Army veteran Nick Kitchokoff, 81, of Youngstown, talks about the Military Memorial Carved Quilt that he helped create with other carvers as a member of the Roundtable Woodcarvers, which meets every Wednesday at the Ohio Living Senior Center, 201 Wick Ave., in downtown. He contributed two of the panels to the quilt.

YOUNGSTOWN — You can’t pull it up over you while watching movies on a Friday night, but this quilt ensures a blanket of comfort and protection — just like those who created its blocks.

“The Military Memorial Carved Quilt was designed, handcarved, painted and assembled by members of the Roundtable Woodcarvers in Youngstown as a salute to American armed forces since the War of Independence,” said Mona Mangiarelli, director of the Ohio Living Home Health & Hospice Senior Center on Fifth Avenue in Youngstown.

She was referring to a wooden display of 32 5-by-5-inch panels and one 10-by-10-inch panel set in a dark wood frame and topped by an American Eagle emblem and two small U.S. flags. It originally was created in 2005.

“The senior center’s carving group includes a number of veterans. They have created a wooden ‘quilt,’ with each veteran carving representations of the story of his service into one of the squares,” Mangiarelli said, noting that typically about two dozen members attend that particular session.

The unique structure is a focal point of the center and the main reason so many veterans who love woodcarving are drawn to the class at 9 a.m. every Wednesday.

Nick Kitchokoff of Youngstown is a member of the Roundtable Woodcarvers and contributed two of the panels to the quilt.

“I made the block with the boots and helmet and the one with the black buffalo,” the 81-year-old said, whose works also include carvings of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a replica of “The Piet,” a Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti that is housed in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, and an eagle etched in great detail.

The retired owner of Hamilton Lock and Key in Boardman, who also worked at General Motors in Lordstown for 25 years, among other jobs, was military police in the Army from 1964 until 1966. His main responsibility while stationed in Livorno, Italy was to guard military ammunition, sometimes for 72 hours per shift.

Also a gifted artist, he made sketches and paintings of fellow soldiers and other subjects within his view during his downtime as an MP rather than indulging in woodwork, though he has been a woodcarver for more than 60 years.

“I first began in the Cub Scouts. I made the wooden kerchief tie for my bandana,” he recalls, adding that he enjoys the camaraderie of being with the friends he’s made at the woodcarvers class in his native Youngstown.

One of those classmates is Allan Cochenour of Struthers, who lists such pals as a motivator for him to show up each Wednesday morning.

“I’ve met a lot of great friends here,” says the former MP, who also served in the Army.

“I spent Christmas at Camp Polk in Louisiana back in 1952,” he recalls about being drafted into the military. He served as an MP until October of 1954.

He, too, created one of the blocks in the Military Memorial Carved Quilt.

“I made the 57th MP Company block,” explained Cochenour, who lives in Struthers and worked as an arch welder at Republic Steel in Youngstown, where a co-worker gave him a book about woodcarving after learning of his interest in it.

“I asked him if he was sure he didn’t want to keep it and he laughed and said, ‘No, I like my hands the way they are,’ ” said Cochenour, who has won blue ribbons for his woodworking skills.

Cochenour began his pastime in the early 1970s after his nephew left a partial creation and a woodsaw at his home after a visit.

“He decided carving wasn’t for him so I picked it up and started making a piece,” he said, noting that his daughter often paints his finished creations.

It was his nephew’s mom who told him about the Roundtable Woodcarvers. He decided to check it out several years ago and has been a regular attendee ever since.

Harold Powell of Petersburg also is a regular attendee. The 79-year-old makes the drive to Youngstown every week with his wife of 55 years, Judy, who was the one who brought the group to his attention.

Another Army veteran, Powell was drafted in 1966 and served on an M42 Command Truck in Panama for two years.

“It was like living in a zoo without any cages,” he said about his experience there. “We were air defense and had to keep the guard safe.”

A retiree of the East Fairfield Coal Co., where he worked for 27 years, Powell has only been coming to the class for about a month. His crowning achievement in woodworking to date is an elegant dulcimer.

“Someday, the boys will have a debate over who gets it,” Judy said, laughing.

The piece he’s working on now is a penguin, and his overall sentiment about woodworking is common among all the members of The Roundtable.

“I’ve just always loved making things from scratch and this is a nice group of folks to share my hobby with,” Powell said.

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