Meet Your Highland Park Neighbors- The Hunsicker Family!
By Sarah Mitchell
Both Harry and Alison Hunsicker spent the majority of their lives right here in Highland Park. Harry moved here when he was just two years old and Alison when she was four. Alison’s father started the Knox Street Pub in the 60s, and her mother was a retail executive at Sanger Harris, as well as the first female store manager of a major Federated department store in the area. Harry’s roots run deep in the area. He is a fourth generation native of Dallas, his great grandmother having been born in what is now East Dallas in 1868 and his great grandfather having served as a judge in the 14th District Court in the early 1930s. His father was in the real estate business, and his mother was a clothing and jewelry designer.
After graduating from high school, Harry attended Baylor where he received a degree in history. After Baylor, he became real estate appraiser and then a novelist and screenwriter. Alison attended the University of Texas at Austin where she received her undergraduate degree in business. She began working in a variety of industries including a position as a jewelry representative for Christian Dior jewelry and acted as manager for a group of doctors’ offices. She later obtained her MBA from the University of Dallas with an emphasis in industrial engineering and went to work for a fellow Highland Park resident whose company functions as an outsourced real estate department for national restaurant concepts. “We worked with our clients from strategic planning through real estate acquisitions all across the country,” stated Alison.
After meeting Harry through mutual friends, they were married in 2001 at which time Alison decided that her current career was requiring her to travel more than she would like. “I then began managing Harry’s family’s multifamily properties while starting my own company,” she explained. “In 2014, I was in the inaugural class at the University of North Texas Dallas College of Law where I graduated cum laude and received my juris doctorate degree. People would always ask me if there was anything I wished that I would have done, and law school was it for me. Since I also had my own business, I attended night classes and finished during the four-year program.” Harry added, “This was a difficult time as both her parents and my parents passed away while she was attending law school. Her mother actually passed away the week she was supposed to start studying for the bar. She studied and passed, which is a testament to her fortitude.”
Though the Hunsickers have made many amazing memories along the way, their favorite memory to date is their wedding. They married in Dallas on September 14, 2001. “It was a rollercoaster of emotions with 9/11 occurring just days before,” shared Alison. “Harry proposed on Saturday, 9/11 was on Tuesday, and we were married on Friday. We had a small wedding at home with immediate family, and it was very indicative of the time and that very few things were super important when the world was in chaos. This marriage was supposed to be, the way it all happened, so directed and so meaningful.”
The couple enjoy traveling and have recently traveled to Israel with plans to travel to Peru soon. Closer to home, they enjoy visiting Santa Fe. In addition to traveling, Harry also loves reading and writing. After taking classes at SMU, he began writing his first novel which came out in 2005. “I enjoy writing crime thrillers set in Dallas,” said Harry. “The first three books are centered around a detective, Lee Henry Oswald.” With eight books now under his belt, Harry branched out into screenplays with his first released in October of this year. He said, “Hit Squad, the family-friendly title, is a short comedic crime thriller based on a hit man with IBS and debuted at the Dallas International Film Festival. We are taking it on the festival circuit now and hoping to get some interest and make bigger picture out of it.”
Alison, a self-proclaimed lifelong learner, enjoys taking classes and has volunteered in several capacities within the community. She was previously on the zoning committee for Highland Park and was recently appointed to Board of Adjustment. In addition, she was two-time chairman of Highland Park Community League and participated on the Centennial Committee. Alison is also passionate about Girl Scouts and is on the Endowment Committee for Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas. A lifelong Girl Scout, Alison says her motto to live by comes from the Girl Scout Law. “The Girl Scout Law which says, ‘I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for what I say and do, and to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout’ is exactly the motto I have thought about since I was a child. I do whatever I can whenever I can, and I enjoy giving back to the community that has given me so much.”
Harry and Alison live in Highland Park with their King Charles Cavalier named Radley, named after Boo Radley from To Kill a Mockingbird. “Our first dog was Scout,” Alison said. “Then, our fist King Charles was going to be named Atticus, but Harry said that was a ‘big dog’ name, so we decided on Truman, for Truman Capote. The next dog we had, we named Harper Lee. We have a theme here!” They both feel blessed to live in Highland Park and are passionate about the community. “After the centennial, we went to dinner with a group of people and we were all asked what we like about Highland Park,” shared Alison. “I have lived here essentially my whole life except for a year and a half in New Orleans. During that time, I had my car stolen twice and there were numerous break-ins. When I came back to Dallas, I realized how fortunate we are to not experience the looming fear that is present in some places. We have stellar police, fire, and EMS services, and I’m so grateful for the sense of community and small-town feel that makes this place amazing.”
Technically, it did premier at the noir festival but that was a one-time event so we are counting the film’s screening at the Dallas International Film Festival as its premier.