Oval Oak Table

     Our oval dining room table came into our lives when we were newly weds.  My husband Norm bought it for a song because old oak tables were not in vogue at the time.  We didn’t care.  We needed a table and over the years we have come to appreciate its solid character more and more.

He bought it from a couple in an old farm house in Oxford, Michigan.  It had a dark stain that he sanded off, and then he refinished it lovingly until its natural golden color glowed. We admired its grain, solid construction and oval shape.

“Come and look at this,” he said as he put the final coat of wax on it. 

“I love the natural look,” I said.

 It has a compartment that holds leaves and a heavy brass lever to open and expand it to six leaves, but we use only four for company or it would be out the door.

       When it was new, the table had served a large family well, but  we only had two kids. When our youngest daughter was in grade school, she used to hide food she didn’t like in the secret compartment under the table cloth.  When I pulled the big table out for holidays and parties, strange shriveled bits of food tumbled out.

     The oak table traveled in U-Hauls every time we moved, from Oxford, to Lansing, to Sebewaing in the thumb of Michigan, and finally to Grand Haven, Michigan. We could never leave it behind.

     Today table stands in our living/dining room where everyone prefers it for opening mail, homework, paying bills, art work, playing cards, monopoly, and of course, dinner.  It’s the best spot in the house.

     We will be putting in some leaves to stretch it out when our ever growing family comes for Thanksgiving this year.