My Bedford Story

Ty Hicks

​We were all home – my mom, my brother and my sisters, dad, granddad and Big Momma. We were all at work on chores.  It was a Saturday.  School was out.  We were taking a break from our chores.  My brother and I were challenging each other as to who could hit the ball the farthest.  Mom asked if we wanted to play stickball.  We said, “Sure!”  Brother and I thought we would be playing against each other.  So, we went to pick teams.  And my mother said, “No, we don't need to pick teams.” She said she would play against all of us.  Well, we couldn't believe that.  We thought, “Well, this is going to be easy.”  Anyway, long story short, Mom was to beat us 20 to zero.  We couldn't strike her out.  We couldn't get any runs.  She showed my brother and I that we needed a lot more practice.
 
My mom was an athlete.  She had quite a reputation, even with her brothers, as far as playing stickball with them.  They respected her as much as she was good.  She was warm and loving. Every day with her was a lesson.
 

Ty Hicks was born and raised in Bedford, attending Otter River Elementary and Susie Gibson and Liberty High Schools. He moved away to attend Norfolk State University and only recently moved back to Bedford when he retired in 2018.
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