Born on Dec. 14, 1922 at her grandmother’s house in Dermott, Snyder resident M.J. Merritt comes from humble roots. Her parents lived at the base of Flat Top Mountain, northeast of Fluvanna, where her father leased land to herd cattle.
“We lived there until I was seven years old,” Merritt said. “At that time, you could start school when you turned seven, but my birthday was in December, so I was nearly eight years old before I started school.”
Upon high school graduation, Merritt worked several jobs before marrying her husband D.V. Merritt in 1946. The young couple went to Austin, planning to attend college, but were soon rerouted to Lubbock.
“Mr. Davis was an agent for Johnson Motor Line,” Merritt said. “Mr. Davis knew me and knew that I was a good bookkeeper, so he asked me to move to Lubbock and work for him. I started out as a file clerk, and they kept promoting me up, up, up, up, until I learned everything there was to learn about motor transportation.”
During that time, Davis suggested that Merritt’s husband attend school in Lubbock while she worked.
“When Santa Fe bought out Johnson Motor Lines, Mr. Davis got word they were needing an agent in Snyder, and D.V. wanted the job,” Merritt said. “Mr. Davis said he would give D.V. the job in Snyder if I stayed and trained a girl to do my job. I had to stay there for three months before she was trained.”
The couple then moved to Snyder where Merritt’s husband worked for Santa Fe Railway.
“He worked there for years until Santa Fe moved him to Lubbock,” Merritt said. “Santa Fe wanted him to work in Lubbock, and he didn’t want to move from Snyder, so he commuted for 17 years.”
According to Merritt, one of the perks of working for the railroad was free train rides.
“We could get all the free rides we wanted, but we never used them,” Merritt said. “We caught the train in Snyder one time and went to Temple, but that was it.”
While the Merritts did not use their train rides to travel, they enjoyed watching others who traveled by train through Snyder.
“One time, Barnum and Bailey Circus came by way of Santa Fe to Snyder,” Merritt said. “My husband called me and said, ‘You and the girls get in the car and come down here.’ We got there, and they were unloading the animals. They set up a tent and had elephants and giraffes and paraded them through Snyder. It was fun to see.”
While the Santa Fe Depot saw many passersby during its 57 years of operation, the 106-year-old building was torn down in November.
Like the depot, Merritt said she has seen many buildings come and go in Snyder since first moving here.
“I remember my first trip in the bank building (Brownfield) on the square that was torn down,” Merritt said. “I walked in with my daddy, and I remember thinking, ‘What a big building.’ I was probably about four or five years old. It was a beautiful building, and it’s a shame that now it’s gone. It’s a shame that a lot of the buildings are gone.”
Another of those buildings is a house that disappeared in 1939.
“Snyder flooded in 1939,” Merritt said. “The flood was so bad that it washed a house away down the creek. It was near where Butcher’s Block is now. That was something unusual for Snyder. Snyder was flooded with water. It was really deep and got into everything.”
Through circuses and floods, Merritt has enjoyed being a part of the Snyder community, teaching half-day kindergarten, serving in her church and on many community boards and contributing insurance columns to the newspaper.
“I love Snyder and everything about it,” she said. “I love the people, and I love the community.”
With all of these experiences in her 95 years of life, Merritt said she has lived and learned and openly shares her lessons with others.
Some of those lessons include respecting one another, throwing out smart phones and reading a good book. However, Merritt has one lesson she cherishes most of all.
“Never make a decision without taking it to the Lord and asking His help,” she said. “The Lord never makes a mistake, and He always wants to hear what you have to say.”