An agriculture masterpiece
Story by Scottie Vickery
Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.
Every morning, Jackie Gleason sits on her back porch at Legacy Farms in Steele, gazes across the rolling pasture, takes in the spectacular view of Chandler Mountain, and just breathes.
The day, no matter which one it is, promises to be a full one. There are animals to feed and water, hay to bale, two full-time careers to juggle and the usual whirlwind of ball games, practices and school events that come with raising two teenage sons. For most, it would be overwhelming. For Jackie and her husband, Philip, it’s just another day in paradise.
“It’s time consuming and there’s a lot of sacrifices, but it’s worth it,” Philip said. “I don’t see myself doing anything else.”
Voted Best Farm by the readers of Discover, The Essence of St. Clair magazine, Legacy Farms has a little bit of everything. The Gleasons breed quarter horses, cattle, border collies and red heelers while also raising a menagerie that includes chickens, ducks, turkeys, a goat, a Great Pyrenees, an ever-growing collection of cats including one with six toes, and a pig named Trump who was born on Inauguration Day.
While running a working farm is a full-time commitment for most, the Gleasons aren’t the type to put their feet up. Philip is a veterinarian at Argo Animal Clinic and a member of the Steele City Council while Jackie works full-time as a pharmacist at CVS in Jacksonville. Just to make things really interesting, she recently started hosting weddings at Dayspring, her family’s farm in Springville, and has 21 events already booked for this year.
“I don’t think there’s a day we can just sit around and relax,” Jackie said. “It’s a lot of work, and at the end of the day you’re exhausted, but you feel like you got something accomplished.”
A way of life
Farm life was an important part of both Philip’s and Jackie’s childhoods. Philip grew up on 25 acres across the street from where the couple’s home now stands. Although Jackie lived in Gadsden as a child, she spent most weekends at her grandparents’ Dayspring Farm and grew up showing horses and Simmental cattle. The couple, who married in 2002, tried living in a subdivision while their boys were young, life on the farm kept beckoning. They eventually bought Philip’s family farm and some additional acreage and made themselves a home.
“It’s such a calming place,” Jackie said. “We tell the kids, ‘learn how to slow down.’ On your worst day, if you can’t go out in that pasture and walk around and feel a little bit better, I don’t know what else could help you.”
Today, the Gleasons work about 250 acres of land between the two farms. Philip breeds Angus cattle while Jackie’s domain is the quarter horses and dogs. Rece, 16, is leaning toward a career in poultry science while 13-year-old Cade can most often be found on a tractor. “Everybody has their role out here,” Jackie said.
Her first love is the horses. “I started showing horses when I was 3 and started breeding them when I was 13,” said Jackie, adding that she has two stallions, 11 mares and 10 to 12 foals on the ground each year. These days, her pride and joy is Top Side Secret, the 17-year-old grandson of Triple Crown winner Secretariat. “He is one of three grandsons left in the U.S., and his dad is the last living son,” she said. “He’s got the best temperament, which is rare for a stallion. He’s been such a great boy, and he’ll always have a home here.”
Philip said his focus is on breeding the best Angus cattle. “We want to produce that great taste,” he said, adding that 50-60 calves are born each year. “We’re a seedstock producer; we’re producing the genetics. All of the animals have a DNA profile and everything is done by artificial insemination or embryo transfer.” While some are sold locally, Philip sends most of his bull calves – usually 25-30 at a time – to Gardiner Angus Ranch in Kansas, which markets them.
“I start at 5 a.m., then go to work and sometimes I’ve been breeding cows at midnight,” he said. “It’s a lot of work and at times it’s frustrating, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
Saying “I do” to weddings
Late last year, Jackie decided to add another business venture to the mix. Although she and her father still raise cattle at Dayspring Farm and many of her horses are there, she knows the farm will be hers one day and she’ll need another source of income for it. Since its wide-open pastures nestled between two mountain ranges make for some spectacular scenery, she decided it would be the perfect place for a wedding venue.
She held her first wedding last November and hasn’t stopped since. “There’s no way I could ever sell this place, so I decided to figure out some way to make it pay for itself. I didn’t think it would take off as fast as it did. Most barn venues are barns built for weddings, but here the animals wander up to the fence and guests get to pet them. I think that’s what the draw is. We take it for granted because that’s how we grew up, but not everyone gets to enjoy that.”
Creating a Legacy
That’s what the Gleasons wanted for Rece and Cade, and it’s the main reason they decided to move back to the farm. “It’s the best thing we could have done for the boys,” Jackie said. “They may never want to raise cattle and that’s one thing, but they’ve learned to appreciate the land, the scenery and animals.”
Not long after the move, the Gleasons were in church when the sermon focus was on creating a legacy. “We looked at each other and said, ‘That’s what we’re going to name the farm,’ ” Jackie said. “Our hope is that each of the kids will get one of the farms one day. If we are going to leave a legacy for them, we wanted it to be a different lifestyle, a peaceful lifestyle.”
