Clarence Snyder was the founder and promoter of the Racine Heel Protector Company, of which he is secretary-treasurer. Mr. Snyder is a native of New York, his birth having occurred in Gorham, Ontario County, on the 12th of March, 1853. After completing his education in the Canandaigua Academy of that state he removed to the middle west in 1873, when a young man of twenty years, and has since been identified with Racine and her interests. Following his arrival here he learned the printers’ trade and for two winters he was a teacher in the district schools of Racine and Kenosha counties. In 1875 he became local editor of the Union, published at Kenosha, so continuing until the death of its owner, Hon. I. W. Webster. He spent three months in reading law in the office of J. V. and C. Quarles and then returned to Racine, at which time he became a law student in the office of Fuller & Winslow, being admitted to the bar the following year-1877. Soon afterward he was elected to the office of justice of the peace and by re-election was continued in that position for several terms, during which period his decisions were strictly fair and impartial. He was again called to public office in 1886, when he received the appointment of postmaster of Racine under President Cleveland and thus served for four years. In 1890 he became the editor and publisher of the Daily News of Ashland, Wisconsin, and took up his abode in that city. The following year he received appointment to the board of control of state charitable and penal institutions and for two years was president of that board, of which he continued to be a member until 1897.
In 1898 Mr. Snyder returned to Racine, where he has since made his home. and in 1899 he became local agent of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, so continuing until 1907, when he organized the Racine Heel Protector Company for the manufacture of a knit product, chemically treated to be attached inside of the shoe, at the heel, to prevent the slipping of the shoe and wear of the hosiery. Mr. Snyder purchased the patent, which he turned over to the company, of which F. K. Bull is the president. The product is sold largely to jobbers and is fast becoming generally distributed, for wherever used its value and efficiency are at once proven. It conduces to comfort by making all shoes to which it is attached easier to wear, absolutely prevents blistered heels and produces a notable saving in hosiery, being altogether one of the most important footwear inventions of the age.
