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Former WWF Wrestler Saves 125 Acres Of Farmland In Milford

Posted: Jul 30th 2022 By: Tony Schinella

He was once known as one of the strongest men alive — and the first man in the world to bench press 700 pounds in a powerlifting competition.

But now, he's a farmer. And not just any farmer.

Ted Arcidi, a former wrestler, weightlifter, and business owner, recently purchased Ryefield Farm, a 125-acre corn and hay farm in Milford along Route 101A, preserving it from development.

Arcidi, who frequently fished in the area with his kids in the 2000s, found out the farm was for sale a couple of years ago. After a bidding war — which included companies and interests wanting to place solar panels on the land or build a massive distribution center, he was able to purchase the farm for about $1 million. He has also invested "about twice that" in repairing the land.

"When I got here, this was all new to me," Arcidi said. "I knew I wanted to do this work. I knew I wanted to expand the farm. I knew I wanted to help the farmers. That was the big thing … saving the farm, saving the land."
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Arcidi received help from town officials, including those connected to planning and conservation, to get permits and know the rules for land use.

Since buying the farm, Arcidi built up a berm to keep the Souhegan River from flooding into about a 15-acre section of prime land which had not been farmed in more than 100 years due to flooding.

"We put this berm up because there was a past history of overflowing, over the water, and it would wipe out the crops," he said. "I got the blessing from the EPA, and it's great; it's back the way when they used to farm (here)."

Arcidi also brought hundreds of trucks in, tons of loam and dirt, to repair the farming area. It was a big investment. Much more than expected.

"It was a lot of money," he said. "But it was worth it."

Along with all of the dirt and rocks for the berm, years and years of growth, "obstruction," as he called it, had to be cleared to make the land productive again.

"It was about half the size," he said. "I had to clear it all out … no one knew what was back here."

Residents, he said, continued to challenge him, saying they did not believe him when he said he was not going to build on the land. They feared Arcidi was going back on his promise. He said residents were taking pictures, spying on him and his workers. It was, he said, a real battle for the hearts and minds to get people to trust him, and it was surprising, too.

"There was a lot of resistance," he said. "These people were relentless."

While Arcidi appreciated their opinions, he stayed focused on the task at hand. The only structure he built on the land was a tractor shed.

But Arcidi has been used to battles in life, like everyone.

Arcidi was born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in Concord, Massachusetts. Originally, he played hockey but got checked around a lot during the games because he was smaller than the other players. His mother bought him his first set of weights, and from there, he got bigger, and he liked what he saw, too. Girls did, too, he laughed.

"It started as a need to become a better (hockey) player," he said, "and led to something else."

Arcidi also worked at a boathouse on the Concord River and on a farm owned by a local family when he was growing up. Those experiences helped him solidify his business interest, like working with customers, making them happy, and interactivity, something a lot of people do not get today as children, he said. They are more prone to being on gadgets and staring at the ground while walking, he joked.

While his childhood experiences were not the same as buying a farm, it was an introduction. As he got older and bigger, he took up weightlifting, and he would become a strongman.

While in his mid-20, he broke the world record for weightlifting, being the first man in the world to be officially recognized for bench pressing 700 pounds. A few years later, he broke his record, lifting more than 718 pounds. About two decades ago, he was able to bench press 725 pounds. Overall, Arcidi set more than a dozen world records.

Not long after bench pressing the 700 pounds, Arcidi earned the nickname of the "world's strongest man" and was invited to wrestle with the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment). Across two years, he faced off against some of the biggest names in the business, including hall-of-fame wrestlers Big John Studd, "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas, The Iron Sheik, and Jake "The Snake" Roberts, as well as "King Kong" Bundy, the Von Erichs, and others. Most memorable for Arcidi was one of his matches with Studd at the Garden which has nearly 1 million views on YouTube.

After leaving WWF, he wrestled with other companies and, in 1987, won the Texas Heavyweight Championship. Arcidi left the business in 1990 and moved to New Hampshire.

When he arrived here, Arcidi started a mail order business, mostly sports nutritional products, and opened one of the largest gyms for women in New England in Manchester. The mill building was cheap — "a dollar, a dollar and a half a square foot … it was great." Later, Arcidi bought the building with his father.

Arcidi has also worked as an actor, landing roles in several movies, including "The Town," the Ben Affleck bank robbery thriller, "The Fighter," a boxing film loosely based on a documentary about drug addiction in Lowell, and Denzel Washington's "The Equalizer 2." He has more than 30 acting credits, including television shows and shorts, too.

While he still tries out for acting roles, the pandemic made it hard to audition over Zoom, he joked.

The land is Arcidi's "nirvana," a chance to get away from it all, and reminds him of times with his children. Purchasing the farm to save it was like giving back, he said.

"I felt bad about the farmers who were using the land," Arcidi said. "We've heard enough stories about the farmers getting screwed."

The corn and hay grown on the farm are leased to the Fitch family, who have been dairy farmers for six generations, he said.

Tucker Brook runs through the front section of the property, while the Souhegan River runs for more than two miles around the farm.

"It's like a moat," he said, watching the water trickle by. "Look how clean it is."

Over the years, before Arcidi obtained it, many developers looked at purchasing Ryefield Farm. There were plans for a golf course, at one point, before the last recession.

While the property is split between hay and corn, Arcidi has thought about growing vegetables but, admittedly, does not have the time with so many other interests. He can get food to other places. Although, with the shortage in the food supply, he said he might have to rethink that idea.

"It makes you wonder," he said.

But for now, it is all about helping the farmers and getting away from it all for Arcidi. It is his "Field of Dreams." Only without a baseball field. But maybe a wrestling ring, at some point?

"I'm just thankful to come out here, to get away, to hunt and fish," he said. "It's a refuge for me, especially when I'm working, doing a film, or something. (But) I'm just a steward of the property. It's unbelievable."