SEC football is the heart of Ole Miss, but outside of the campus walls is the City of Oxford, which is full of culture, sparking interests of all sorts for the community. Oxford is widely known for the arts (literature, theater, music and film), but Lafayette County, like most counties in Mississippi, is considered a farming community.
Shane Brown has taken interest in all three ways of life for an Oxonian: football, literature and farming. Brown’s family is well known in the Oxford-Lafayette community. His father, Larry Brown, was a noted author. An Oxonian might also recognize his last name from a milk carton in the fridge. His brother, Billy Ray Brown, is the man behind Brown Family Dairy.
Growing up, Brown knew two things to be true: his dad was the writer and Billy Ray was the farmer. Little did he know that later on in life, he would find a passion in both.
Brown was born and raised in Oxford and graduated from Lafayette County High School. Ready to get out of Oxford, he pursued his bachelor’s degree at Mississippi State University.
“I didn’t go to Ole Miss because I didn’t want to continue to the 13th grade,” Brown said.
During his time at Mississippi State, he found a new passion, a passion for coaching. After finishing his time at Mississippi State, he coached high school football in Water Valley, Lumberton and Collins, Mississippi.
Once his journey in coaching ended, he was ready to come home to Oxford. He took a sales job, that he soon realized wasn’t for him. After leaving the sales job, he started landscaping with a friend.
“He worked me pretty hard, and I was fine with that. I like working hard,” Brown said.
Brown also helped Billy Ray milk cows two days a week while he was gone to Farmers Markets and needed some extra hands on deck. However, five months ago, Billy Ray’s main farm hand left, and Shane took his position.
“Billy Ray needed more help and it was a no brainer for me. I jumped right into sales, deliveries and afternoon milking,” Brown said.
Shortly after getting into the swing of farm life, Brown began realizing he had a passion for writing. Brown watched the movie “Joe,” and he was encouraged to begin blogging.
“Once I started writing, I fell in love with it. Folks kept encouraging me, so I just kept writing for fun. I don’t make a dime off of it; I do it because I enjoy it,” Brown said.
Occasionally, Brown will take a picture and think of a story for a few days while he rides in the truck making deliveries from Fulton to Cleveland, Mississippi. When he goes home after milking the cows, he sits on a dock and writes notes in his phone.
Brown writes a lot about living in the country, the most important factor being the time he gets to spend with his friends and family.
“Not many people know what we have out here, away from the lights and all the hassle, but it’s all I’ve ever known my whole life,” Brown said.
Read Brown’s short stories here: http://hottytoddy.com/?s=shane+brown
Alex Kitchens is the social media editor for HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at alex.kitchens@hottytoddy.com.
