JC Farms

“Tough times don’t last but tough people do.”

LaFayette Cluck made his way to Arkansas from Tishomingo, Okla., in a covered wagon with his mother, sister and two brothers. He was the great-grandfather of Mary Kay Poole, who with her husband Travis, currently owns JC Farms in Ruby.

In 1903, LaFayette bought the original land where the farm now stands. He worked as a farmer and also ran a small store.

He was married to Julie LaRue, who died during childbirth, and later married Mollie Davis.

George Daniel Cluck, LaFayette’s oldest surviving son, bought the farm in 1911.

“My grandfather built a log cabin by hand,” Mary Kay said. “He was a farmer and ran a road construction crew in this area, building a lot of the dirt roads around here. He wrote the names and dates of birth for all of his family members on the back of a work ledger book.”

In 1942, Mary Kay’s great-uncle Luther took over and ran the farm for the next nine years. Then the farm went through several cousins before finally landing on Mary Kay’s father and mother, John and Cathryn Cluck, who purchased the farm in 1959 and ran it for the next 40 years.

“My father, John, was one of eight kids – seven boys and one girl,” Mary Kay said. “He was drafted into World War II and served his time in France and England.”

John married Cathryn McCartney, from

Navarre, Ohio, in Reims, France, in 1945. He was in the Army and she was serving in the Women’s Army Corps. She went back to Ohio before she rode the train to Fort Smith, where John picked her up.

“She described coming here for the first time as ‘coming to the world’s end’ because it was so far out and the road just kept on going,” Mary Kay recalled. “There was no running water, no electricity, and nothing like she was accustomed to in Ohio. They were farmers and the hardest workers I know. They were married for 61 years and had six wonderful children.

“When I was growing up on the farm, we had chicken broilers. I had to wake up before school and clean the water every other day, then go to work in the chicken houses when I got home from school, especially when the chicks were young and couldn’t drink and eat out of the automatic waters and feeders. I picked up a lot of rocks after school, too. I spent my summers with my parents in the hay fields. We always had something to do.”

Mary Kay has fond memories of life on the farm, in particular how popular her mother’s cooking was.

“My mom would always cook lunch for the people that came to work here,” she said. “And I don’t mean a sandwich, I mean a massive homecooked lunch. People would be so excited to come work just so they could get lunch. She would always tell me ‘tough times don’t last, but tough people do’ and that is something I have to tell myself often.”

Mary Kay and Travis bought the farm from her parents in 1999.

“My husband and I have expanded the farm,” she said. “I grew up here and this is my home. I love to garden, and my husband has a blackberry patch. We are always outside doing something together.”

Currently, JC Farms is 320 acres. The farm’s main focus is cattle and hay production. Mary Kay is a homemaker and feels very privileged to have been able to stay home raising the children and taking care of the farm. In addition to working on the farm, Travis also owns a successful photography company.

“Over the past 119 years, this farm has been the home to five generations of people with rich and diverse goals for the land,” Mary Kay said. “Over the years, the land has been used for a variety of practices including a general store location, sawmill location, a place to grow row crops (cotton and vegetables) and a place to raise poultry and swine. Throughout the time, two consistencies have remained – a love for operating a cow/calf operation and a strong family connection.”

Living on the farm today are Mary Kay and Travis’ children, Levi and Anna Marie. “Levi works as a lineman and is an outstanding fence builder,” Mary Kay said. “Anna Marie is in law school. Blake, our other son, lives in Alma, Arkansas, with his wife Jillian. He is a principal. We also have a German shepherd named Waylon, and he feels like a kid, too.

“Being a farmer is all I know. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I didn’t have this place. And being honored as a Century Farm is such an outstanding feeling. I feel like I am not only honoring my parents, my grandparents and my great-grandparents, but the future generations as well.”

Mary Kay’s advice to young people considering getting into farming is: “I hope you like hard work! You got to love farming or you won’t last long. Also, always remember to close the gate.”