Reader memories from Homewood

by

News

Our readers remember the Homewood of their youth: the neighborhoods they knew block by block, the schools and stores and streets that made belonging possible. Memory captures not just what happened but what it felt like to live through it and what it meant. As Homewood celebrates 100 years, these reader memories offer something the official record cannot: the lived experience of a community, told by the people who built it, year by year, generation by generation. Their stories are Homewood’s heartbeat.

1. Lynette Mantooth has watched Homewood from behind the counter of Mantooth Interiors since 1973. She has seen the neighborhood thrive on foot traffic, weddings, parent weekends and customers from across the state who frequent the store.

“If it snows, I’m walking to the store. That’s how I know this is the right place to be. I’ve spent more time here than anywhere else, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Every holiday is a memory — the Fourth of July fireworks with customers invited to watch, Christmas open houses, a winter wonderland feeling. In 2014, when the snow came, everyone slept here. We’re mom and pop, and we help one another. It takes a village.”

2. Dora Cothren Sarris has spent 32 years in her store that she loves, Theodora, and living in the same house where she grew up in Hollywood. She has watched Homewood grow, yet the community bonds she treasures remain.

“We walked downtown for homecoming dresses, to the hobby shop, to the shoe stores. Before the malls came, everybody shopped here. Dino’s hotdogs, Outtakes restaurant — those were our gathering places.”

“What I know about Homewood is community. I’ve watched three generations come through the store at 13, and I’m now watching their children go to college and have kids of their own.”

3. Dennis Bush grew up in Rosedale. He works as the gym supervisor at the Lee Community Center, and the way he got that job makes him smile every time.

“I was 14 and playing basketball when the director at the time, Norman Dill, put the whistle around my neck and asked if I could watch the gym for an hour. I did, and I have done it since that day, and I absolutely love it.”

“Rosedale is one of the best places on earth. Everyone knows everyone, and there is a strong sense of community and family. This job is my calling. It keeps me connected to the neighborhood, and the kids who come every day are wonderful.”

4. Sue Graphos has owned Sam’s Super Sandwiches since 1970. She remembers weekends with her friends, nickels for movies, the simple pleasures of a neighborhood where everyone knew your name.

“Saturday mornings, we’d ride bikes downtown and watch a movie for 15 cents. Then we’d buy a Coke and popcorn, get an all-day sucker from the machine, then head to Grants Five & Dime after the show. It was a full day for practically nothing.”

“I still walk my dog around home and the store, and that’s how I meet people. That’s how community happens.”

5. David Chapman lived and taught in Homewood from 1990 to 2020, spending 30 years at Samford University while raising his family. When his grandkids moved out, so did he — but the Homewood he loved lingers in his memory.

“It takes your grandkids moving to take you out of Homewood. You could buy a small house for a reasonable price. It was affordable, filled with teachers and people who valued community. That’s what drew us here.”

“I taught English at Samford University for three decades, and both the faculty and the students love and appreciate being in Homewood.”

6. Margaret Ann Shumace grew up going to Elmore’s Five and Dime store. Her childhood was Homewood itself: walking downtown from Our Lady of Sorrows church, eating breakfast or lunch, then riding bikes to the pool where everyone gathered in the summer.

“We’d walk from church and stop for a hot dog or an egg sandwich. Then we’d ride our bikes to the pool, and it was always standing room only. We knew someone on every street. That was Homewood.”

“Now we’re celebrating the store’s 75th anniversary, and my grandparents’ legacy continues. But I see how the neighborhood is changing. The world we grew up in — where everyone belonged — that’s what we’re trying to hold onto.”

7. Jessica Brasfield Mackin was born and raised in Homewood. She opened Nadeau Furniture in what used to be the movie theater in downtown Homewood, working with contractors to preserve its past: original ceilings, original doors and a balcony built during segregation that once served the African American community.

“Working to preserve what’s left of the history, because it matters. We found the original ceiling, the balcony that was built for Black customers. This building tells the whole story.”

“I remember going to school at Shades Cahaba, the YMCA, all of it made Homewood special. As the city gets larger and changes, we have to protect what remains — especially Rosedale. That’s where it all began. Our diversity is so important.”

8. Janice Jackson has lived her entire life in Rosedale, growing up on 26th Avenue South in a neighborhood where church, school and community were woven together. She and her husband, Alprentice Jackson, raised their family there, and though the kids have moved away, Rosedale remains the place they call home.

“I loved going to school in our neighborhood. We’d go to Sunday school at Baptist Union Missionary Church and eat breakfast. We loved Rosedale, and Rosedale took care of us.”

“When someone moved in, everyone helped. When someone needed anything, we showed up. That’s Rosedale. That’s what it means to belong to a place, to let a place belong to you.”

These memories are Homewood’s true record — the lived experience of a community told in the voices of those who built it, who stayed, who knew their neighbors block by block. They capture not just what happened but what it felt like to be home and what it means to build a place worth remembering.

9. Victor and Blanca Trejo own La Hacienda Supermarket off Green Springs Highway in West Homewood. The couple has lived and worked here for 20 years, and their three children attend Homewood City Schools.

“We live here because the schools are so good, and our kids love it,” Blanca Trejo said. “And the people of Homewood have supported our store for a long time. We absolutely love it here. I wouldn’t live anywhere else.”

Victor Trejo said the store is also a way of bringing something with them: “We are proud to represent our home of Mexico here in Homewood.”