The sun streaming through the rafters above suggests a pensive mood at the Coffee Grinder; "Les amis" luncheon at Le Bistro and Le Chaumiere.
Sidewalk cafes' charm
makes socializing easy
By LYNNE MARGOLIS
Collegian Staff Writer
America finally is catching on to a
concept that's been popular in Europe
for ages sidewalk cafes.
These outdoor restaurants have been
springing up everywhere, and State
College is no exception.
Walking down W. College Avenue, one
can't help but notice the charm of La
ChauMiere and Le Bistro. This
restaurant-bar has taken a slice of life
straight from Paris and recreated it in
downtown State College.
:Authentic French foods and all types
of drinks are served to patrons who
leisurely watch the world go by from
their white wrought-iron parlor chairs.
Of course, some people think it's the
other way around that passers-by are
gawking at them.
One man said he didn't like people
"watching me with my nose in a drink."
Another joked: "The State College
police come. by every 15 minutes to see
that everything is under control."
Fumes and noise from street traffic
were cited as , other problems for La
Chaumiere. But the restaurant recently
has devised an alternative for its
customers Le Bistro Bar Garden,
which opened about a month and a half
ago.
An enclosed, secluded area with dark
wooden beams suspending lush green
Cohabitation:
By DIANA YOUNKEN
Collegian Staff Writer
( Editor's note: This is the first of a
two-part series on couples who are living
together).
"In my neighborhood we don't live too
. -
good
The rooms are small
And the ceiling's made of wood
I hear the neighbors talking 'bout you
and me
I guess I've heard it all
'Cause the rooms are small
And the walls are much too thin."
from Randy Newman's "I Don't
Want to Hear it Anymore"
People used to talk about only a brave,
liberal few who chose living together
over marriage.
But the number of couples living
together these days has increased
significantly. According to a March U.S.
census report, some 1.3 million persons
are sharing living quarters with an
unrelated adult of the opposite sex
double the figure in 1970.
And they come from all walks of life,
from celebrities whose lives fill the daily
gossip pages to college acquaintances,
from elderly couples sharing social
security payments to the new couple
next door. "Shacking up," "cohabiting"
or simply "living together"
,has become
a much-practiced and much-talked
about national phenomenon.
Perhaps in light of the "new morality"
inspired by the Carter administration,
some of the talk isn't favorable.
What once was called "living in sin"
apparently still applies, although
jokingly in many circles, to some of
Jimmy Carter's own staff.
According to a recent National
Observer article, Carter drew quite a
:few surprises when he openly disap
proved of such living arrangements and
urged them to stop.
"Those of you who are living in sin,"
Collegian living
the
dail
plants, the Beer Garden is situated
behind the restaurant.
Picnic tables offer more space for
those who bring lots of friends. Beer,
wine and simple mixed drinks are
served in the Garden.
There also is an appetizing menu, and
the dishes are prepared outside. The
incredible aroma makes it hard to resist
ordering a late-night snack while en
joying the warm air and conversation.
' And that's what people said they like
most about outdoor cafes. Warm, sunny
skies or cooler star-lit nights are con
ducive to relaxing, socializing, or just
having a good time.
The Trainyard is the newest offshoot
from the Train Station restaurant,
behind the main restaurant off E.
College Avenue, The Trainyard func
tions mainly as a bar, but Cattle Car
hoagies also are allowed ( and en
couraged) to be enjoyed outside.
Surrounding a raised platform-patio
are several picnic tables, potted trees
and an authentic flatbed wagon from the
old railroad days. The patio's urn
brella'd tables and yellow chairs seem to
add an aura of sophistication to the open
atmosphere.
That open atmosphere seems Co be the
main attraction of any outdoor cafe.
Several people said they were ap
preciative of a chance to escape the hot,
smoke-filled indoor bars. A Trainyard
he announced • shortly
inauguration, "I hope
married."
Ironically, Carter's motion unin
tentionally served to glamorize a
growing lifestyle that few are likely to
relinquish in spite of reigning moral
attitudes.
For many cohabitants however,
particularly students, the pressures
from family, friends, landlords and
employers, make life relatively
unglamorous and difficult.
Marianne and Ted have been living
"We're here during the day for the
little things that matter getting up
in the morning and being together
during our meals most of the time,
and him being here at night when we
go to bed."
together just three weeks, and_ under
false pretenses.
According to Marianne, they were
forced to resort to drastic measures to
find an apartment.
"It's surprising how devious you can
be when you want to," Marianne said,
referring to her initial unsuccessful
attempt to rent an apartment with Ted.
Hoping to avoid any complications,
she first told the realtor her "female"
roommate was away and couldn't come
into the rental office to co-sign the lease.
Eventually she changed her story.
"Release Valves," the famous Train
Station drink, are quite popular outside.
Frozen strawberry daiquiris run a close
second. At Le Bistro, French 75's are
requested often.
But the Trainyard is said to have the
most interesting drinks, like the "Big
Ape," a very large apricot sour, named
after a certain gorilla.
Drinks are by no means cheap at
either place, although prices are
reduced during Happy Hours.
So if you like to escape to the country,
wet your whistle at the depot watering
hole, or pretend you're in Paris, one of
these places should be just right for you.
Couple views arrangement
"Rather than try to fool the man and
get us kicked out in the end, I gave in and
told him the truth," Marianne said. "But
he didn't buy it."
Marianne decided to play it safe the
next time she went apartment hunting
and she lied. Her current landlord
doesn't know she's rooming with Ted,
hence their names are pseudonyms to
protect them. However, "the resident
manager's seen us and I don't think he
minds," Ted added.
"We don't think we're wrong and yet
society makes us play these games,"
Marianne complained. "I don't see why
two people who feel so strongly as Ted
and I do need to be separated from each
other."
They have been going together for six
months but until now "we had no free
time as such so we had to join some of
our activities together," Marianne said.
Most of their time together was spent
studying, Ted said.
' "This way we're together even though
we still are separated a lot during
classes," Marianne said. "We each have
our own lives and we don't impinge on
that.
patron said she was happier outdoors
because "there's no obnoxious music."
"People seem more at ease outdoors,"
according to another Trainyard
customer. "They can't kick you out," he
added, "(because) you're already
here." The nine-to-five workers said
they were especially appreciative of the
chance to unwind outdoors.
The Trainyard was cited as a favorite
Happy Hour place by most of the
patrons.'
"When I'm not at La Chaumiere,"
declared one enthusiastic customer,
"I'm here."
She said the Trainyard was a pleasant
place to spend the afternoon or early
evening, "before hitting the indoor
bars."
Marianne
"We're here during the day for the
The Trainyard, on the "younger" side of town, attracts the student crowd.
little things that matter getting up in
the morning and being together during
our meals most of the time, and him
being here at night when we go to bed."
"We both thought we'd benefit from
the experience any way you look at it,"
Ted said, "as something we could learn
a lot of things from."
"For the first time, we're together
because we want to be together,"
Marianne said. "We want this to work.
"We're having to make compromises
we never had to to before," She added.
"All of a sudden if Ted does something
that perturbs me, I can't walk out and
"I don't think either of us is really
ready for a commitment at this time.
We both have a lot of school ahead of
us and we both want a career. There's
a lot of things that we want right now.
If we're married it would stand in the
way of a lot of those things."
leave it as 'well, that's the way my
roommate is.' "
"It's like starting over, just being able
to be together all the time, to let the little
nuances in our personalities start to bug
each other so ( that) we have to sit down
and talk about it. And it helps us to get to
know each other better and to grow
closer."
Although they were convinced they
wanted to move in together, neither Ted
nor Marianne completely understood
their new roles at first.
"When we came into this apartment I
thought of myself as sort of being in a
A weekly look at life
in the University community
Photos by Sally Hunter (top left) and Patrick Little
as 'marriage in spirit'
husband-role," Ted said, "and she sort
of thought of me as ,a roommate."
After discussing the issue they now
agree they're sort of "married in spirit,"
and "it's a lot more relaxed," Marianne
said. "We're getting to know each other
a lot better."
Marriage is a future possibility but "I
.don't think either of us are really ready
for a commitment at this time," Ted
said. "We both have a lot of school ahead
of us and we both want a career. There's
a lot of things that we want right now. If
we're married it would stand in the way
of a lot of those things."
"I think we are very realistic,"
Marianne said. "But she's a little bit
more realisitc than I am," Ted added.
"If we can keep what we have now, I
think everything will work out til we do
get married," he said.
Ted said that after he told two friends
in the dorm about his relationship, all of
the males on the floor found out.
"A lot of them think I'm getting a
summer full of sex," he said. "I don't
really look at it that way, but I can't
change their view. The people that
count, my friends, see it the same way I
—Ted
Friday, June 24, 1977-7
do as a chance to get to know
Marianne."
"It seems like the guys who are really
saying `ah man, it's gonna be nice,' are
those who don't have or have not had a
glose relationship with a girl," Marianne
said.
"With my friends, I make sure they
understand how I feel about Ted," she
added.
Ted and Marianne's parents don't
know they are living together and they
don't plan to tell them.
"If they ever found out they might
disown me," said Ted, whose parents
are paying his tuition and rent. "They
would be so shocked, it would be like I
had let them down in such a big way.
And I don't want to do that to them, but it
would be like that in their eyes," he
said.
Marianne said she has discussed the
issue hypothetically with her mother and
"I have a feeling that she has a pretty
good idea that I'm doing something like
this."
Ted's parents are pressuring him to
allow them to visit, but he.keeps making
excuses, he said. "They're supposed to
come up but I'm going to try to get rid of
them. If they do come up, we'll just have
to re-arrange the apartment a little."
Because of his parents and because
Ted and Marianne were uncertain how
successful their arrangement would
prove, Ted's moving out in the fall. "We
didn't know if we'd be able to put up with
each other or not," Ted said, "so we just
decided to do it for one term."
And Marianne added: "I think we
thought it was a little too risky living
together more than one term."
Ted said he dreads the move but they
try not to think about it. They both
agreed that the time spent together this
summer is not a commitment but a way
of enjoying each other while they can.
And even more importantly, Marianne
added: "Our curiosity is being satis
fied." , -.