Sweat of Brow is Key To Longevity

“Some say work will kill you, but it won’t” J. L. Luttrell, the man who spoke those words, ought to know. Up until about four years ago he was still breaking ground on his farm on the Garland Road. He turned 90 in March. Born and reared less than a mile from his present home, Luttrell has worked the hills and hunted the bottoms around Garland all his life. His wife, Lois, recently started writing news for The Leader. Two of Luttrell’s brothers, his sister, and 52 guests attended his birthday party March 12. P. N. Luttrell, who lives at Obion was the only kinsman absent. A brother and a sister are deceased, both having died in their nineties. Luttrell enjoys relatively good health and figures that “our (Luttrell’s) limit is about 93 years.” Reflecting on the nine decades that he’s lived, Luttrell concluded that “today’s world is in a mess.” He said that people don’t want to work any more. For 90 year-old J. L. Luttrell that just doesn’t seem natural.

The Covington Leader, Thursday, May 25, 1967 ( Submitted by Susan Krall and Leslie Roane)