My Mother Carrie: Born 100 Years Ago Today

My mother, Carrie Mae Snyder Disher, was born in her parents’ farmhouse in Millers Creek, N.C., on March 7, 1926. Her parents were Wiley Thomas “Tom” Snyder (1892 – 1988) and Nora Bessie McNeil Snyder (1900 – 1992). What were the circumstances of her birth and early childhood?

 Tom and Nora grew up in Wilkes County but moved to Winston-Salem hoping for a better quality of life. In Winston, their house had electricity and indoor plumbing. Carrie’s three older brothers were born there between 1920 and 1925. Two of these boys died as infants; only Jimmy survived.  In 1925, after a few tough years in Winston-Salem, Tom and Nora decided to return home. They bought a farm on Pleasant Home Church Road in Millers Creek, where Carrie was born in 1926. This move was a wise decision. The family thrived with Jimmy, Carrie and three more children (Mozelle, Ralph, and Bette).  

Homeplace of Tom and Nora Snyder on Pleasant Home Church Road, Millers Creek, Wilkes County, NC. 
Photo November 1963, probably taken by Carrie.

 

Wilkes County is in northwest North Carolina.
Winston-Salem is in Forsyth County, two counties east of Wilkes.
Map from FamilySearch Wiki, 2020.

The family was cash poor but they ate a variety of fresh food and were surrounded by a strong sense of community. On their 86-acre farm, their cash crops were wheat and corn. For the family, they grew fruits and vegetables and kept chickens, pigs, and a cow. Carrie’s father had beehives and went hunting and fishing. The kids walked to school. Pleasant Home Baptist Church was a short walk up the road. Carrie’s father taught Sunday school there for 40 years. Carrie lived near all four of her grandparents and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

The farmhouse had no electricity (until 1936) and no indoor plumbing (until 1950). They had a well on the porch and cooked on a wood stove. During the Depression, they wore clothes homemade from flour sack material. The children were embarrassed because their cousins had store-bought clothes.

 

Carrie on her mom's lap in 1928. The child on the left is probably Jimmy. 
The girl on the porch is likely a cousin or neighbor. Photo probably taken by Tom Snyder.

Carrie’s youngest sister Bette wrote:

I remember sitting on our front porch at dark in warm weather and my daddy telling us of the Bible.  He made it so interesting.  He studied the Bible a lot and had memorized a large number of chapters, verses, etc.  It was a pretty sight there on the porch to watch the car lights as they came over the mountain, and a wonderful spot to watch sunsets.  Rendezvous Mountain View was right in front on our front porch.  I didn’t fully appreciate this till I left home and realized we had a million dollar view.

“Million-dollar view” from the front porch. Photo probably taken by Carrie, November 1963.

In the “million-dollar view” photo above, one of the peaks is Rendezvous Mountain. It is a state park honoring the gathering point for the men who marched to Kings Mountain in 1780 where they won a battle against the British in the Revolutionary War. When you see rain over the mountain, you have about 10 minutes to get the washing off the line and bring it in.

Sources:

A.      Tom’s letter to Nora, 30 May 1918: he had “a mighty grand house” with a “fine location, city water, and electric lights.” Privately held by the author.

B.      County of Wilkes, State of North Carolina,  Certified Copy of Birth Certificate, Registration District No. 97-8117, Certificate No. 17, Carrie Mae Snyder, born 7 Mar 1926; photocopy of certified certificate.

C.      Wilkes County, NC, deeds 1925-1927, 141: 63, A.A. Bumgarner and wife to W.T. Snyder and wife, 28 Apr 1925; microfilm C.104.40070.

D.  "Rain Over the Mountain," Bette S. McClure, Wilkes County Memories, compiled and edited by Bob Lasley and Sallie Holt. Hickory, NC: Hometown Memories Publishing Company, 2007.