Dining on Memory Lane

This article appeared in the Townsman, December 4 edition

Long time locals will find themselves dining on memory lane when they patronize Woodstock eatery Oriole 9, now proudly hosting the magnificent Table Four, which was last seen by the public when the Bear Café changed ownership in the spring of 1980 (yes, when Jimmy Carter was still president).

Created from one piece of Peruvian mahogany by local master carver Jon Berg, Table Four, measuring approximately thirty inches by nine feet, was intended by the then owners of the Café, Bernard and Mary Lou Paturel, to replicate the medieval dining experience of eating at an immense table from wooden bowls. Of course, board of health regulations even then forbade the practice, and conventionally glazed oval plates filled the bowls Berg carved into the table. It still left plenty of room for carving the many roasts and stuffed fowls prepared in the town's most famous kitchen of that era. The table seats up to twelve people.

Berg, who died earlier this year, began his career apprenticed to Alexander Archipenko, then studied with Alfeo Faggi before a career noted for bas-reliefs focusing primarily on the female form and on flowers. Aside from this considerable body of work he also carved everyday subjects such as jackets and shoes, and fashioned numerous headboards, doors, room dividers and table tops, including the restored Table Four. Almost all his work was executed in mahogany.

Mary Lou, co-owner of the Bear Café through most of the 1970s, remembers, "At times Jon's children and mine with chisels in their little hands would carve and scoop out the wood for the bowls."

Mary Lou (Bernard died in France in 2004) recently gifted the owners of Oriole 9, Nina and Luc Moeys, her daughter and son-in-law, with the table. "For almost 30 years the table has been leaning against my mothers wall," Mary Lou explained. "It was such a thrill to dust it and oil it and put it back to use. We're enjoying remembering the people who sat at that table all those years ago."

Nina and Luc, the new proud owners of Table Four said, "The table is awesome and a must see. It's up to us to maintain its tradition as a setting for fine dining." The table is available by reservation for large parties.