One of Lepha Luttrall’s favorite memories was sitting on her grandparents’ front porch and eating watermelon with her grandpa.

“He just walked over to the watermelon patch and picked one out,” she recalled. After choosing one just the right size for sharing, he would cut it lengthwise and they would each tuck in.

At some point he would cut a “v” into one end of each piece and they would drink the juice by tipping the piece up and letting it drain through the “v.”

Her grandfather, Pat Farr, was a large, barrel-chested man. He was a farmer, a fiddler, and unbeknownst to many including his family, a keeper of a journal.

At age 70, for reasons which he evidently never disclosed, Farr began to keep a daily journal. He wrote practically every day. In the end, only his failing health ended the writing. Farr passed in 1979. 

The first of those diaries, from 1962, resurfaced into the hands of that little girl who used to eat watermelon with him on the porch, his granddaughter Lepha.

Many years had come and gone, and Luttrall was in a year of great personal struggle. Her husband of 28 years, Jim, had passed in 2022, and her brother David suffered a stroke significantly impacting his life.

By her own admission, she was seeking solace. She found some of that comfort in her grandfather’s diaries. 

She had only the one year (1962) in her possession and began asking family members if they had any others. Uncle Ben had some in a box in the garage, while Aunt Nelda and Aunt Carolyn had a good number of photos and other memorabilia from grandpa. 

The diaries began to come in. The first few years were written on Quitman Ag-Coop calendar books – two days to a page. 

The format was excellent as it afforded space enough for a couple of lines about the weather, a few about tending the livestock and fields, and some space yet for social or family activity. In the rural backdrop of Wood County, that was ample room to highlight most any day.

The Farr family came to Wood County, like many others, from Georgia. Luttrall believes the family was from Leatherville near the Savannah River.

They took a circuitous route to East Texas, with time spent in southern Oklahoma, where the family lived in a dug-out and where Pat Farr was born. Stops in West Texas and Central Texas also preceded their arrival in Wood County.

At the turn of the 20th Century the family stayed with relatives on Billy Goat Hill on the northern edge of Quitman. In 1901 they bought a 25-acre parcel which today is just east of the 515 bridge over Lake Fork (eastern fork).

They prospered and at one time owned 600 contiguous acres. After the impoundment of Lake Fork, however, their holdings were reduced to 100 acres. 

Farr met his wife-to-be, Lillie Mae McWhorter, at a singing at the Black Oak Church. They married and moved into a classic dog-run on the family holding. 

Luttrall’s father, Raymond Quarles, raised his family in Lone Star as Quarles worked for 42 years at Lone Star Steel. Lepha grew up in Lone Star. 

It was, however, to the dog-run in central Wood County where much of family life was centered.

“We were always coming here,” she explained, “family was important.” That small home has since succumbed to nature, but Luttrall knows exactly where it stood, and what it stood for.   

Pat, whose given name was Henry Grady Farr, was well-read and considered a faithful student of the Bible. That first diary from 1962 began with a Bible verse from Proverbs: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” A second verse from Proverbs was at the bottom of the first page: “The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for want of wisdom.”

He and Lillie attended Rock Hill Baptist Church. Some readers may remember Lillie playing the piano there. 

Luttrall shared two anecdotes of her grandfather. In one case, he had given a young girl a quarter so that she could go to the Old Settlers Reunion. That young girl, Katherine Gilbreath, later cared for him in his twilight.

After the service upon his passing, another neighbor had sought out Luttrall and explained that had it not been for the help of her grandfather, their family would have lost their farm.

Luttrall was taken by what she found in her grandfather’s diary. A simpler life and a consistent recording of what was important: church, weather, friends, food, family. She found so much support in the simple entries – written in long-hand – that she sought to share some of what he recorded. 

The project began in earnest in the spring, shortly after the one-year anniversary of her husband’s passing. “Life from a Farr” was launched. 

The podcast features audio files which are one week’s worth of entries. After each day’s reading, Luttrall may offer a thought or two about the entry. At the end of one recent reading, Luttrall commented, “doesn’t that just make you want to go have some pancakes and molasses?” 

On another reading she commented about Pat and Lillie being the 47th visit that an ailing neighbor had received. 

“Heartwarming,” is how Luttrall described the value of grandpa’s diaries.

“Grandpa and grandma went and sat with people – like Earl Deas – and they regularly visited friends such as Frank and Lovie Dial.”

One special aspect of the diaries is how frequently he recorded the names of others. It reflected how important others were to him. Some of those names from 1962 are Addie Kinnemer, Albert Rogers, pastor and sister Cook, Carrie Morris, Charlie Hathaway, Dick Hurley, Don Pogue, Dorris McWhorter Lee, Dr. Cull, Dr. Gamblin, Earl Deas, Earnest and Guyla Gilbreath, Frank and Lovie Dial, Ida Laney, Jack Peppers, Jimmie Joe Rogers, Lila Bridges, Mr. and Mrs. Harris, Orvall Blaylock and members of the extended family.    

The value of the entries is matched by Luttrall’s melodic voice. It is a voice which reassures and soothes, very appropriate for the purposes of “Life from a Farr.”

Luttrall commented on the experience, “I find the whole thing to be a therapeutic walk through the seasons.”

The podcast is available through the platform Spotify. Entering “Life from a Farr” in the search field will take one into the world of Pat Farr, as narrated by Lepha Luttrall.