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Tribute to James R. Snyder Sr.
1923 — 2005
 Shake
Down the Thunder from the Sky
Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame, wake up the echoes cheering her
name, send a volley cheer on high, shake down the thunder from the sky
. . .
If anyone could shake down the thunder from the sky it was
J.R. Snyder. James Richard Snyder was born on December 7, 1923 to a German/Irish
father Joseph Jacob Snyder and German mother Collette Elizabeth. He had
six siblings, imagine that, all sisters. Raised by a father who was "absolutely
against sports", J.R. got his encouragement from his mother, who felt
that a boy with six sisters needed to get involved with sports. In his
early 20's, he dreamed of becoming the head football coach at the University
of Notre Dame. J.R. believed in the legendary Irish coach Knute Rockne's
philosophy of "team concept" — one loss is good for the soul and
two losses are bad for the coach!
 As
a boy growing up he attended St. Gregory's Catholic School in Detroit.
Also attending St. Gregory's were other young men who became involved
with the masonry industry, such as, the Gleesons, Costellas, and Pivettas.
At the age of 14 the family moved to Ashtabula, Ohio and then to Buffalo,
New York. At Amherst High School in New York he would excel in wrestling
and football, and in1940 was offered a scholarship to Ohio State University.
In the summer, the family returned to Detroit and J.R. finished his senior
year at St. Gregory, graduating in1941.
After graduation, he worked for Vicar building pumps. Snyder tried joining
the Navy but was denied due to a hernia. However, in 1943 he cut through
the "red tape" and joined the Navy. He was discharged from the service
in 1946. In 1947 J.R. married the beautiful Mary Catherine Muir, former
Miss University of Detroit runner-up. He was also a veteran all-star playing
semi-pro football in the Midwest. Thanksgiving 1948 would be his last
football game for the Northwest Athletic Club where he was blind-sided
and took a hit on his knee. In 1947-48 he attended Highland Park Junior
College where he studied business, labor law, drafting and business math.
 J.R.'s
masonry career began as a laborer for two years with Frank Roberts. In
1948 he worked for Clarence Gleeson as a bricklayer and joined the union.
Mary and Jim became the proud parents of their first son, Jim Jr., in
1948 and would raise a family of nine sons (James, Joseph, Jerald, Jonathan,
Jeffrey, Jay, Jack, Judd, and Justin) and two daughters (Susan and Nancy).
Then Hearth Home of Detroit offered him a job in designing and constructing
fireplaces. J.R. went into business on his own in 1949 constructing fireplaces
and barbecues. The business continued to grow into commercial, industrial
and large residential including stonework. In the early 1960's his company
had revenue of $3 million per year with approximately 200 men. In 1953
he was invited to join the Detroit Mason Contractors' Association. When
Snyder joined the DMCA there were seven mason contractor members and several
masonry suppliers. Clarence Gleeson nominated J.R. Snyder as President
and he served for six years. During his presidency Snyder increased the
DMCA membership with over 200 member companies.
In 1956, a virtually nondescript recreation softball team in Redford,
Michigan marked its debut in slo-pitch softball with a 14-6 victory —
only to proceed losing 27 consecutive games enroute to a dismal 7-35 season.
Twenty-four years and some 1,700 victories later, from that ominous beginning,
emerged the two-time USSSA World Champion Snyder Softball Club, which
hit the pinnacle of slo-pitch success and popularity throughout the United
States in the 1970s. When J.R. Snyder build'em, they stay built! The original
Snyder's Masonry team, known as the Snyder's Softball Club, became to
USSSA softball what the New York Yankees were for so many years to the
American League. When Snyder's came to town, the bet was not who will
win, but by how much. J.R. would state the key to his success; "The key,
though is that whatever you do, you've got to put something back, which
is one thing the pros don't do. My success is a result of every single
fan and hundreds of individuals along the way. If somebody helps us out,
we try to help them out later, in any way we can. We should always remember
that — you've got to give something back" J.R. Snyder was the first
manager to be inducted in the USSSA Hall of Fame in 1983.
 In
1958 Snyder got an idea from Ideal Masonry out of St. Louis, Missouri.
That idea developed into the Masonry Institute, a promotional group, which
became a branch of the Detroit Mason Contractors' Association. The goal
of the Institute was to promote and sponsor programs to familiarize architects,
owners, builders, and the general public with the advantages of using
masonry units in building construction. The following appeared on their
July 15, 1959 meeting agenda; State Fair project, ad for September issue
of Architect's magazine, letter to Building Construction Illustrated and
Advertisers, hi-lite block promotion kits, discussion of proposal for
members to meet with designers, cost index study, report on pierced grilles
story, architect's inquiries and Institute telephone service, suggestions
for masonry product news, membership promotion ideas, and mailing of SCPI
"Technical Notes" to architects. The Masonry Institute operated for nine
years and was subsidized by mason contractors and masonry suppliers before
hiring John Heslip as the executive director in 1967. In the mid 60s J.R.
began negotiations with the bricklayer's union to dedicate $.02 per hour
per bricklayer for masonry promotion. Snyder was known for his adeptness
at labor negotiations and would be dubbed Jimmy "the cat" Snyder. He would
also have a hand in the negotiations with the labor union on the brick
tender agreement relative to scaffolding and brick tender classification.
Many of the meetings for the Masonry Institute occurred at J.R.'s home
on Vaughn Street in Detroit from 1951 to 1960.
 My memories of J.R. Snyder
began with the several "breakfast meetings" we had. He absolutely wanted
the Masonry Institute of Michigan to recognize the other individuals who
had a hand in the birth of the Institute. He wanted to give credit where
credit was due. J.R. and I would also go around and around on some of
his most favorite masonry topics, the use of solid clay brick and horizontal
joint reinforcement for concrete block. He also gave me insight on the
development of the "Michigan control joint". In 1977 the first scholarship
to be awarded by the Institute was in the name J.R. Snyder. He emphasized
the importance of helping and encouraging young people to enter the industry
and to become architects and engineers. A part of J.R. Snyder's legacy
will be what he gave back to the design and construction community —
an Institute dedicated to the promotion and advancement of the masonry
industry. J.R. certainly will be remembered as a man who walked his walk
and talked his talk.
 Most
of you probably never knew James R. Snyder, it was long before your time.
But you now know what a tradition he is at the Masonry Institute of Michigan.
One thing he said to me, "Dan, sometime, when the masonry industry is
up against it, and the competition is beating them, tell them to go out
there and with all they got and win just one for J.R.! I don't where I'll
be", he said, "but I'll know about it and I'll be happy"
— Daniel S. Zechmeister
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