~Member
Spotlight~
Jack
Kuhlman
Jack Kuhlman was born on September 7, 1921 to Herman and Eva June Kuhlman of Springer, New Mexico. Jack was the fourth of six children. He was raised on a farm where the main crop was alfalfa.
Jack joined the Air Force in June of 1942, and was stationed at several Texas bases. In 1944, he was stationed in Big Spring where he met Ina Faye Fryar. Jack and Ina Faye were married June 17, 1944 in Big Spring. They have four daughters: Charlotte White of Lenorah; Carolyn Reynolds of Stanton; Sharron Odom of Waco; and Ronda Klein of Cedar Hill. Jack and Ina Faye have ten grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Jack farmed
northeast of Stanton in 1946 and 1947. They moved to Springer, New Mexico,
in 1948 and farmed there until 1950. In 1951, they moved back to Martin
County to live and farm. In 1963, they moved to Lenorah where they still
live today. His main crops have been cotton and grain sorghum; he also raised
cattle through the years. At one time in Jack's career, he farmed around
3,000 acres in Martin County.
Jack has been a deacon of the Lenorah Baptist Church for more than 40 years.
He has served on the Grady ISD board of directors, Martin County school
board of directors, and the FSA county committee. In 1998, Jack retired
from full time
farming but still maintains agricultural interests.
Jack served
on the Martin County Farm Bureau board of directors for 22 years.
He was elected to the Martin County board of directors in 1968. He served
as president from 1972 through 1982, and vice president from 1983 through
1990.
Jack and Ina Faye have attended over 75 percent of the state conventions
since
he has been active in Farm Bureau and have traveled to Hawaii and Washington,
D.C. for national conventions. Jack mentioned that in the past the county
had to have a membership gain for anyone to be eligible to attend the national
convention. He has helped with many membership drives to obtain a gain in
Martin County.
Jack served on many local Farm Bureau committees such as: nominating, national
affairs, state affairs and policy development, membership and commodities.
He
also served one year on the state policy development committee.
While Jack was in office on the Martin County board of directors, many
membership benefits were introduced into Martin County. The prescription
drug program, TASCO dealership, property signs, and health care were only
a few that Jack helped get organized. Jack was involved in getting our present
day office
built in 1976. He always insisted on putting any extra money the county
had on
the building note to pay it off early, which we did.
Jack has
always been very supportive of all youth activities. He has encouraged Martin
County Farm Bureau to contribute to the Martin County Championship
Club, Martin County capon show, and to send students to the citizenship
seminar, queen contest and talent find. He also believes Martin County Farm
Bureau should help the community by supporting local organizations like
the Chamber of Commerce, "the first cotton bale" contest, and
hospice. Jack has always been a great representative of Farm Bureau at our
local county fair.You could always find Jack sitting in the Farm Bureau
booth visiting with people and explaining the membership benefits.
One thing
you can say about Jack Kuhlman is he believes in what Farm Bureau stands
for: helping the American farmer any way they can. We are proud to have
a member like Jack Kuhlman who has been a great asset to Martin County Farm
Bureau, Texas Farm Bureau, and the American Farm Bureau Federation. The
words in this short biography are woefully inadequate in describing Jack's
dedication to his family, community, country and the promotion of agriculture.
He is a Texas farm pioneer in the truest sense of the word.