By Brian J. Lowney / Chronicle Correspondent. Click here for the full story (and more pictures) on the Sun Chronicle.
WESTPORT — When three hardworking employees call it a day at Bristol County Agricultural High School in Dighton, they head home to Westport where they continue to develop strong family bonds and maintain important ties with the community.
Ryan Miranda, facilities manager at the high school, and brothers Ben and Kyle Medeiros all share a passion for agriculture, respect for natural resources and a deep appreciation for the lessons the high school passes to the next generation of farmers.
Miranda, who graduated from Bristol Aggie in 1996, grew up in Dighton. His mother is a Westport native.
The Medeiros brothers, Westport High School alumni, have strong roots in town. Their grandfather, George Medeiros, who died in 2003, started the family dairy farm on Sodom Road. The property was recently sold and is agriculturally protected.
According to the three men, working at the agricultural high school has many benefits.
“The dynamics allow interpersonal relationships to happen on a day-to-day basis,” Miranda said, adding that the Bristol Aggie community is similar to the Westport in that both embody community spirit and strong family values.
“People aren’t afraid to share their lives with each other,” he said. “When people get together there is no hierarchy.”
Miranda’s wife Jacci is employed at Westport Rivers Viineyard and Winery and at Eva’s Garden in Dartmouth. The couple’s son Caleb attends Westport Public Schools.
Miranda said his daughter Sage, a floriculture major who serves as sophomore class president, is carrying on a family tradition by attending the agricultural school.
Foreman Kyle, who takes care of all livestock and other animals at Bristol Aggie, works with Miranda in operating BA Grows, the school’s farm stand. When school is in session, the produce is harvested and used in the cafeteria.
“Sometimes in the busy season I am here seven days a week,” Kyle said. During the summer, he helps with crop production, but when temperatures drop, he can be often found outdoors before dawn shoveling snow and plowing sidewalks.
Growing up on the family dairy farm, the two brothers milked cows twice daily until 1999.
“I’m back to waking up at 5 a.m. every day and back to milking cows,” Kyle said, laughing, adding that the school’s animals must be cared for 365 days a year.
The other Medeiros brother, Ben, who wears many hats as the school’s floating foreman, works in maintenance and carpentry and is charge of shipping and receiving. He also assists his brother with milking chores at the dairy farm.
In addition, Ben serves as Bristol Aggie’s boy’s soccer and basketball coach.
The Medeiros’ cousin, Katie Zuber, works as a special education teacher at Bristol Aggie and lives on her family’s farm in Dartmouth.
Another cousin, Meghan Sherman of Westport, is a student at Bristol Aggie. She is a student worker and cares for farm animals before and after school.
“It’s in our blood,” Ben says about his family’s passion for farming and longtime commitment to agriculture. “My young son is also obsessed with cows and farm equipment.”
Both Kyle and Ben are active participants in the Westport Fair, for which their grandfather served as a founding member.
“Everyone in our family has some role in making sure that the fair continues,” Kyle said. “We need younger generations to ensure that agriculture will continue in Massachusetts. It’s a huge network of people who care about and support local agriculture.”
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