People you should know Timing, luck and faith brought these two couples to PK Story
by Steve Nussbaum | Photos by Erika Carter

Life changes can be scary, but they can provide unexpected rewards, too, as two Possum Kingdom couples can attest.

One of those couples is Kirk and Wendy Farquhar, who have been married for 34 years and who met at Possum Kingdom Lake. Wendy Farquhar grew up in Graham, while her husband hails from Midland and was working in Graham when the two met while playing shuffleboard at Possum Hollow 37 years ago.

The Farquhars spent 13 years in Graham before moving to Midland, and during that time they took frequent trips to Possum Kingdom, but they could never figure out a way to permanently return to the Possum Kingdom Lake area until last year. Both were involved in the real estate scene in Midland, and Kirk Farquhar’s main gig was serving as a land manager in the oil business for 40+ years. 

Over the Fourth of July holiday weekend in 2021, the Farquhars stayed at a friend’s condominium at The Harbor. They had such an enjoyable time that the trip reaffirmed their desire to relocate to PK, but they again returned to Midland and put their PK dream behind them.

Three months later, they traveled to Fredericksburg for a friend’s wedding, and it was there they ran into Todd and Jilene Foust, who are longtime PK homeowners and business owners. In June 2021 the Fousts had just remodeled and opened Hemmingway’s Craft House in the old Scenic Point space, and they had gone to high school together in Graham, so the two couples had fun catching up.

During the conversation that evening, the topic of Possum Kingdom and the Fousts’ business venture came up.

As a joke, Wendy Farquhar said, “You should have us run your restaurant!â€

All of them had a good laugh at the comment before continuing to enjoy the wedding.

The next morning, though, before returning to Midland, the Farquhars discussed their prior conversation with the Fousts and started to wonder just how that business venture might unfold. The couple had done a lot of impossible things together, but they soon agreed they wouldn’t pursue the idea.

As they were finishing their lunch, though, Wendy Farquhar got a text message from Todd Foust.

“Hey, we were serious about Hemmingway’s,†the message read.

Over the course of the next several weeks, the two couples met to discuss plans for the restaurant. The Farquhars made their way to Possum Kingdom to stay with the Fousts, and the four of them spent time at the restaurant, where Jilene Foust detailed her plans for the establishment.

“Jilene is so driven and really has a vision for Hemmingway’s,†Wendy Farquhar remembered thinking at the time.

The Farquhars were so impressed during the visit that they decided on their drive back to seize the opportunity, so they sold their home in Midland and bought a home at PK 10 days later.

One of the things the Farquhars did while in Midland was set up a prison ministry in Fort Stockton. Every Wednesday they would travel two hours to the TDCJ James Lynaugh Unit, where they used their strengths as a couple to make the ministry work at the 1,400+ beds state prison. Kirk Farquhar served as the administrator and operator of the ministry, while Wendy Farquhar was the relationship builder. The couple built many strong relationships with the prisoners, and it was those prisoners who encouraged the couple to follow their faith and move to PK.

When they started managing Hemingway’s in December 2021, they looked at the opportunity as a new ministry – and a new chapter – in their lives.

“It hasn’t been easy, and we’ve made mistakes,†Kirk Farquhar said. “But we keep moving forward every day.â€

Wendy Farquhar said she even had written in her Bible that “God will take us to a new ministry by the water,†but added: “I thought that would be like Hawaii or Cabo or something, not Possum Kingdom.â€

The two continue to make changes at the restaurant and take on the challenges of running a seasonal restaurant all year long. Hemmingway’s sales have increased significantly this season, and the couple is looking forward to additional growth.

When Bric and Bridget Shelton announced they were leaving Fort Worth and moving west to Possum Kingdom Lake, their family and friends could scarcely believe it. The couple has been married for 20 years and have an 11-year-old daughter named Brynleigh, and they had been part of the Fort Worth community for years.

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 changed all that.

In late 2020, Bric Shelton left his job at Visit Fort Worth to join his brother-in-law at KC Luxury Iron Door Co. in February of 2021. The move turned out to be a fortunate one with the impending arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

Bridget Shelton, meanwhile, was the director of sales and marketing at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Fort Worth Downtown, and in March the hospitality industry took a huge hit from the pandemic. Her staff dropped from 80 to just eight workers almost overnight.

The move by her husband to change jobs a month earlier meant he could stay home with their daughter while she was taking online classes. The next several months for Bridget Shelton’s job became more and more challenging, too, as business travel dropped to nearly nothing.

At Possum Kingdom Lake, meanwhile, Bo and Gelasia Bennett were experiencing the exact opposite effect at Lush Resort. Their business was booming at a time of the year it normally wasn’t. The pandemic was sending people to the lake’s more remote location, and Lush was benefiting from the lack of travel into the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The two couple’s wives had been friends for years, having met as provisionals (first-year members) in the Junior League of Fort Worth, and they also had served on many committees and volunteer groups together. Gelasia Bennett contacted her old friend about the challenges both were facing in the hospitality business, including how to manage a business during a pandemic while also keeping customers and staff members safe.

As the pandemic continued, their calls became more frequent, and on one of them Bridget Shelton told her friend, “Maybe I should just come work for you guys at Lush.â€

A few weeks later, Gelasia Bennett called her friend back.

“Were you serious about coming to work with Bo and I at Lush?†she asked.

Bridget Shelton admitting being surprised at the offer, but she talked it over with husband, and it turned out that their biggest concern was how their daughter might react, because Brynleigh was finishing fourth grade and had numerous friends and extracurricular activities.

The Sheltons soon found out about the outstanding school in Palo Pinto, and they discussed the changes with Brynleigh, saying that they would make the move only if all three of them thought it was going to work.

Brynleigh voted yes.

The Sheltons moved to PK in March 2021, once they saw everything was going to work out, they sold their home, furniture and all, in Fort Worth and made the move to PK in May 2021. The family lived at Lush for 10 months while they remodeled their new home in The Cliffs. Today the Sheltons have a beautiful home they love, and they enjoy the peace and quiet of living in the country.

Bric Shelton does most of his work remotely these days, but he does travel to the Fort Worth area a couple days a week. It seems all the new homes at PK have opened many doors for his company.

The couple’s biggest worry turned out to be one of their biggest blessings, as Brynleigh loves the much smaller school at Palo Pinto.

“I am so impressed with the Palo Pinto schools because their focus is teaching the curriculum and not just prepping for a state test,†Bridget Shelton said. “The small-town school has been a blessing for the whole family.â€

The Sheltons were able to get their daughter involved in dance at The Beat Dance Factory in Mineral Wells, where she competes in ballet, jazz, lyrical and hip-hop dance.

Bo and Gelasia Bennett at Lush Resort have been a blessing for the Sheltons, and they now have a whole new lake family – and all it took was a little bit of timing, some luck and a whole lot of faith.