Howard's Table

I love fall. I had fun this morning getting out fall decorations and using the table runner I just finished. But I want to tell you about this special kitchen table.

Howard's table

When we added a room on to our house in 2007, we needed another dining table. Howard had an idea.

He used white oak wood (top) that came from trees harvested on our land. Daddy arranged for the white oak trees to be cut down and sawed into lumber at Golden Timber Co. sawmill across the highway from us.

The original purpose for sawing the lumber was to build horse stalls in the barn.

The barn was built in 1994, and trees cut for stalls built in 1995.  The leftover lumber was stored in the barn. Twelve years later, he reclaimed it for the table.  One of Howard's customers, Donald Kelley had a shop with various wood-working pieces of equipment. After talking about the project,  Mr. Kelley agreed to plane the white oak. His son “Duck” also helped in preparing the lumber.

The walnut trim on the table edge was Mr. Kelly's idea.

The legs were made by an Amish man, Herman Zook. Howard's brother Harry, introduced him to Mr. Zook, whose home and workshop is located in the Randolph community in Pontotoc County. The legs are made of red oak.  We couldn't call to see if the legs were finished, but finally got a letter from Mr. Zook saying they were done. All work is done by hand or by generator-driven tools since the Amish don't use electricity.

The original plan was to build two identical tables that could be used end-to-end or that could be separated. Since the our daughter Hayley was building a new house, it was decided that one table would to go her.

After many trips to the Kelley’s, our table arrived on July 15, 2007.   Last year, Howard made us a roll-around cart and got similar legs from Mr. Zook.

This table has since been the centerpiece for many meals and family gatherings.