W. Cordes Snyder, Jr.*

Cordes Snyder, born in 1902, trapped and sold pelts near his family's mountain home in Snow Shoe, Pennsylvania, and worked in the coal mines with his father during his summer vacations. Snyder used the money he earned in the mines to help pay for his tuition at Lehigh University, where he studied engineering and graduated in 1926.

After jobs at several foundries, Snyder worked his way up through the ranks, spending evenings learning about the design of heavy rolling-mill equipment. He eventually became the president and chairman of the board of Blaw-Knox Company, which was famous for designing and manufacturing rolling mills and rolling-mill equipment.