814-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 18, 1999
At 100 years of age, Mary Forney and her daughter Alleg
ra Sanner talk about the birthday party on the farm.
—.Centenarian—
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
NEFFSVILLE (Lancaster Co.)
Mary Forney celebrated her
100th birthday on her childhood
farm recently.
It was a day to reminisce about
growing up on Willow Spring
Farm in Clay Township.
One hundred years is a lot of
memories to recall, but Mary
remembers them as if they hap
pened yesterday.
”My father was an award
winning orchard man,” Mary said.
In fact, Christian B. Snyder
received the Master Farmer Award
in 1928 for “his seed selection
work that has done more than any
one else to (lx the type and discase
resistant qualities of Lancaster
County Surc-Crop com, his pro
duction of disease-free berry
plants, and control of the oriental
peach moth He was also the first in
(lie area to test both dairy and beef
cattle for tuberculosis.”
Snyder was also treasurer of the
Pennsylvania Horticultural Asso
ciation and an officer for the exten
sion association.
Some of Mary's fondest memo
ries are of childhood days filled
with swinging on a long rope from
a branch of the willow tree, finding
pretty stones in the brook running
through the front yard, rolling
down the hills in lire yard, seeing
watermelons and jugs of milk chill
ing in the ice cold trough in the
springhouse, and riding to Sunday
school in the horse and buggy.
There was no bathroom in the
house, but Mary recalled that the
outhouse had two holes, one regu
lar size and one smaller, with a step
for tiie children. A Sears Roebuck
catalogue provided both entertain
ment and cleansing.
"We spent a lot of time there
when it was dishwashing lime in
the kitchen,” Mary said.
After graduation from Eli
zabethtown College, Mary taught
school until she was 30 years old
and married a widower in 1931.
Her husband-to-be drove a car
named "Moon,” said Mary. “So I
told people I was marrying the man
on die moon.”
Roy Forney had somewhat of an
unusual life. Married at 19, his first
wife was lire only child of a wealth
y family. Her father gave a farm to
them as a gift, but when she died a
year later from childbirth, her
father took the farm back. Fomey
had a newborn baby to raise. He
remarried only to lose his second
wife when she died from complica
lions when giving birth to their sec
ond child.
Forney relumed to Elizabeth
town College to cam a degree to
leach math. It was at college dial
Forney and Mary became
acquainted.
Forney served as a lay pastor
(without pay) and Maty often
served as chorister in the meetings
where he preached.
When Mary married Forney, he
had three children from two diffe
rent mothers.
“Bull was never a stepmother,”
Mary said. “My husband wouldn’t
allow that. They were our
children.”
The children were ages 10, 5,
and l‘h . Later, Mary and her hus
band had two additional children.
The oldest is deceased but die odier
four include Arlene Stauffer, Con
estoga; Allegra Sanncr, Dowing
lown; Leßoy Fomey, Philadelphi
an, and Miriam Hassan, South Bend,
Ind.
“My mother was always formal
and proper and taught us to be well
behaved,” said Allegra, the third
child. "She was always kind and
gentle. I never saw her lose her
temper.”
After their marriage, Fomey
became a full-time pastor for the
Church of the Brethren in Somerset
County. Mary assisted him by
serving as choir director, teaching
adult Sunday school classes, and
typing church bulletins and other
secretarial duties. She used her
ardsdc talents to paint pictures that
illustrated some of her husband’s
sermons.
The walls of her apartment at the
Brethren Village, Lidtz, serve as
the background for many of her oil
paindngs.
Her husband died in 1973 from
complicadons suffered from fall
ing down the steps.
At that time, die couple was
semi-redrcd with Fomey serving
as pastor of visitation for the Eli
zabethtown Church of the
Brethren.
About 23 years ago, Mary
moved to Bretiiren Village, For the
first 17 years she shared a cottage
with a friend.
“We bought a place in Florida
where we visited every winter. We
went on a cruise and did other
interesting tilings,” Mary said.
Mary also served as president ol
the Society of Farm Women in
botli Lancaster and Somerset coun
ties and as treasurer of the state
society.
On barn-building day, a meal was served to all the men before the women sat down
to eat. Mary is fourth from the right.
Butchering day was an exciting time as Mary remembers it. From left are C.B. Snyd
er, Aunt Amanda Landis, Mary (Forney), Uncle Amos Landis, two butchers, and Aunt
Sarah Wiest.
Although she no longer paints,
Mary used her artistic abilities to
make 125 bookmarks for each of
the guests who attended her party
on Aug 7. She used the dots from a
hole punch and a few defined
strokes of a pen to bring a cheety
existence to bugs, birds, flowers,
caterpillars, and butterflies.
When family members wanted
to play her lOOtli birthday party,
Mary at first protested. But then
she said, “I don’t want a fuss, but I
would like a family reunion.”
Thus the surviving children
planned the Snyder-Fomey Reun
ion with relatives coming from as
far away as California and China.
At the reunion, Mary requested
that “The Lord’s Prayer” be sung
before the noon meal.
"We have loads of musicians in
our family,” Allcgra said, “and the
singing was beautiful.”
Pictures and posters depicting
100 years of Allegra’s life were on
display. A distant relative who
lives on the family farm opened it
up for tours. The house has been
beautifully restored and is furn
ished with many cherished family
heirlooms.
“A reunion is more than people
related to each oilier. It’s people
joined by shared memories and
hopes, drawn together by mutual
caring and concerns. A family is
special.”
Mary’s sister Ida Snyder is alive
at 102 years of age, but was unable
to attend because she lives in
California.
Although 100 years old, Mary
still likes to have fun, but said that
all.her old friends have died. Four
years ago, Mary carried the
Olympic torch when it came to the
Lititz area.
A former tennis player. Maty
has turned in her racquet to play
Scrabble and Rummy Cube.
“She never complains,” her
daughter said. “She gets up at 6:30
every morning.”
Mary interspersed, “That’s
because I want to hear the in-house
T.V. fa program that includes
Skunks In Your Yard?
YORK (York Co.) This time
of the year, skunks frequent yards
searching for white grubs (the lar
vae of Japanese beetles and June
bugs). Many people want to know
how to keep skunks away. Penn
State master gardeners respond
devotions and news).”
“She always dresses as soon as
she gets up,” Allegra said.
“Don’t you?” Maty asked. “I
always did."
At 9 a.m., Maty participates in
an exercise class.
“I keep busy. I stop by the store
and bank,” Maty said.
“I just stopped driving a car last
year.”
She also had kept a garden on the
retirement home’s property.
“I kept my gardening tools in my
car trunk. When I gave up driving, I
had no place to keep my (garden)
tools, so I gave up gardening too,”
Mary said. “But I miss those won
derful strawberries and rhubarb
that I grew in my garden.”
Of her 100 years of living. Maty
said, “I can’t think of any years that
were better than others. I enjoyed
them all.”
that the digging skunks do in the
top inch of soil causes little dam
age. They will work at night and
move on to winter hibernation
when grubs are gone, so consider
letting them help you with pest
control.