Shawn Cooper balances shift work at a plant, active church participation, volunteer work in the community and running Cooper Hill Farm with a spirit of humility and gratitude.

“Everything I have, I owe to God,” he said, “and to my grandparents for having the foresight to purchase this land.”

His grandfather, Odis Cooper, died before Shawn was born. His grandmother, Elnora Lounsberry Cooper, died in 2000 and Shawn wishes he’d paid more attention to the way she did things. No, he probably wouldn’t turn over garden soil by shovel like she did and, yes, he appreciates the feel of a comfortable chair and has no desire to furnish his home as she did with only hardback chairs and a rocker. But he would have definitely picked up some gardening and canning tips. And, he would have liked to have known — and have recorded — more about her life and her parents’ lives.

“Originally, they bought only 40 acres,” Shawn said. “They lived mostly off the land, had cows, sheep, pigs and a garden.”

His grandfather worked for the railroad at some point, according to Shawn’s father, Lucien Cooper.

“They saved and bought the other 80 acres when it became available. I haven’t verified it, but I think this is one of the highest points in Calcasieu Parish,” Copper said. “It’s nice, sandy soil, good for growing certain vegetables, but when it’s dry, it’s dry.”

When Shawn retires from his chemical industry job in a few years, it is his hope that Cooper Hill Farm revenue will supplement his retirement income. It is an endeavor that he says would not have been possible without the family land.

“Lord willing, that’s Shawn’s plan,” he said. “I don’t know what His plans are.”

Anyone who has ever planted and picked a garden knows there are easier ways to supplement an income. But Cooper has always had a side line. When he taught school, it was his horse shoeing business. Cooper says he enjoys the never-ending challenges associated with farming — as soon as he learns how to handle one problem, a new one comes up — and he is fulfilled by seeing “the fruits of his labor.” YouTube has been his go-to for how-to, and now he has his own YouTube videos to share. Check those out at Cooper Hill Farm.

Wife Monica also works full time. She and their daughter and son-in-law help with the farm.

“I guess Daddy sort of kicked it off by growing watermelons,” Shawn said. “That got us all started and we realized this was good ground. We like purple hull peas, so I started planting purple hull peas.”

He planted so many peas, in fact, that his wife has refused to pick another. (She still helps with everything else.)

The drought was hard on his farm this season but on the day of the interview pumpkin plants looked promising. Shawn has gone from a spring and fall garden to planting and harvesting year round. Cooper Hill Farm harvests honey from hives and grows flowers. The family butchers a cow as needed and Shawn hunts and butchers deer. The family goes to the grocery store, but not for meat or produce, usually.

“I wouldn’t say I have a prepper’s mentality but people see what’s happening in the world,” Shawn said. “The shortages are out there. I’ve even had a hard time getting seeds so I bought more than usual this year.”

He talked about the high price of diesel, fertilizer and herbicides this year and what that could do to food prices and availability.

Shawn and Monica Cooper have one daughter and recently celebrated the birth of their first grandchild, Cooper. In future generations, there may not be a “Cooper” on the hill, but Shawn is more interested in leaving a Christ-centered legacy.

Remarkably, he makes time to help the elderly, mowing yards, delivering meals and building a handicap ramp most recently, but he steers clear of what he describes as “works-based religion” and “checking the boxes.”

“When you get to that point, you’re making it about you and not who it’s supposed to be about. Church isn’t about what happens on the inside (of the church building). “It’s about showing the church to the outside world. Go, love, serve, the great commission, that’s what the church is about.”