Lloyd Bright’s Still Producing the Big Ones!

Pictured: Mr. Lloyd Bright showing off one of this year’s crop.

HOPE – Lloyd Bright is a name that has been chiseled into Hempstead County history as a true giant in the watermelon growing world. Mr. Bright was kind enough to let us come to his farm to show us the process and the history of his family’s profession. Lloyd Bright, now 83, has been growing watermelons on the same plot of land east of Hope since 1958, and produced his first 100-pound melon in 1973. Since then, he has grown countless world-record melons, including his personal best at 268.8 pounds in 2005. Upon further investigation, we learned that Mr. Bright’s growing wizardry is not just from him, but from 100 years of history in the area.

Across the country, Hope has long been known as the “Giant Watermelon Capital of the World”. A lot of this prestige would have to be attributed to the sandy land east of Hope. Unlike most of Hope, which has black soil, this area is known for sandy soil perfect for growing watermelons. Early growers including Edgar and Hugh Laseter, O.D. Middlebrooks, and Lloyd’s father, Ivan, all pioneered the art of growing large watermelons in this area. In fact, for 100 years (1926-2026), all of Hempstead County’s jumbo watermelons have been raised on neighboring farms or the Bright farm.

Although Mr. Bright now lives in Arkadelphia, he still owns and operates his childhood watermelon patch where his father would teach him and his sister Pat about growing melons. Originally, the Brights opted to raise eating-size watermelons. However, in 1973, their dad bought a dozen seeds of a certain striped melon. Soon, the crew would officially grow their very first 100-pound melon, and their jumbo-sized journey would only expand from then on.

Now in the modern era, Lloyd continues his father’s and many others’ legacies through his craft. Even now, he drives from Arkadelphia either every weekend or sometimes everyday back to his farm to check on his upcoming crop. According to Mr. Bright, this year is his 54th planting. In those many seasons, he has personally grown two world-record breaking watermelons, while his family in total has grown four. Today, Mr. Bright was at his farm to gather two of his giant watermelons for display at this week’s Watermelon Festival, bringing one to the Holiday Inn, and one to the Hampton Inn.

We were concerned that 2026 might be the final year for Lloyd to grow watermelons, so we were eager to do this interview. Upon questioning him however, we asked him, “Is this year the final time”? Mr. Bright smiled and answered, “Although I’m 83, I don’t plan to stop just yet”.