CityView Magazine

60 | July/August 2016 Stone Jr. says, "We're just glad people come and end up catching their dinner here." Worried you won't catch anything? Have you had bad luck fishing before? Don't worry. "It's guaranteed you will catch something," Stone Jr. promises with a smile. Teaching men to fish Of course you will find all kinds of animals at Cedar Creek Fish Farm, but the farm isn't just for animals, it's for teaching and passing on the knowledge both father and son have acquired, too. Both Stone Sr. and Stone Jr. have "swum with the fishes" their whole lives. Stone Sr. joined the military when he was 18 years old and served in the military for 29 years, some of that time spent in Special Forces. He received an agricultural education from NC State and Sampson Community College. While serving in the military, Stone Sr. traveled to Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan and Costa Rica, spending time with the locals and teaching them fishing techniques. As he passed on his agricultural knowledge to local in- structors, he knew they would eventually pass those techniques, and other bits of agricul- tural wisdom, on to their students, their friends and their family. When working with farmers in Iraq and Afghanistan, Stone Sr. remembered, "You work with people. People don't work for you. And being different is okay." For everything Stone Sr. taught abroad, he also practices it at home. Just as Duane Sr. worked side by side with people overseas, side by side he works with his son. Stone Jr. learned everything from his father. Growing up, they went hunting and fish- ing. Aer high school and working in construction, he was asked by his father to "jump on board" with the farm. He gladly took the bait. Stone Sr. compliments and admires his son's quick skills, and Stone Jr. is just glad he's got a job working with his family. It is a learning environment at Cedar Creek Fish Farm. e farm hosts high school students from Future Farmers of America and encourages students studying agriculture to come visit or apply for internships. Professors can tag along, which proves both useful and entertaining. Duane Sr. loves seeing students work in the water. "I always tell them don't bend down in the water with your waders, squat down instead. About 90% of the time, they don't listen." A place for quiet adventures Stone Jr. grins as he describes the atmosphere. "It's a good, quiet spot for a family. You can teach your children, maybe impress a lady on a date, catch a fish and cook it for her later or vice versa." He gets of kick out of how excited people can get when they are around live fish. e bonds with the customers are important too. "I love the positive reactions and feedback we get from customers." A place for the red, white and blue e largest value the Stone's have garnered from Cedar Creek Fish Farm is pure American pride. "For us, we live on American pride, buying local products and selling prod- ucts to local businesses," Stone Sr. says. Locally, Cedar Creek Fish Farm works alongside Barbeque Hut on Owen Drive and Tarpackers in St. Pauls. Jamal Triplett, who also works at the farm, helps with the fish and the animals and even pulls grass out from the ponds since it takes up oxygen that can be used for the fish. Aer he pulls out bucketfuls of grass, he feeds it to the sheep. "is is probably the most awesome

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