This video titled, “Walstein (Wallie) Snyder lecture in Johnston Hall,” occurred in 2007. Snyder spoke about meeting Nellie Gray Mann Snyder in the Belk retail store. Snyder had a photo of his wife (Nellie) and him on the podium, as he spoke. He said, we are a couple – never used the word, “I.” Snyder honored his wife with many stories. Snyder stated how wonderful it felt to be back in Johnston Hall, which was his professional home for 30 years, and how grateful he was to ELON. In 1960, Snyder returned to Elon, North Carolina to become the chief executive officer of Elon Homes for Children. He spoke of all the decaying of the Elon Homes for Children buildings and how over the years, they improved the facilities with fundraising campaigns. Snyder was concerned about the Elon Home’s children wearing the same cloths as other children (Snyder began to cry) in the community. Spoke of the Elon Hones for Children‘s debt from Snyder’s finances. Snyder arrived with $60 thousand dollars, and within three years Snyder was in debt about $17 thousand dollars. Snyder discussed the programs that he developed: foster care, daycare, group-care, and Boystown in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Duke Endowment assisted in the survival of Boystown (1986) in Charlotte, North Carolina. When Snyder arrived at Elon Homes for Children, he had 10 staffers who cared for over 100 children. “When I retired, there were over 250 employees at the Elon Homes for Children, Elon, North Carolina. We even had a foster home in eastern Virginia, a mental health home in Burlington, North Carolina, and a daycare program.” Snyder stated, “We were able to do this because they were able to utilize the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Social Work Program.” Said Snyder, “I love Elon College/University.” Snyder spoke of his personal family. Snyder stated, “Life changes and you have to accept the changes, and move on.” Elon Homes for Children celebrated its 100th anniversary. A historical marker will be unveiled stating, “On this spot, Elon Homes was founded as the Christian Orphanage.” At the 1892 Southern Convention, Reverend W.W. Staley, who was then President of the Southern Christian Convention, pushed for the opening of a Christian Orphanage located at Elon College in North Carolina. This marked the beginning of this project. Mrs. J.P. Barrett, former secretary of the Children’s Missions program, had given 65 cents towards an orphanage project. It took 17 years to obtain enough money to build the first building. On January 27, 1907, Lela May Canada (from Durham, North Carolina at the age of 14 years old) became the first child in the Elon Homes for Children. When Elon Homes celebrated its 75th anniversary, Canada’s daughter (unknown name) was in Elon, North Carolina to celebrate. Then Snyder took questions from the Johnston Hall audience. There were 100 children at the Elon Home for Children originally. The children came from North Carolina counties, which included: Alamance, Mecklenburg, Gaston, Lincoln, Iredell, Cabarrus, Rowan, Guilford, Durham, Forsyth, Chatham, and Orange. Snyder received letters of congratulations from the audience. Snyder encouraged the audience to take a look at the room dedicated to him (Snyder) in Johnston Hall. A side Note: Ownership of the 20-acre property, which included five buildings, will change hands at the end of August 2012 to Elon University. The university had already integrated the original portion of the Elon Homes property that it purchased in 2003 into a vibrant area known as South Campus. A large part of the property was developed into Phoenix Club Sorts Fields, including playing fields for soccer, football, rugby, lacrosse, and baseball, and a practice field for the Fire of the Carolinas marching band. The Worsley Golf Training Center and Driving Range was developed on the property and the wooded area provided a running course for the university’s varsity cross country teams. Some names included: John Truitt and Henry Parker.