Our Authors
David C. Young
David Young has had jobs as diverse as newspaper reporting, writing software, designing drugs, and operating the nuclear reactor aboard a ballistic missile submarine. After a tour of duty in the Navy, he attended Michigan State University. David has a Ph.D. in chemistry, bachelor degrees in chemistry and computational mathematics, and an associates degree in business.
David currently lives in Huntsville, Alabama, where he provides technical support for the high performance computing systems at the Alabama Supercomputer Center. He has competed in the national fencing championships in the veteran mens epee event. David enjoys spending time in his home machine shop, wood working, doing Kenjutsu katas, reading, writing, and is occasionally buried in a video game.
Alice Leonard
Alice Leonard was a school teacher, wife, mother, and author of an autobiography and family history. Alice raised four daughters during the Great Depression.
The book that Alice wrote “Grandpa Was A Hitch Hiker” recounts both her life and stories from four generations of her family. It recounts traveling in covered wagons to settle the Minnesota Territory, hiding in a gully when Indians attacked, run ins with panthers, Alice teaching in a one room school house, and their later life as her husband Harry helped found and managed the Twin City Milk Producer's Association. An epilogue to the book, written by Alice’s grandchildren and great grandchildren, gives a few tidbits about the next few generations of the family.
George Howard (1878-1969)
George Howard was a farmer, teacher, school superintendent, school founder, author, and government employee. He once said, "I would rather teach than eat my dinner."
As a rural school superintendent, George started a competition to motivate the students. This became a school fair, then a county fair, and eventually the organization that is known today as 4-H.
