4-H was a big part of our lives. But you can't join 4-H until you're 10, so she helped me sew a doll wardrobe. I entered it and got my first blue ribbon. From then on, I've never missed a year entering things at the fair. I love the fair, and always go every night to visit.

I was a secretary for Dr. Carl Scott at Central Baptist Church for 22 years. My husband, Wiley Snyder, and I opened a dry cleaning and laundry business 32 years ago. When I quit working at the church, I went to the cleaners for several years. From there I retired and all I do is payroll now for the cleaners. My daughter runs it for me.

I still attend Central Baptist. It's a big part of my life; it's the most important part of my life, my relationship with Jesus. I'm very proud of that fact. I have two daughters, Cindy and Susan, who are both successful in the business world. I have four grandchildren. Two of them are railroaders, one here and one in Minnesota. One of my granddaughters graduated from Eastern New Mexico University and she is a plant manager at Hampton Farms. Another grandson lives in Florida and lays artificial turf. I have six great-grandchidren in all.

How did you meet your spouse?

Dragging Main in the '50s. I didn't have a car, but sometimes my dad would let me bring the car to town. But he'd check the mileage first and give me a limit, and we already lived 5 miles out.

Tell us about a time you cried.

When my husband died seven years ago. If he'd have lived 10 more days, we would have been married 55 years.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I never knew that I would ever be anything else but a homemaker. My secretarial abilities, I guess were good. I took shorthand in high school and I was good at it, and I had a job when I was a senior in high school. I did shorthand for the minutes for the county meetings. I learned how to type on an old typewriter, and I've learned the computer since then. But my main thing was to be a homemaker. I learned to can, sew, garden, paint, everything when I was growing up. I lived on the arm. We had animals. I learned how to milk cows, get eggs from the chickens and sometimes get a snake out of there.

What is an accomplishment you're proud of?

First off, that I'm a Christian, and second that God gave me the ability for typing and sewing and things like that. Also, my children and my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren.

How would you like to be remembered?

As a good mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, as a loving person and a kind and considerate listener. When my husband died, I found out how important it was to listen. I joined the grief share group at our church, and it's something people can't do. They want to say what they've experienced instead of listen.

What would you like for your last meal?

Probably Mexican food. But what I'd really like is my mother's roast with potatoes and carrots and homemade ice cream that we'd have every Sunday after church.

What is your favorite fair project?

I think my favorite projects right now are painting and scrapbooking. I have a scrapbook on every grandchild and great-grandchild, and of course my daughters. They get them when they graduate from high school. They're thick. I hope I live long enough to make sure each one gets the scrapbook.

- Compiled by Editor Kevin Wilson