North Tiverton Resident Shares Childhood Memories on Hicks Farm
Lifelong North Tiverton resident Paul Amaral recounts his childhood experiences on Hicks Farm, from berry picking to cleaning the cow gutter! We hope to conserve this property so that more people have access to green space and can continue to create cherished memories here. Please enjoy this story from Paul:
As a lifelong resident of North Tiverton, I have had the opportunity and privilege to explore most nooks and crannies within this area of town. At age of 7, the family purchased their first (and last) new home on Beardsworth Road in 1955. With new territories to explore, I now lived within walking distance of three farms, one of which was the Hicks farm. Now overgrown with large trees, bushes and underbrush, at the time it was walled open fields for grazing cows and growing hay.
The stone walls are a reminder of the farmed landscape that Paul describes. Photographed in the summer of 2025.
The vast spans of land from Main Road stretching westward to Mount Hope Bay resembled a western movie filming location to children of my age at the time. So, my friends and I would venture forth in full cowboy regalia complete with toy gun “shooting irons”. Many a summer day were spent deciding who would be the good guys or the bad guys, playing out those scenes from our favorite western hero television programs. However, at age 7, you were not quite aware that these western heroes were in reality actors. So, we assumed our roles quite seriously. Unfortunately, for me, a bit too seriously. As one of the bad guys on this particular day, I was to be shot while standing on the huge rock formation that walkers now pass while on tours of the property. To us kids it was cowboy rock or to some Bryant’s Gap. Well, the scene went as planned, except I decided to tumble from the rock as I had seen stunt actors do many times on television, resulting in quite an egg sized lump to the noggin.
The two large puddingstone boulders, which Paul refers to as cowboy rock, are much larger than they appear in this photo. Photographed in the summer of 2025.
There was also ample berry gathering opportunities with blueberries and blackberries in abundance. We would bring our berry pails home filled to the top for mom to decide what to do with the harvest. Hicks farm was absolutely the best berry gathering site and my friends and I were determined to keep it a secret, much to the frustration of our neighborhood adults. Winter sledding was also a popular activity at the farm. Starting at the top of a small hill at the adjacent Reed property on the Northeast border of Hicks farm, we would sled down the small hill to a moderate long incline which led to the final large steep hill ending on the Hicks property at the farm “Duck” pond. Duck Pond was also a popular place for many neighborhood ice skaters. On one bright sunshiny day in March, I managed to break through the ice and was forced to walk home drenched to the skin (pre cell phone days)!
Highbush Blueberries are still found throughout the understory today. Photographed in the summer of 2025.
Becoming more serious as I advanced in age to about 12 in the early 1960’s, the farm became the place for work experience opportunities. Entry level tasks on the farm consisted of cleaning the cow gutter in the barn. Armed with shovel and wheelbarrow, I would make my way from one end of the gutter to the other removing material that had accumulated from the previous day and placing it into the wheelbarrow for transport and deposit into the manure pit across from the barn. The process consisted of walking a plank out to the middle of the pit and dropping the load to the area below. On one particular day, the shovel also fell into the pit and I was ordered to retrieve it. This assignment proved to be more challenging than I first realized. Approaching the shovel in the deeper, softer areas of the pit, I sunk in up to my waist and my mother barred entry to the house until I changed clothes in the garage…. But I did retrieve the shovel. Fortunately, as a result of my success as gutter master, I was quickly promoted to harvesting and storing the hay crop. The farmer would cut and bail the hay and several of us youngsters would follow a panel truck tossing hay bails into the back of the truck. Once fully loaded, the truck would head to the barn where we would unload and neatly stack the bails in what proved to be an extremely warm environment.
By the time I was 17 in 1965, farming operations had ceased and the dairy barn became a horse stable and horseback riding business. I worked for a time helping care for the animals, saddling horses and assisting young children with their rides. If by now it is apparent that potential disaster constantly followed and hung over my head like a cloud, I shall not disappoint. On one particular day, I decided to go on a ride with a spirited horse, clearly above my skill level. By the time our group of riders arrived at the bay area, the horse bolted and was running at full gallop alongside and on to the railroad tracks. Although the reins slipped from my grasp, I fortunately somehow managed to regain control with some assistance from one of my riding companions. All in all, though, disasters notwithstanding, I have fond memories of those times past and I am elated and grateful that the Hicks family and Tiverton Land Trust had the wisdom and the foresight to seek to preserve this precious tract of land for recreation, education and conservation for all Tiverton residents and future generations going forward.
Written by Paul Amaral
TLT 2026 Annual Meeting
Thank you, Paul, for sharing this story at our Annual Meeting!
