Can you tell me a little about your family history and growing up years?

I was born in Portland, Oregon, moved to the Rockwood area (east Portland) when I was four, then east of Gresham when I was seven. I loved living in the house east of Gresham, which was “out in the country,” but only five miles or so from city.

As a teenager, I did farm work in the summers. Besides picking berries, I planted and harvested broccoli and cauliflower, as well as sorting potatoes unearthed by a digger, to prepare them for distribution. When I was 19, after my first year of college, I worked in a 7-11 store, where my most vivid memory was being robbed at gunpoint. I also worked at a chemical plant that produced Parsons ammonia, where ...

What do you know about Alcorn family history?

Three Alcorn brothers--James, Thomas and William—came over from Ireland and landed in Virginia in 1721. The best indications are that they were Scottish, though living in Ireland, as they were associated with the Presbyterian church.

Thomas Alcorn, Sr. (1777-1855) married Katherine Montgomery who had James Thomas Alcorn (an Indiana civil war quartermaster sergeant), who had James Grant Alcorn.

James Grant Alcorn married Florence Lee Craig. The following is from “Robert Alcorn and His Descendants,” written by Lloyd Colfax Alcorn, Randy’s uncle:

James Grant Alcorn and Florence Lee Craig had thirteen children. 
(1) Maruice Lee was born August 25, 1892 in a log cabin on the Alcorn farm in Posey County, Indiana.  
(2) James Oral was born October 25 ...