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Pocasset farmer James Garrett celebrates his 57th harvest in the field. He’s 90 years old, and this father of two has shared his love of the land with several generations.
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For 90 years, father shows love for family & farm
James Garrett hasn’t missed a harvest in 57 years. Though it may take him longer than it used to, at 90 years old the Pocasset farmer still spends eight-hour days harvesting wheat and tending cattle.
Slowly pulling himself onto the combine using a makeshift stepladder, Garrett may seem frail, but once he gets behind the gears of his John Deere, nearly a century of experience takes over.
“My dad put me out there with a team of mules planting cotton when I was 5 years old,” he said. “At 7 I had [the] mules with a plow and I was so little that sometimes they would just throw me down.”
GARRETT’S GRANDFATHER LIVED to be 111 years old; his mother lived to be 98; and Garrett himself will be 91 in October.
The oldest of 10 children, Garrett was the first to learn about farming and then to eventually get into the business himself.
A newlywed in 1940, he started out making $9 a week working in town but soon realized that with his knowledge and experience, farming was the most logical venture.
“I knew we couldn’t support our daughter on my salary, so I went to the bank and told them exactly what I wanted to do,” said Garrett, who, along with his wife Agnes, 86, raised two daughters on the farm.
With the seed money the bank invested, Garrett bought cows and farm equipment and in turn paid off the loan with the money from the next year’s harvest.“When the banker asked me how much of the loan I wanted to pay him, I said I wanted to pay all of it,” Garrett said. “He slapped his hand down on the table and said, ‘Now James, if you ever need to borrow any more money, you can come to me.’ So I did and just kept paying it off every year.”
THE GARRETT FARM stretches as far as you can see just off of Highway 81 in Pocasset-400 acres to be exact.
The family tradition didn’t end with James. Although neither of his daughters took up farming as an occupation, the girls were taught the ropes at early ages, much like James was earlier.
“Dad put me on a tractor for the first time when I was 8 years old,” Beverly Bortell, the youngest of the two daughters, said. Beverly currently works as a resource manager at Washita Valley Community Action.
“I feel very blessed to still have my mother and dad here,” she said. “When you’re 90 years old and still able to farm, it’s quite an accomplishment.” Garrett’ family attributes his stamina to clean living. He’s never smoked or drank a beer.
“He’s always taken care of himself in that way; he’s very particular about what he eats because he has a bad stomach,” Agnes said. “His doctor told him once, ‘I’m gonna doctor you until you’re 100 years old, and then I’m gonna retire.’ ”
James and Agnes’s eldest daughter, Shirley Browning of Amber, works for the city manager’s office in Chickasha.
Bortell said their husbands, Derrel Bortell and Jim Browning, help service equipment on the farm. Although James does receive help from family and friends, the main responsibilities of the daily grind are still his own.
Said his wife: “He’s told me that if anything ever happens to him while he’s out there working, at least he was happy.”
AGNES SAID THE Garretts, who will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary in March, are the oldest living couple in Pocasset.
There’s no let up in the future. “This is how I’ve made my living and supported my family my entire life,” he said. “It’s just getting a little harder now, but I love to work.”
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Transformations
What comes to mind when you think of the word, “Transformation”?Do you have fantastic thoughts of people or things changing into something amazing for example, Clark Kent turning into Superman or Bruce Banner becoming the Incredible Hulk or possibly something a little more down to earth like a caterpillar miraculously changing into the beautiful butterfly?
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GRADY COUNTY FAIR RESULTS
Plants
Potted Plants
(Several varieties combined)
First: (Adult) Ann O'Bar
Second: (Adult) Joyce Riker
Third: (Adult) Jallane Link -
AROUND THE AREA
SEPTEMBER 2
Poetry Reading
• When: Sept. 2, 7 p.m.
• Where: Eduardo’s Mexican Restaurant, Private Room, 3127 S. 4th St., Chickasha
• Details: Featured Poet is Carol Hamilton, writer, storyteller and Poet Laureate of Oklahoma 1995-97Hamilton’s website is www.carolhamilton.org. There is no admission fee to attend the Poetry Reading, and refreshments are available for purchase. For more information, contact Rockford Johnson, 224-0160 or 317-7506. -
Duncan nips Chicks for straight-game win
Duncan got their eighth match win of the season Tuesday, beating Nancy Waters’ Lady Chicks in straight games at the Activity Center.
The Chicks looked like they had a little hangover from Monday night’s tough road loss at Tecumseh, coming out flat again and dropping their first two games by identical 25-17 scores.
They came out firing on all eight cylinders for game three, running out to a 15-9 lead on the strength of a 7-0 run with Shelby Crosley serving, but the Demons battled back to tie it late and the Chicks let it slip away, 25-21. -
STATE SPORTS BRIEFS
NORMAN (AP) — Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops has named walk-on Patrick O'Hara as the starting place-kicker for the seventh-ranked Sooners.
Stoops said on his radio show Tuesday night that O'Hara won the competition with Jimmy Stevens, freshman Michael Hunnicutt and redshirt freshman Bryce Easley. -
OSU's Gundy still learning on job
STILLWATER (AP) — Mike Gundy hasn't lost his love for dialing up the right play to keep Oklahoma State's offense purring along.
That passion, which he has called the most enjoyable part of his job as head coach, was bred into him as an offensive coordinator. And he is a former starting quarterback for the Cowboys. -
Whimsical metal work, jewelry part of big art show at USAO
A showing of whimsical metal work and jewelry is scheduled to be on display at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma during Helen’s Show Sept. 10-Oct 1.
The show will feature the work of USAO graduate Helen Shafer. The exhibition will be open daily during normal business hours in the Davis Hall Third Floor Art Gallery on the USAO campus. The show is free and open to the public. An opening reception is scheduled Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. in the gallery. -
High-speed chase lands 1 in jail
A high-speed motorcycle chase down Highway 81 last Wednesday landed a Ninnekah man in jail and a felony charge of eluding a police officer.
Court records show that James William Hutchins, 21, blew by Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Timothy Parrish at U.S. Highway 81 and County Road 1460 and was clocked going 144 miles per hour in a posted 70 miles per hour zone.
Parrish reported that he was sitting stationary at that location at about 3:45 p.m. on Aug. 25 when he observed a red motorcycle traveling southbound. He engaged his emergency lights and siren and pulled onto the roadway behind the Triumph motorcycle. -
5 inmates denied parole
Parole was recently denied for five Grady County inmates serving sentences with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
The following individuals were denied at the August Pardon and Parole Board meeting:
• Jeremiah Daniel Cline, who is serving a five-year sentence for distribution of a controlled dangerous substance and a five-year sentence for possession of a controlled dangerous substance, began his sentence in August 2008.
• Warren P. Diego, who is serving a 15-year sentence (10 years PTS) for lewd molestation, began his sentence in February 2009. -
Judge recuses herself from pharmacy case
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A state district judge has stepped aside from the first-degree murder trial of a pharmacist accused in the fatal shooting of an unconscious would-be robber.
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Transformations
