Hopewell Farms
Barn Fire – January 8th, 2012
On Sunday morning, January 8th 2012, one of the most heartbreaking moments we have ever faced as a family took place when our barn caught fire and burned to the ground. Making matters worse was the fact that our 14-year-old son was left to deal with that tragic event while the rest of the family was away from home. Within minutes, the first units of the Newbury Volunteer Fire Department arrived on the scene and began a daylong effort to battle the blaze in high winds and freezing temperatures.
Over the course of the past three years since we first moved to Newbury, NH and began farming, we have been blessed repeatedly by the kindness and respect of our community, welcomed as neighbors and as a business. Until the fire, we cannot say that we experienced anything other than joy and pride in our decision to start our life over in a new vocation and in a new home.
In the aftermath of that awful day, we have been overwhelmed by the ensuing response. From the hugs and handshakes of well wishers, to the selfless and confident professionalism of the men who saved our house and risked their lives to extinguish the blaze, each day has brought another unexpected barrage of human decency and community support. In the following days, a seemingly endless stream of people arrived at our farm with casseroles and fresh baked bread, pickup trucks loaded with hay and feed for our animals, and countless gloved hands ready to pitch in and to help us try and clean up the devastation left behind. What could have been one of the worst moments in our life has suddenly become one of the brightest. We may have suffered an enormous loss, but we have been given a gift of incalculable value by learning firsthand how much a community means to each of us.
We would like to thank each person personally but the list would be too long to print, but for those who gave of themselves on our behalf, the firemen of Newbury, Sutton, Bradford, Sunapee, New London, Goshen, Newport, Warner, Springfield, Wilmot and Henniker, the neighbors who provided our meals, the farmers who brought feed for our livestock, the volunteers who gave their time to sort through the remains, the people from UNH Co-operative Extension who have offered to help plan our new barn, the local businesses that gave our requests for equipment and supplies top priority, our children’s schools and their teachers and classmates, our extended family, even those people whom we have never met who sent emails of support, we offer our most sincere and profound thanks.
The Moran Family
See article in Concord Monitor.
About our Farm
Hopewell Farms is a sustainable family farm located at 3 South Road in South Newbury, New Hampshire. We are New Hampshire’s first producer of Farm-Raised Tilapia
Our desire to provide fresh food at a fair value is something we work at every day and we know you’ll notice the difference. We offer a wide variety of Heritage Meats and Heirloom Vegetables and Fruits that are beyond organic, full of flavor and grown with concern for the fertility of the soil and the long term sustainability of the land.
We also offer a wide variety of specialty items like artisanal vinegars, homemade goat cheese, pasture-raised eggs, our own maple syrup, as well as seasoned, split cord wood. We are also very proud of our efforts towards energy independence by providing our own source of electric and thermal energy through the use of photovoltaic solar thermal panels and Newbury’s first Wind Turbine.
Read more about our daily farm life in our Homesteading Blog.
