Art sale to benefit playground

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Courtesy photo The piece painted by a chicken, now on sale on eBay.

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MERRIMACK – Wendy Thomas started her chicken flock when a reader of her weekly column in The Telegraph offered her eight baby chicks as a way to “grow” healthy food. What began as a few baby birds has grown into a flock of 34 assorted hens, ranging from the standard brown farm-type chicken to exotics who look like they belong more in a zoo than in a backyard coop.

Thomas’ chickens have made quite an impact in the world of backyard chicken raising. Some of the birds have traveled to the local schools to teach children about chickens and eggs, some have been written about in various publications, and many have provided friends and neighbors with delicious and nutritious eggs.

For two more days, one of her chickens has a piece of art on eBay, with proceeds from the sale benefiting the Kids Kove Rebuilding Project, sponsored by the Merrimack Rotary Club. Twenty years ago, members of the Rotary Club built the original playground, and now it’s time to rebuild and bring parts of the playground up to new code.

Thomas, a mother of six, remembers bringing her kids to the Kids Kove playground when they were young. It featured swings, connected castles (which her “princess” daughters adored), tires to climb over and through, and a large wooden “jeep” that all her kids had to have a chance “driving” before they could even think about going home.

As of Wednesday, the artwork had attracted 65 bids with the top bid at $550. The auction for Simon the chicken’s art runs until Sept. 25.