The chickens painted on the passenger side of the truck are portraits of two chickens that live at Kirby’s Farm Market. Photographing the chickens while they were roosting at eye level provided that direct avian stare that I knew would engage any observer that saw the mural. Their suspicious, inquisitive expressions made me crack up every time I looked at the photo.
It was a challenge trying to capture that character and life, but proof of my success was not long in coming. The Saturday after I added the chickens, Ted and his wife were driving the truck to the public market. As they were pulling away from a stop light, Paula noticed a woman driving away on the passenger side, laughing to herself. I guess there could be another reason for her laughter, but I’m pretty sure being under the close scrutiny of two chickens was the cause.
A lot of people are curious about our choice of adding chickens to the mural. First of all, we just like chickens. We think they’re delightful and entertaining critters. But the most significant reason would be the adventure of Rochester the chicken.
In the summertime, the market truck is loaded for public market the night before and the back door is left open for ventilation. One night, unbeknownst to anyone else, a particularly curious and adventursome Rhode Island Red decided to roost in the market truck. She slept very comfortably all night, and didn’t make a sound when Ted closed the door at 6am the next morning.
But I guess the 45 minute trip into Rochester got her a little excited. When Ted opened the back door to what he thought was a truck full of plants and produce, that chicken blasted by him in an explosion of feathers, and headed right to the roof. All day long, she toured the public market from the rafters, flying here and there, evading everyone that tried to catch her. A week later, a ten year old boy finally managed to get his hands on her and she was returned to her home in Brockport, where she lived a long and much less adventurous life. From that day on she was known as Rochester, and I’m sure you can still find plenty of people at public market that remember her. That’s a pretty good reason to have chickens on the market truck isn’t it.