{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"From pews to pastures, meet the other Jack Daniels","description":"His father either had a great sense of humor or a knack for coming up with names. He called the acreage he farmed along the Red River in Lafayette County Miracle Farms, inspired by one of his favorite sayings: \u201cGod grants the miracle \u2014 we do the work.\u201d But why did Mr. Daniels name his son Jack? \u201cI have a lot of fun with the name,\u201d Jack Daniels told me. \u201cApparently my dad had a pretty good sense of humor.\u201d In the latest episode of my podcast, I sat down with Jack to talk about the story behind Miracle Farms \u2014 its roots, its name, and the faith that still shapes the work that happens out near the Bodcaw community in Nevada County. Along the way, we learn a few amazing facts about the man who keeps things rolling at the farm. Jack hopped on the lead bus from our school district as we arrived, guiding it through the gate and out into the parking pasture. His wife, Sunny, greeted our students as they filed out into acres and acres of agri-tourism fun. Minutes later, Jack was loading passengers onto the hay wagon, then taking his seat on the tractor that would pull them around the farm. Later in the morning, as I tried to corner him for this interview, he hopped on a four-wheeler promising to return shortly. \u201cJack-of-all-trades\u201d might be a more fitting name than the eponym with the founder of a Tennessee whiskey distillery. Take his education, for example. A graduate of Hope High School, Jack studied both music education at Southern Arkansas University and diesel and heavy truck mechanics at Red River Vo-Tech. How many musicians do you know who also have an interest in heavy mechanics? The music part made sense for a man who grew up singing and playing and currently serves as worship leader at Garrett Memorial Baptist Church in Hope. But the mechanics part \u2014 that\u2019s where his story takes an unexpected turn. And what a story it is. Jack toured for 20 years with David Phelps, five years with the Gaither Vocal Band, and two years with The Martins. He figured knowing a bit about diesel mechanics might come in handy for someone who lived part of his life on a tour bus. \u201cI\u2019ve had the great opportunity to be involved in gospel music for 40 years now,\u201d Jack told me. \u201cI\u2019ve traveled with a lot of icons and people that I really, really look up to and think the world of.\u201d Jack got his start in gospel music at age 14, performing with his father\u2019s family group, The Ambassadors. \u201cMy dad and I started when I was 14 years old, back in \u201984,\u201d Jack said. \u201cWe traveled regionally for years and years, and I stayed with them all through high school.\u201d After graduating from Hope High School, Jack joined the well-known gospel group, The Martins, playing piano with them for nearly two years before deciding to pursue another interest.  \u201cI\u2019d always loved working with machinery,\u201d he said. \u201cI was raised on a farm, always working on equipment, and I thought, if I ever join a gospel group, it\u2019d be good to know how to fix a bus if we broke down on the road. So I decided to learn a little diesel mechanics to go along with playing the keyboard.\u201d That practical thinking led him to Red River Vocational-Technical School, where he studied diesel mechanics. But Jack\u2019s love of music never faded. Before long, he enrolled at Southern Arkansas University, earning a degree in music education \u2014 all while continuing to travel and perform with his family\u2019s group, The Ambassadors. It was music, too, that brought him together with the love of his life. While singing at a church one evening, he caught the attention of a young woman named Sunny.  \u201cShe just fell in love,\u201d Jack says with a smile, then admits, \u201cI think it was the other way around.\u201d The two have now been married twenty-six years and have six children. To no one\u2019s surprise they are all musically inclined and frequently perform at local venues. About a year into their marriage, a family connection opened the door to a whole new chapter. Jack\u2019s cousin is married to David Phelps \u2014 the world-renowned tenor whose soaring voice helped define the Gaither Vocal Band. When Phelps called one day to ask if Jack might like to play piano for some of his solo shows, Jack said yes. That yes turned into twenty years of music, travel, and unforgettable moments. \u201cTwenty years go by in a hurry,\u201d he says. \u201cI traveled the world \u2014 played Carnegie Hall twice, performed in London at the O2, and just about everywhere in between. It was an amazing twenty years.\u201d During that time, Jack became close with Bill Gaither and the Homecoming family. He even drove Gaither\u2019s bus for several years and occasionally filled in on stage, playing auxiliary keyboards, mandolin, or dobro. \u201cReally great opportunities,\u201d he reflects. \u201cI got to be part of something special.\u201d Even with all the miles Jack Daniels has logged on the road, his heart has never strayed far from the land. Farming runs deep in his veins \u2014 three generations deep, to be exact. His family\u2019s story is rooted right here on the quiet backroads of Nevada County, where the Daniels family settled not long after the Civil War. The farm itself was purchased by Jack\u2019s grandfather, I.J. Daniels, in the 1940s, just after World War II. \u201cHe was born just around the curve in 1916,\u201d Jack says, pointing down the gravel road. I.J. built the original log house that still stands on the property today, and over the years the family added on to it. Jack and his family still live there, carrying on the legacy that began nearly a century ago. I.J. Daniels was something of a pioneer. In the 1950s, he became one of the first chicken farmers in Nevada County, building some of the earliest poultry houses in the area. Today, the chicken houses still dot the landscape, but the Daniels family has shifted its focus to cattle. \u201cWe raise beef cattle,\u201d Jack says. \u201cThat\u2019s our main crop here.\u201d Miracle Farms Market is where the family\u2019s work meets the community. Their beef is 100% grass-fed, raised right there on the farm from birth to finish \u2014 about 28 months of nothing but grass, minerals, sunshine, and, as Jack likes to say, \u201craised with love.\u201d The market also offers seasonal produce: sweet corn, purple hull peas, watermelons, pumpkins, and more. Market season runs May through July, but the beef is available year-round. October brings one of the farm\u2019s most anticipated traditions: Fall Family Fun Days. For three Saturdays each October, Miracle Farms turns into a festive gathering place. There\u2019s live music on the porch, burgers and pulled pork from the concession stand, and hayrides that weave around the fields. Families wander through an eight-acre maze, children pick pumpkins from the hillside, and the whole place hums with laughter and conversation. School groups come from all over L.A. (Lower Arkansas) \u2014 Magnolia, Smackover, Norphlet, Camden, Texarkana \u2014 to experience it. It\u2019s a joy to watch children enjoying everything the farm has to offer, especially as they set off into that sprawling maze.  As for what\u2019s next for Miracle Farms, Jack is always planning the next season. \u201cWe have a field day planned for the first of May,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be a lot like our Fall Family Fun Days. We\u2019ll take tours of the farm, show everything that\u2019s growing \u2014 the beef cattle, the crops \u2014 and have play areas for the kids, concessions, and live music.\u201d Jack Daniels\u2019 life has followed two steady rhythms \u2014 one set to music, the other to the seasons. Whether he\u2019s behind a piano on a world stage or behind the wheel of a tractor in Bodcaw, the same spirit runs through it all: gratitude, hard work, and a deep love for the life God has given him. The same hands that once played Carnegie Hall now mend fences and feed cattle. The same heart that poured out gospel songs now tends the soil that has sustained his family for generations. At Miracle Farms, the name fits. As Jack\u2019s father once said, \u201cGod grants the miracles \u2014 we do the work.\u201d It\u2019s a simple truth that still echoes across the fields each morning when the dew is fresh and the day begins. \u2014- Steve Ford is a retired Baptist minister who drives a school bus, flies a drone and publishes a podcast called Life in LA Today. Find it wherever you get your podcasts or online at https:\/\/lifeinlatoday.blogspot.com   ","author_name":"Life in LA Today","author_url":"https:\/\/sites.libsyn.com\/460782","html":"