WS Chronicle

The Castle Heights neighborhood is one of the target areas of the Place Matters initiative for the United Way of Forsyth County. Throughout Black History Month, the United Way will feature a resident of one of their target area neighborhoods and this week it was the Sudler family’s turn to share their story.

Alfred “Jake” Sudler and his wife Gladys Jamezeena “Jimmie” made their way to Winston-Salem from the state of Delaware. Mr. Sudler served in the Army’s Chemical Core and Mrs. Sudler worked at the YMCA as director of health/physical education and recreation. Both are graduates of Hampton University.

The Sudlers have lived in their three bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home for over 50 years. They have made several improvements to the home over the years and originally picked it because it was easy to maneuver and there was little to no traffic in the neighborhood.

The Sudlers had four girls. One of their daughters, Kimberlee, is a part of the Place Matters Resident Impact Council. In that role, she helps make decisions about where funding will be placed for the Place Matters footprint. She currently works at Quality Education Academy as an exceptional children’s assistant.

Upon moving to the Castle Heights neighborhood, the Sudlers noticed the high number of successful Black people who also lived in the neighborhood. Their neighbors worked for companies such as Reynolds, Farmer, Piedmont Airlines, and the school system. Many of their neighbors in the area had large families and all of their children played together.

Other factors that also drew the Sudlers to the Castle Heights neighborhood was its close proximity to downtown. It was quiet and everything they needed was less than 10 miles away. The fact that all of the neighbors knew one another was a bonus for them as well.

Kimberlee stated that they were proud they could play outside and the neighborhood looked nice and was well manicured. They felt like they owned the street and could play outside any time of day. The adults knew there were kids on the street and drove slowly through the neighborhood to make sure they were all safe from moving vehicles.

The Sudlers noticed a change in the area once the children grew up and their parents became older and passed away. Many of the children moved to other communities and were not interested in taking care of their parents’ homes.

As a result, many of the homes were rented and because there was not a homeowner’s association, some of the renters did not take care of the homes the same way as their original owners did. The Sudlers also noticed more of the area becoming Section 8 housing and some of the children have had to sell their parents’ homes to pay for assisted living. Even with the new residents, they have noticed very few problems in the neighborhood.

The Sudlers hope for new homes to be built in the neighborhood soon and look forward to more investments being made in the area as well. They would like to see the landlords check in on the homes more often and are excited about the aviation program near the neighborhood. 

They still hold out hope that some of the children of the homeowners will come back home and make it a vibrant neighborhood once again.