Len Snedeker

*"Hey, mister, I can't perform miracles!" - Len Snedeker*

**Leonard "Len" Snedeker** is a lifetime native of Ashford Falls and a local mechanic in the area. He is also a direct ancestor of Nicholas Adams, a prominent first citizen of Ashford Falls.

Born in 1960, Len is the daughter of William and Christine Snedeker and has three older sisters. His father, a local mechanic, passed away when he was five years old and his mother moved the family to live with her sister in a house outside of town. Len ended up living in the attic of his aunt's house with three sisters and two female cousins using his room to store their clothes. His only male relative was Clarence Snedeker, his father's brother, who worked as a contractor in nearby Lake George. Although he lived an hour away, Clarence rarely visited his brother's family and Len grew up in a female-dominated household.

Len went on to attend Ashford Falls High School with Blake Hedison, Danny Featherstone, Russell Coleman and Benjamin Waverly as his friends. Although he had a secret infatuation with local heiress, Rachel Hedison, Blake's sister, he was emotionally unable to show his feelings toward her and instead formed a bizarre relationship with a mannequin from his aunt's dress shop made up to look like Rachel. This seems to have been the circumstances that lead to him experimenting with transvestitism, a lifestyle he kept secret during high school but became public several years later.

After high school, Len worked with Russell at Coleman's Repair Shop in the old garage across the street from the old Ashford Falls Courthouse. They kept the shop going after Jack retired, but in 1985, the structure was in bad need of repairs and had to be demolished. Len and Jack rebuilt a new garage out on Haverstraw Road, helped financially by Blake, but Len took over entirely when Russell's car design business took off on it's own.

In 1988, during the Second Bicentennial Founders Day Ceremony, the town council decided to honor the town's earliest founder by locating his modern day descendants. In researching the town's convoluted origins, Rachel Hedison attempted to further her standing in the community by producing fake records to place her ancestor, Gabriel Hedison, as the town founder. Unfortunately, the ploy failed and Len along with the families of Helen Caldwell and Janet Dubois were identified as descendants of Nicholas Adams, who once owned a shop in Ashford Falls. Len used the opportunity to come out in public wearing a dress, embarrassing Mayor Carl Griggs and becoming a minor local celebrity. Blake started avoiding Len as a result, but Russell and Len stayed friends. While Len was out in public in women's clothes, Russell and Danny set Len up to meet Dr. Paul Kirkwood, who was a recurring paramour of Rachel's. During his current break-up with Rachel, Paul started seeing Len thinking he was a woman. When the truth came out, Paul tried to start dating Helen Caldwell again. Although Len was briefly dismayed by the misconception, he started believing he was better off as a woman.

In the Fall of 1991, Len was the mechanic that repaired the car of Jack Gable, a television writer stranded in town and confused as tycoon Jack Gates. Under means that have yet to be explained, Len was able to repair Gable's crushed front end overnight. He also re-encountered Paul again after he and Rachel drove off the road at the Ashford Falls Scenic Lookout. The incident seemed to allow Paul and Len to come to terms about their relationship, and Len consulted with Paul with getting a sex change. Although their friendship remained platonic, Len eventually decided he was in love with Paul and briefly tried to intrude in his renewed relationship with Helen Caldwell.

In 1995, Len applied for a job teaching car repair at Ashford Falls High School, but he was turned down by Douglas Greer, the current principal. Feeling unjustly prejudiced, Len hired lawyer Sabrina Collins to handle his court case. Collins in turn used the case as part of her podium to run for mayor against Carl Griggs, the incumbent. The publicity eventually forced Greer to back down and give Len the job with extreme apprehension, but Len soon left the job to Russell after he found the high school students too vicious for his lifestyle.