Class Of - Shawn Snider

12 Class of ‘58
'
Nelson Driver
Eleanor (Eby) Mumaw
for a two-year term graduating in the spring of
1963. By the fall of 1963, the Selective Service
caught up with me, and I contacted MCC and
was accepted into the PAX program. I left home
in February 1964 expecting to go to Algeria.
However, during orientation, MCC changed
my assignment to Basel, Switzerland, to help
with printing in a publishing house run by the
Swiss Mennonites. This was the beginning of
a lesson that I was to learn eventually. To be
a truly useful volunteer to an organization like
MCC, one needs to be flexible and willing to
make changes when necessary; it took me a
while to learn that. After 8 months, I was sent
to Wissembourg, France, to do construction
and maintenance work at a home for retarded
children run by the French Mennonites. I
was at this location for the rest of the two
years except for one month in Kaiserslautern,
Germany, (another change). Looking back, I
am very glad for the varied experiences and the
many people I got to know. In the process, I
Erma Horst is queen of the fountain! Carolyn Gerber is not
very impressed.
picked up German and French to add to the Spanish I took in college.
In February of 1966, I returned home to the results of a large snowstorm and went to work for Dad again
hauling oil. He was anxious for more help! For the next 20 years or so, I gradually assumed more and more
responsibility and Dad began making plans to retire. When his health began to fail, we contracted a buy-sell
agreement. He died in 1991, and I assumed full ownership of the business. I am still working and people
are starting to ask me when I plan to retire. As of this writing, I have no firm plans.
In 2004, our church, Springdale Mennonite, began to discuss the idea of establishing a sister church
relationship with another Mennonite church somewhere. Very soon, we were put in contact with a church
in Metapan, El Salvador, and plans were made to exchange visits. In May of 2005, I was privileged to be one
of three to make the first visit to them, and I spent a totally delightful week among some of the nicest people
you could ever hope to know. However, there was only one little problem. My Spanish wasn’t nearly as
good as I thought it was, and I am working to improve it. Since then, there have been subsequent visits and
communications, and I hope to stay involved. Also, I hope to attend the Mennonite World Conference in
Paraguay next year.
As to spare time, hobbies, and etc., I have numerous interests. Music is a big one; I have almost always
been in some sort of singing group. I love travel (when I can afford it) and am interested in foreign
languages. However, my biggest passion is antique cars. By now, I have several which I enjoy taking to shows
and driving on antique car tours in various parts of the country.
I look forward to hearing from the rest of you and wish you all the best.
Sincerely,
—Nelson Driver
Hello classmates!
Since high school graduation, I have worked as a secretary in various offices taking time off to be with my
daughters until they started school. I retired in December 2006 after working as a receptionist for 20 years at
Oak Lea Nursing Home on the campus of Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community. Since then, I have
been volunteering at A World of Good Thrift Store cleaning and pricing house wares which I thoroughly enjoy.
David and I have spent five winters in Arizona—two in Tucson and the last three in Glendale. Two of
those winters, we were involved in the SOOP (Service Opportunities for Older People) program. We helped at
food banks, a thrift store and at Glencroft Retirement Community. We have plans to go to Glendale again in
January 2009 for two months and volunteer at Glencroft.
David and I toured Europe from July 6-21, 2008. One highlight for me was visiting my pen pal, Iris. She
and her daughter came to our hotel in London the day we arrived and we had a very nice five-hour visit.
Fifty-five years ago, Iris received a “Christmas Bundle” from me, and she wrote a “thank-you” letter using the