BIOGRAPHY
James M. McCracken was born in the Autumn of '59 and the fifth child of seven born to John and Kathleen Huff. For the most part, he was raised in Hillsboro, just west of Portland.
In Hillsboro his family lived on SE 8th Avenue. His paternal grandparents owned a two-story farmhouse on an eleven acre strip of land. They gave each of their nine surviving children an acre to build on. John and Kathleen built their house on the seventh acre that was a hay field, known as "the lower pasture."
At the age of thirteen, James was enrolled at Mt Angel Seminary, a boarding school, to pursue his dream of becoming a priest. On May 21, 1977, he became the first of his siblings to graduate from high school. That fall, he entered the Seminary College. On December 23rd, he decided to leave. That night his mother Kathleen suffered a heart attack and died. James returned to the Seminary only to leave it for good on January 12, 1978. He returned home to look after his younger sister and brother.
At first he worked two jobs. Monday through Friday he worked part-time at Poppio's Pizza during the lunch hours and from there he went to his full-time job at an answering service in downtown Forest Grove.
In May of 1979, a month after the answering service went out of business, he took a job at Pacific Northwest Bell with plans to work just through the summer and return to college in the fall. Twenty-three years later, he realized the summer had long since passed and decided it was enough. He chose 'early retirement' to pursue more "fun things." Among them are his writing and baking/decorating wedding cakes.
James also loves movies (the original 1972 "The Poseidon Adventure" being his all-time favorite). He is also a huge fan of theme parks. Disneyland is his 'home away from home.'
For 25 years James lived in Oregon City, southeast of Portland. In 2009 he sold his house and moved to Redmond, Oregon, north of Bend. He remains the only one of his siblings never to marry- to which he answers, "Happily single." His over 26 nieces and nephews and even more grand-nieces and grand-nephews keep him busy.
In Hillsboro his family lived on SE 8th Avenue. His paternal grandparents owned a two-story farmhouse on an eleven acre strip of land. They gave each of their nine surviving children an acre to build on. John and Kathleen built their house on the seventh acre that was a hay field, known as "the lower pasture."
At the age of thirteen, James was enrolled at Mt Angel Seminary, a boarding school, to pursue his dream of becoming a priest. On May 21, 1977, he became the first of his siblings to graduate from high school. That fall, he entered the Seminary College. On December 23rd, he decided to leave. That night his mother Kathleen suffered a heart attack and died. James returned to the Seminary only to leave it for good on January 12, 1978. He returned home to look after his younger sister and brother.
At first he worked two jobs. Monday through Friday he worked part-time at Poppio's Pizza during the lunch hours and from there he went to his full-time job at an answering service in downtown Forest Grove.
In May of 1979, a month after the answering service went out of business, he took a job at Pacific Northwest Bell with plans to work just through the summer and return to college in the fall. Twenty-three years later, he realized the summer had long since passed and decided it was enough. He chose 'early retirement' to pursue more "fun things." Among them are his writing and baking/decorating wedding cakes.
James also loves movies (the original 1972 "The Poseidon Adventure" being his all-time favorite). He is also a huge fan of theme parks. Disneyland is his 'home away from home.'
For 25 years James lived in Oregon City, southeast of Portland. In 2009 he sold his house and moved to Redmond, Oregon, north of Bend. He remains the only one of his siblings never to marry- to which he answers, "Happily single." His over 26 nieces and nephews and even more grand-nieces and grand-nephews keep him busy.