A large group consisting of family members, former neighbors, former students, former colleagues and some who only knew her by the stories that still survive forty-one years after her retirement, met and reminisced with Mildred Snyder on her one hundredth birthday on Sunday, August 5 at the West Side Manor Adult Care Residence.

"Miss Snyder," as she was known to thousands of students, began teaching in Spencerport in 1922 in the school then located in the wooden building on the corner of Church Street and West Avenue in the village. During her 38 years in the district, Snyder taught first grade, third grade and then junior high school math.

According to Mary Ingersoll, a retired Spencerport teacher and a former student of Snyder, she was loved and respected because she was "fair, firm and full of fun." Ingersoll remembered she always had a treat for her classes on special days like Valentine's Day and Halloween. "She knew junior high school students were in that age between childhood and young adulthood and they still enjoyed the parties of grade school."

The Spencerport Retirees Association planned the party with the help and cooperation of Snyder's family and the West Side Manor. Cake and punch were preceded by words about her childhood, career and retirement.

Snyder chuckled as she recalled an incident where she had taken a squirt gun away from a young man. She had put the gun in her desk and told the boy he could pick it up after school but he failed to do so probably dreading the lecture that would accompany its return. One day when Snyder was relaxing with her class, she pulled out the gun and surprised the young culprit with a well-aimed blast of water. With that she got a full apology and a promise, "I'll never do that again, Miss Snyder."

Miss Snyder received many honors at the party. SUNY Brockport, represented by Sue Parino, Director of Alumni Affairs, presented her with a picture of the old, vine-covered Brockport Norman School as it looked when Snyder graduated in 1922. She also had a card from Brockport's President Paul Yu. Phillip Langdon, superintendent of Spencerport Schools, along with Board of Education members Laura McFarland and David Dorofy, presented her with a framed certificate honoring her 38 years of service to the district. Peter Randazzo, retired teacher and former president of the Spencerport Teachers' Association, presented her with a letter and pin from Leslie Stein, president of the STA, a certificate from the Spencerport Retirees Association naming Snyder a charter member of that group, and a congratulatory letter from Tom Hobart, the president of the New York United Teachers. She also received letters from Congressman John LaFalce and State Senator George Maziarz. The Spencerport Retirees sponsored the party and made a donation to the Mildred Snyder Scholarship Fund.

Miss Snyder pointed with pride to the large wicker basket which held the cards and letters of well-wishers from both near and far. Two large envelopes contained hand-made birthday cards from children in Henrietta and the Taylor School in Spencerport. According to family members, she received over 300 cards.