Presentation on Apollo beloved teacher Miss Amy Snyder set for Aug. 1

Residents can learn about the character of one of the most popular teachers in Apollo’s history, the late Miss Amy Snyder, in a special presentation by the Apollo Area Historical Society on Aug. 1.

The event is free to the public.

Snyder, who began teaching at the Apollo Elementary School in 1920, was known for her love of children and long tenure helping them. She was a first- and second-grade teacher for 43 years, then a librarian at the Apollo Memorial Library until the age of 70, said Wendy Minik, a member of the historical society who will present the history of the popular teacher.

“She was loved so much because she was accepting of any little person standing in front of her,” said Minik, who was one of Snyder’s pupils.

“I loved her and I was a poor little child,” Minik said. “She was my mentor and my friend and she inspired me for a lifetime.”

A small woman, Snyder had a youthfulness that sometimes caused confusion among some students who thought she was another student.

Snyder was a distinctive dresser who wore a red coat trimmed in mink to church and at school, she was outfitted in two-piece ensembles that always included a feminine cropped jacket with three-quarter length sleeves, Minik said.

“She was a dignitary with a smile on her face always,” she said.

Snyder was protective of children. “They were special to her and they knew it, and those children thrived, including me especially,” Minik said.

One of Snyder’s finer moments was when she extended her teaching tenure by several years so she could teach a child with cerebral palsy.

“Her teaching skills permitted him to grow with the rest of the class and consequently that student passed the second-grade glass with all of his peers,” Minik said.

“She was before her time with the inclusion of a special needs child,” she added.

Snyder saw the good in everybody, Minik said.

Snyder didn’t punish children but instead used positive reinforcement for behavior change. For example, Snyder would draw a spider web on the chalkboard and write the names of students who needed to be reminded to be quiet, Minik. If a child’s name appeared too many times, they would have to forfeit their recess.

“Students never found out how many times it took to be listed in the spider web to lose recess because she never enforced it,” Minik said.

Snyder’s legacy not only lives on in almost 1,300 children she taught but in preserving a piece of Apollo’s architecture.

She lived in a classic Victorian home owned by her family at 707 Terrace Ave., known locally as Millionaire’s Avenue. The home has retained its historical architecture and is still a showpiece.

Attending the historical society’s program on Snyder will be Ronald D. Ebbert, another former student, who produced a 330-plus handwritten book on Snyder more than 30 years ago.