The Tyrone Hospital Art Gallery is now featuring the work of Flora June Snyder. Snyder’s exhibit will remain on display until, June 24. This is the first time Snyder’s artwork has been displayed in Tyrone.
Snyder is a native of Tyrone and graduate of Tyrone Area High School. She currently resides in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Her art exhibit was organized by Mr. Rolf Sparkuhle a relative who resides in Tyrone. Sparkuhle and other members of Snyder’s family wish to pay tribute to her inspiring life and diverse creative talents.
Snyder is a former employee of the Reliance Shirt Factory. She is also a graduate of the Practical Bible Training School in Binghamton, New York. She worked as housemother at Shenango Valley Home in Binghamton and later moved to Caitaraugus reservation in Western, New York as housemother at Thomas Indian School until it closed in 1954. She also worked as bookkeeper for Wallace’s V & X, a chain of 5&10 cent stores. She later worked as a bookkeeper at Whitner-Smith until her retirement in 1990.
Snyder is a multi-talented individual and the arts have been a creative outlet for her for much of her life. She is known for her musical abilities. She plays piano, organ and accordion and is a member of a church band, the Footstompers, who entertain in nursing homes around Sharon, Pa.
Late in life her creative talents branched into painting. She favors oil painting but also works with pencil, pastels, and acrylic. She was 69 years old when she took art classes at Penn State University.
“I was the oldest student in the class,” said Snyder. “One young student asked me what I was doing there.” During the past seventeen years, she has generated more than 200 paintings. Some of her paintings have won awards in various art shows and some have been purchased. A number of her paintings also grace the homes of her loving relatives.
Snyder’s artwork has been displayed at the Shenango Valley Library, the Art Guild of Sharon, and at the Mercer County Center of Aging.
The display at Tyrone Hospital includes landscapes, florals, still life, and animals. The assortment of pieces presented will give viewers the opportunity to see the way Snyder’s artwork has developed over the years.
The public is welcome to visit the hospital and view Snyder’s exhibit. The exhibit is located on the hospital’s first floor.
For more information about the Tyrone Hospital Art Gallery, contact Annette Lynn at 684-6315 or Theresa Yanchetz at 684-6348.
