Refurbished Chairs Having a Rocking Time at Dickson-Murst Farm

Have an old rocking chair collecting dust in your home? Consider donating it to Montgomery’s Dickson-Murst Farm.

For the past few years, Dickson-Murst Farm Partners, a volunteer group affiliated with the Conservation Foundation, have been collecting rocking chairs in any condition, rebuilding and repairing them as needed, and painting them apple red. Then the donor’s name is printed on the back of the chair. The rockers live at the farm at 2550 Dickson Road, and are used for the many public events held at the farm each year.

The initiative is the brainchild of volunteer Jim Cumpata, who said attendance at these events can range up to 3,000 people.

“We had all these brown folding chairs around the farm and it looked horrible,” he said. “I thought, ‘It would be cool if we had rocking chairs.’”

A retired carpenter, he purchased a rocker for $5 and went to work refurbishing it. Then the partners began asking for donations.

“People were bringing in everything from brand new rockers to ones that needed to be fixed,” Cumpata said.

To date, the Dickson Murst Farm Partners have accumulated about 40 chairs.

“Some it breaks my heart to spraypaint red because they’re a nice walnut or something,” Cumpata said. “But that’s our theme. We have every shape and size you can think of and they’re all red.”

The rockers can also be donated in honor of someone, and that person’s name will be printed on the back.

Dickson-Murst Farm sits on a 4.5 acre historic homestead that was purchased by Montgomery officials seeking to protect it from being razed by developers. The village allowed the Conservation Foundation to purchase the property, on which sits several historic farm buildings in great condition, for $10.

The Dickson-Murst Farm Partners maintain the farm buildings and hold events to educate the public about what life was like on a farm. Some of those events include Spring at the Farm, Day at the Farm, an antique Truck Show, Farm Camp, Art at the Farm, and the Bluegrass Jam.