JAMES WOOD – Staff Writer
Among one of the most integrated members of the community for decades, Isaiah “Ike” Farrar legacy in Flat Creek and Bedford County as a whole is longstanding.
Born in 1919, Ike was born to the Farrar family who has resided in the Middle Tennessee for generations and throughout his life would continue to remain at his family’s farm that he and his brother Jim grew up on.
David Farrar, the son of Ike, highlighted the extraordinary time that his father grew up in.
“He starting with riding his pony to school to witnessing computers, the moon landing, and more throughout his life.” David Farrar said.
The Farrar family allegedly traces its lineage back to the original English settlers in the Colony of Carolina, who later moved westward into Tennessee years later. Ike was the first to build a silo in the southern end of the county and his family was among some of the first to buy cars as they began to be adopted in the region.
“He always wanted to make this place (the farm) a good place to work at.” David Farrar said.
Ike’s experience of the world would go far beyond the borders of this country, too. During his young adulthood, he attended the University of Tennessee where he invested a great amount of time into its Aviation Program, where he developed a love for flying. A big change happened in life when he was a senior at the University when the Pearl Harbor attack happened, which then motivated him to enlist into the Army Air Corps, the predecessor to the Air Force.
He opted to fly cargo for troops in the Pacific Theater during World War II, using his existing knowledge of flying. His plane was even the last to leave the Battle of Peleliu.After serving in the war effort, Ike then joined the Army Reserves after he got out of the Air Corps.
When he returned home after traveling the country and the world in the 1940’s, he decided to settle down and continue managing the family farm.During this time, his community-orientated personality led his wife to invest large amounts of time into the people of Bedford County.
“He valued his country and community,” David Farrar said, “He was sort of an ambassador of Flat Creek.”
Much of Ike’s time was spent at the Flat Creek Community Center, where many people came to know him as a pillar of the community.
“He took seriously what it meant to be a Christian,” David Farrar said, “And he led a really interesting life.”
As a man who lived through the exponential change in technology, population, and culture in the 20th century, up until his passing in October of 2016.
“He loved fast horses, fast cars, and fast airplanes,” David Farrar said.
“Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with thy God” was Ike’s favorite verse of the Bible in Micah 6:8 according to David Farrar, encapsulating much of his philosophy in life.
Ike has come to be remembered as an ordinary man who lived an extraordinary life.