European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 3, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Joseph Wheaton left and Bernard Mallon owners of la fete Chez Vous formerly Alice s restaurant. 1 Funky italianate restaurant with a touch of Alice not by Marialisa Calta new York times the display cases at la fete Chez Vous i Stockbridge mass., Are crammed with plates of Rabbit stewed with figs and apricots shrimp with Nacho stuffing Ginger cheesecake and Almond hazelnut Jacquoise. The tiny Kitchen is filled with the Aroma of freshly baked goods. The location is steeped in history not the history of Norman Rockwell even though he once painted in a studio above the restaurant. Rather it is a history that began More than two decades ago when la fete Chez Vous was Alice s restaurant. That s Alice As in Alice Brock As in you can get anything you want at Alice s restaurant the refrain of a 1967 hit song by Arlo Guthrie. The song Alice s restaurant massacre details the thanksgiving dinner that Brock cooked for Guthrie and friends and Guthrie s attempts to dispose of the refuse after the dinner. The song goes on to describe Guthrie s arrest on littering charges by the former Stockbridge police chief William Obanhein nicknamed officer obey in the song and his subsequent conviction and How the conviction exempted Guthrie from the draft. Alice s restaurant Guthrie sings is not the name of the restaurant it is the name of the  the restaurant was the Back door and Brock closed it and opened another in a different place before the song hit the charts. The song which sold More than 1 million records and was later made into a movie became an anti War Anthem. It has reverberated through two decades Down the picturesque main Street of the Berkshire Mountain town. Guthrie recently made a new recording of the song and is working on an animated television version of the Story and on a sequel to the 1969 movie. Just after the original Alice s restaurant massacre became popular Long haired youths flocked to Stockbridge pestering Obanhein for autographs As he directed traffic hoping for a glimpse of Guthrie wanting to speak to Brock. Bernard Mallon and Joseph Wheaton owners of a five year old catering business and of la fete Chez Vous which opened in april Are still hearing echoes of Guthrie s song. People ask us Why we Don t put up a plaque or something said Wheaton 29. We just Don t want to look like we re trying to capitalize on Alice s reputation. Wheaton has not met Brock who lives in Provincetown mass., where she is an artist and writer and Cooks occasionally at a restaurant. Mallon however worked with her for several years at another restaurant Alice s at Ava Loch in nearby Lenox mass. So did Florence Benner who recently returned from the West coast to work As what Wheaton Calls Mother in residence at la fete Chez Vous. Tigger Bruenn a Friend of Guthrie and Brock who acted and Sang in the movie is Back now at 45, As the restaurant s bookkeeper. I was in my 50s," Benner recalled a housewife on the verge of a divorce. My daughter was a waitress at Alice s and she encouraged me to apply. Alice was wonderful. It was the Best time of my  Mallon 48, soft spoken and Friendly began his cooking career helping the nuns who raised him in an orphanage in spark Hill . Brock however taught him How to keep an inventory of fresh produce and How to organize a Kitchen. We worked our tails off but it was still fun he said. Brock for her part said she is delighted that Mallon and his partner have taken Over. It s their space now she said in a Telephone interview. I m sure they la be  she was never comfortable she said with the Fame the song and movie brought her. In my life As a restaurant Overlook press 1975 she wrote of diners begging for autographs and otherwise harassing her. I think i was a Symbol of things for people even before the song Brock said in a husky voice. After the song it got really  As a restaurateur Brock broke ground in the berkshires. She was a great Cook and made fabulous food Guthrie said. She made the first phyllo pastries. That was not part of my Bohemian past. And she made $ great chocolate  she also made pasta dishes like orzo with mussels in White wine and homemade borscht when such fare was rare. Mallon and Wheaton Are offering food in the same tradition devising dishes like curried pasta with Lamb meatballs smoked Chicken in Cranberry Chutney arid Squash soup with sparkling wine. But they have changed the look of the restaurant which was crowded with Small wooden Booths and a counter when Brock ran it and have added Arches and marbleized accents. There Are three Small Marble tables for dinners. Other customers take the food out. It s an attractive room and a fun room said one Patron Alfred Gelfand of Westfield . His wife Naomi called the style Funky  and what of officer obey Obanhein now retired said he still keeps in touch with Guthrie who lives with his wife and children on an estate in nearby Washington mass., and with Brock both of whom he Calls Good  you know he said recalling that fateful thanksgiving in 1965, if it had Only been a couple of bags of garbage i would have picked it up  Erma Bombeck my 78-year-old Mother recently celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary. Amid the gifts of Crystal bowls and Silver trays and the cards depicting two bluebirds flying into the Sunset she confided to me that what she really wanted was an overnight tar in  i have been to Las vegas with Mother before she is an out of control Gambler who would bet on the Odds of the Pope working four sundays in a Row. We set out to answer the question was it possible for a woman who could count up to Queen King and Ace by the time she was 3 to find happiness with a daughter who once ripped the lining out of a purse looking for a Coupon for 10 cents off cat food when she did t even own a cat while she was waiting for the plane a Man gave Mother his seat. He did this because she walked with a Limp and her right Arm brushed the ground. This condition was caused by $80 Worth of quarters in her handbag. If they knew what kind of Money i was carrying she said they d probably comp a room for  As she charged from the plane in Las vegas she cupped her hand to her ear and listened to the jangle of the Slot machines. They re playing my song she smiled. You have to know about the sounds of vegas. There is a Metal tray below each machine where the coins drop your winnings. I Don t know How they do this but when a Quarter drops in the tray it sounds like a Jet just buzzed your House. Two quarters sound like a demolition Ball just fell on your car. Three quarters give you the decibels of a spacecraft being launched and four quarters will make you pass out from the pain. Gambling changes my Mother physically. Her arthritis dissipates every time she reaches up to pull the lever. Her body requires no food or drink to function. Her kidneys develop the capacity of two basketballs. This is what enables her to insert quarters into the Slot machines at the rate of 145 coins every minute. In the wee hours of the morning i said mom maybe we could try Hoover dam tomorrow and she said is it on the strip As i redeemed my coupons for free shrimp cocktail that i clipped out of the airline Magazine mom selected her Keno numbers and gave them to a runner in Black stockings and Short skirt. Then she emptied out her Dixie cup of coins. She had the same look on her face As Albert Brooks in lost in America when his wife lost their nest egg. I hate to say this she said but i m Down to playing Nickel  she played and lost her last Nickel at the Airport. She was quiet on the trip Home. At the terminal i inserted a Coin in the phone dialled and handed it to her As i said brightly i won Here s dad it in t the same she said. C 1988ermabombeck Page 16 the stars and stripes