KILL DEVIL HILLS

Orville and Wilbur Wright were meticulous and tidy men, as evidenced by a photograph they took of their camp kitchen at the base of barren Kill Devil Hill.

Containers lined shelves in perfect rows, and every dish was neatly stacked. Pots and pans and a muffin tin hung just so on the rough-hewn walls.

In the lower right corner of the shot, about half of a wooden table is visible. It looks makeshift, but in typical Wright fashion, it is devoid of clutter.

Ron Ciarmello recently bought that dining table - he hopes.

If a historic analysis proves that it is indeed the same table, it will be the only known surviving piece of furniture used at the camp where the brothers lived while they tested their flying machines.

Today, the table will be shown to the public for the first time, at Wright Brothers National Memorial at 7 p.m.

Ciarmello, a 32-year-old aviation enthusiast, said that he had answered an advertisement placed in March by a Currituck County resident for "a Wright brothers camp table." How could he resist?

"I bought it from a local woman who was moving," he said. "It had been in her family for about 100 years."

Covering the Sheraton-style base of the table may be two opposite sides of a shipping crate that probably held tools or other supplies, said Ciarmello, a Kill Devil Hills jeweler. Nail holes and knots match up with those evident in the photograph, and the leading edge of the table top is made of long strips of ash - the same kind of wood used as ribs on the Wright gliders.

Most impressively, under the table, written in black, it has a name, "W. Wright," and place, "Elizabeth City."

Larry Tise, Wilbur and Orville Wright distinguished professor of history at East Carolina University, said he was skeptical when Ciarmello contacted him. He hears often from folks who believe they have some great Wright item, but rarely does it end up to be legitimate. But this time, Tise said, he thinks that Ciarmello has the real McCoy.

"I believe it is the only documentable, significant piece of furniture from the original Wright brothers camp of 1902-1903," Tise said. "In terms of understanding the Wright brothers, this table is as valuable as an entry in their diary because the table itself tells a story.

"You don't have to surround the table with a story. This is a table that speaks."

He is preparing a report with documentation and schematic drawings to present to National Park Service curators who will determine its authenticity.

If it passes muster, Ciarmello wants to loan it to the Park Service to be exhibited at Wright Brothers National Memorial.

Tise said the table demonstrates the randomness of the camp compared with the precision and care with which the inventors approached the creation of their flyers. Those machines, he said, were "masterpieces of artistry and craftsmanship."

But the furniture reflected their can-do attitude in another way.

"The table is an example of their extremely practical nature when it comes to living," he said. "This is the surface upon which they wrote their letters and their diaries."

And that's where the brilliant brothers gathered to argue and discuss and play games as they ironed out the mysteries of flight. Unlike the tables that, say, George Washington or Thomas Jefferson used to sign historic documents, Tise said, this modest table was created by the men themselves.

"It represents entirely the nature of that spot," he said. "It was created for a very specific purpose."

It's not clear how the Currituck family - which wants to remain anonymous - acquired the table, but Tise said that family members were aware of its origins. At one point, they had offered it to the Park Service, Tise said, but it was declined.

The table's historic roots didn't stop it from being used in the past for chores like laundry - it has a bleach stain and wear marks on it, he said. It ha s also served as a utility table in the family's barber shop.

To the brothers' chagrin, Tise said, much of their camp items were carted off by Outer Bankers in their traditional manner of recovering anything that appeared to be left behind.

Tise said he wouldn't be surprised if there are more Wright items that have been stored in private homes for more than a century.

"Nobody is suggesting there was looting," he said. "They were salvaging."

To learn more about the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk, see www.WorldAloft.org [1] or www.digital.lib.ecu.edu/exhibits/wright/index.html [2].

For more information on the Wright exhibit, call the Wright Brothers National Memorial at (252) 441-7430.

Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.com