Jim Cooper had lived around the river his entire life and had embraced its community and culture: “I’m not a city person, I’m a river people. They’re a different breed of people.” In the audio file below, Jim Cooper talks about his relationship with the river. (This is an .mp3 audio file.)

Jim Cooper, who attributed his talents to God, was born in 1937 in a Posey County corn crib. He grew up with a farmer/fisherman father and a six-foot, half-Indian mother he called the "Queen of Hearts."

He raised his own family on a small farm and had used his netmaking and fishing skills to support them financially. Throughout his life, Cooper had found netmaking to be a transforming retreat from the complexities of everyday life.

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