Stanley May Lind

Stan was born in Minneapolis in 1909. Losing his mother after only 4 days, he was raised by his aunt Ethel May and his maternal grandparents in Downing, Wisconsin. He spent an idyllic childhood on their dairy farm. At age 6, he went to school in Downing and spent just one day in first grade, one day in second grade, and then settled into the four room schoolhouse in Downing in third grade. He was a graduate of Downing High School, playing on every sports team, and was valedictorian of a class of 4. Stan went on to Pillsbury Military Academy in Owatonna, Minnesota where he learned to recite poetry and love chemistry, and where he won the senior class drill down on graduation day. He attended Illinois Institute of Technology (then Armour Tech) in Chicago, and graduated with a degree in chemical engineering. He was a member of Triangle fraternity. He ran track for Armour Tech.The baseball and tennis coaches wanted him but his late afternoon chemistry labs prevented him from attending practice, so he chose track because he could run alone. His senior year half mile record time lasted 20 years and also qualified him for the 1932 Olympic Trials in the same event as Jesse Owens. During the depression he sold magazines, parked cars (including Al Caponeâ