DENTON, Texas — The old saying is, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."
But two longtime neighbors on Churchhill Drive in Denton have turned one setback into cherries.
Well, actually they turned it into “chairies.”
“I used to have chairs in a tree in (the backyard) that we called a 'chairy' tree as a joke,” said Judy Smith.
But an empty lot in her neighborhood near Avondale Park gave that “chairy tree” a chance to grew into a full-fledged “Chairy Orchard” after Judy and her neighbor, Anne Pearson, began collecting all the chairs they could find.
Eight years later, The Chairy Orchard is a spot people come to take pictures, read books, have picnics, or just sit and relax in one of the hundreds of chairs.
“We get schools, people come and do yoga classes,” Anne said. “We have even had some weddings.”
It all happens on a piece of land Pearson purchased nearly 40 years ago for an investment property. However, plans to build on the lot were dashed when FEMA later designated it as a floodway.
But Anne and Judy have made the most of it and then some with The Chairy Orchard.
“It is a wonderful thing,” said Judy. “We get so much feedback and it is all positive.”
The two have grown their collection by going to garage sales, spotting abandoned chairs on curbs, and even digging some out of dumpsters.
Some chairs are rather ordinary while others are a little more extravagant or odd.
Then there are the chairs that have a special theme, or as Judy calls them, “carica-chairs.”
Such as the chair made from mannequin arms called the “arm chair.” Or the one covered in toy car wheels known as the “wheel chair.” Then there is the circle of rocking horses named the “chair-ousel” and the “ceme-chairy” is where broken or damage chairs are placed.
Finally, if you look up and see the chair hanging from a tree branch, you have found the “high chair.”
The Chairy Orchard is free to see but visitors are given the chance to donate to the “chair-ity” box at the end.
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