1400 Chambers Street is where it all began. Carl and Hattie B. Alford were pillars of the Oak Grove Community from the late 1970s until the mid 2000s. All of the families knew them, with Carl serving as a father figure to many of the neighborhood children. Both Carl and Hattie B. obtained employment with Philip Morris USA and supported the efforts of Oak Grove's schools and community activities. They would raise two daughters in the neighborhood, Carleen and Chanel. Carleen and Chanel would both go on to obtain three college degrees and dedicate their lives to children by serving as teachers and mentors, and would later venture into the fields of administration and educational technology.