Vada Snodgrass had a wonderful life as a child in south Iola, better than I realized at the time, as the Great Depression gave way to World War II and beyond.
In those days Iola had many small neighbor groceries, about 50. They usually were in houses with owners occupying adjacent rooms.
Leslie and Lillie Snodgrass ran such a store at 416 S. Second.
Soon after World War II started, the Snodgrasses headed for Wichita to join the war effort: dad at Boeing, mom at Beech, brother Dale at Cessna.
Dad said we all had to work, including Vada, 11, and Max, two years older. She found a job at a daycare, relieving mothers so they could build warplanes.
A third brother, L.R., was in the Army Air Corps, assigned to an air base in North Africa, fortuitously after Rommels defeat at El Alamein sent Nazi forces scurrying back to Europe.
When the war ended, the Snodgrass grocery resumed business.
Vadas everyday jobs were sacking potatoes and candling eggs. I didnt like pulling those dirty old potatoes from a gunny sack and resacking them for sale, but found candling, using a strong light to make sure eggs were free of an embryo, a fun task.
At days end, Vada sorted through pennies. She came close to filling a 1909 to 1940 Lincoln cent book. I found several 1909 VDBs, but not a single 1909-S, with initials of the pennys designer, Victor David Brenner, on the back. Its a rarity.
WHEN HER adults years dawned, Humboldt won Vadas heart, through marriage and a huge helping of infectious civic pride.
Vada is largely credited with being behind the Neosho River Park, which, she points out, really started in the 1950s. A coterie of men fond of fishing on the west side of the river cleared brush and upgraded a drive.
Soon after being elected to the city council in 2003, Vada noticed getting down a steep bank to the dam, where fishing was at its best, was a challenge. Soon a committee, with her aboard, had a stairway built and a few years later the park became what it is today, with amphitheater, walking trail and a bounty of colorful flowers.
She and Doris Fugitt have cared for the pretties, but age has had its way and next year they will hand their weed-grubbers and water pails to master gardeners Kim Bartlett, Glenna Wulf and Alisha Mueller.
IVE BEEN blessed, by circumstances and a large family that dotes on its matriarch.
