Phillip and Mary Cox have a unique history with Frontier Housing that goes back more than twenty years. Mary was born near Cincinnati and lived there until she was about nine years old, when her family moved to the Morehead area and purchased a home with the help of Frontier Housing. Mary grew up in that home, and several years later she married Phillip Cox, who grew up in Elliot County and had been working for Frontier for five years. Phillip and Mary had been married for seven years and had three small children when they decided to buy their own Frontier home.

This February, the Cox’s celebrated eleven years in the home they built together. Because Phillip is a skilled carpenter, he had an unusual opportunity that many homeowners don’t have – he essentially built his own home. When asked whether or not he had the opportunity to help build his own home, Phillip laughs and says, “Me and Mary Ann built that house.” The Cox’s purchased property near the farm where Phillip was raised and started building in September. They were finished by February and moved in just in time to celebrate their youngest son’s first birthday.

Now their three small children are all grown up. Jonathan is 17, Mark is 15, and Bradley is 12. This summer Jonathan was selected to attend the Governor’s Scholars Program in Danville, Kentucky. It’s a great honor to be selected for GSP and only the best and the brightest young students from across Kentucky are given the opportunity to go.
When asked if he thought having a Frontier home made a difference in his children’s lives, and whether it was part of the reason Jonathan is at GSP this summer, Phillip says “definitely.” He’s proud of the fact that he’s been able to raise his children in “better surroundings.” With the money the family has saved on electricity and other bills, they have been able to provide things for their children that they wouldn’t have been able to provide before.

It’s been just over ten years since Phillip, Mary, and their three sons moved into their new Frontier Housing home. The sturdy house is no longer new, but the Cox family is still reaping the benefits of building a new home for their young family 11 years ago and will be for many years to come.