Stanley Stone: 90 Years of Northside History

Mr. Stanley Stone is one of the few born and raised Northsiders that we interviewed. He was born in Ripley Memorial Hospital in 1929 and grew up in the Sumner Field Housing Project. Mr. Stone remembers horse-drawn wagons delivering milk, and hunting and fishing in the farmland that is now Brooklyn Park and Golden Valley. Serving in the military, Mr. Stone helped raise awareness about the conditions for Black soldiers in segregated units. Having lived in Homewood for almost 40 years, Mr. Stone's home is a true monument to his contributions to the community. He showed us pictures and prototypes of the model airplanes he taught children in the community how to fly after retiring from Honeywell in 1990. He played music with Bobby Lyles and hunted with a group of Black hunters. We talked about the stone pedestals used to mark that Blacks weren't allowed in the neighborhood and about the impact of the tornado on the community. Mr. Stone is truly a jewel of Homewood. Listen to his interview below.