Club
Info & Events
Details of the March Meeting
 The
March meeting was great meeting for a number of reasons. First,
we enjoyed a great turn out including the return of 2 recently MIAs
Joe and Mike and a surprise visit from our old friend Ted who we
haven't seen in a couple of years. But the reunions started a little
earlier at CB Perkins when the lean and not so mean Dock Perry (remember
him?) walked through the door sporting a mid summer tan and an even
sportier hairdo that I think he may have gotten at the local recruiting
office. Dock, once a very active member of the club, had discovered
that the fountain of youth could not be found at the bottom of a
pipe bowl. So his quest continued and it seems he may have found
what he was looking for at the local gym, tanning salon and laundromat
somewhere along the Jersey Shore. But Dock's return to Stoughton
was not in search of anything this time, his visit had purpose,
he was here to pass on the memory of our good comrade Ken Collins
to those who's company he truly enjoyed the most.
Dock brought close to 100 of Ken's pipes with him ranging in price
from $20 to $150 of which the proceeds would go to Ken's wife Mary.
Many of these pipes were worth much more but Dock priced them in
a way that Ken would be pleased with. I think we all felt Ken's
presence there that night and I'm sure he was smiling from ear to
ear because Ken was as generous a man as he could be and loved to
make people happy.
I think everyone bought at least one pipe or jar of tobacco, many
bought much more. We even had one of our honorary long distance
members, JR
from Bremerton, WA. email me and ask me to pick out one of Ken's
Boswells or Petersons for him and he'd send me the money, which
I was happy to do.
When the dust had finally settled, Dock had sold around 85 pipes
and most of the tobacco. The left over tobacco was added to our
monthly raffle. This was a great way to carry on the memory of a
good friend and help out his family at the same tiem, I hope we
did Ken proud. I know I will always think of him while smoking his
Savenelli Autograph.
Holmes and Me........
by Ernie Whitenack
As one ages nature plays tricks on the mind.
The past and its memories, long dismissed or at least filed
away, often spring to the forefront with the least provocation.
And yet the memory of just yesterday, for many, can be almost
impossible to recall. So it was as I listened to the BBC radio
recordings of Holmes and Watson. The suspense in the recorded
voices and the smell of my own pipe as I listened in the dim
light of evening suddenly carried me back some seventy years
to an earlier Holmes and Watson.
 This
tale of horror and apprehension started in the late 1930s when
I was a young lad, nine or ten years old. It was the weekly
radio visit of Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson to our humble, depression-depleted,
home that often set my heart to pounding and my skin to erupt
periodically with cold, tingling goose bumps. The two episodes,
most causing these physical anomalies, hang vividly in my memory.
The
old Philco radio sat on a side table spanning the space between
two windows of our large dining/family room. The room was seldom
used for dining as we, and most folks of the time, took meals
other than holidays and special occasions in the kitchen. The
round oak table with its massive base was however relegated
to homework for my sister and me and, a place for Dad to spread
out the daily newspaper. At these weekly visitations I would
pull one of the ornately carved dining room chairs as close
to the radio as possible and await the spooky
organ music that heralded the arrival of Holmes and Watson.
The
Speckled Band, with the feared Gypsies, assortment of dangerous
animals and the intense suspense at the end as the two heroes
sat in the darkened room awaiting God knows what, kept me fidgeting
on the edge of my chair for most of the broadcast. And, to say
nothing of the trepidation felt for weeks to come, however unjustified,
while walking through high grass and taking shortcuts through
wooded areas. I was always watchful for any sign of a yellow
object with brown spots; just waiting for the dreaded Swamp
Adder to strike.
The Hound
of the Baskervilles holds court on an even plain with the
dreaded snake for lighting the fire of fear in my young mind
and body. However, the hound found help in my friend George
who lived just down the street. I was once again on the edge
of my chair anxiously awaiting the next macabre attack of the
hound. Smoke from Dad's pipe trickled through the room adding
another sensory element to the event. Sir Henry and Watson were
stealthy crossing the moor, checking on a signal light seen
from the Manor, when the ghastly mournful howl broke forth.
At that instant there was repeated loud pounding
on the window in closest proximity to my chair. I jumped to
my feet and felt the adrenaline rush of fear serge through my
body. This was followed by gales of laughter emanating from
the now visible face in the window of my friend George. Upon
the realization that I had once again been had by my prankster
friend, I wanted, in retaliation, to beat him up. The knowledge
of his being a couple of years older and several inches taller
quickly put that ambition to rest.
To the surprise of my family, who never imagined
I could have such dedication, these weekly visits continued
for several years with seldom a miss. The obvious change in
plots and dialog, as the supply of original stories waned and
new writers began emulating Sir Arthur's style, brought disappointment
and disinterest and almost an end to the weekly visits of my
friends Holmes and Watson.
My sister, on my fourteenth or fifteenth birthday,
presented me with a hardbound copy of the Complete Sherlock
Holmes. I passed the book on to my son at about the same age
with the hope he would enjoy and cherish it as I had.
Copyright © Ernest N. Whitenack,
2011
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Pipes
& Tobacco News & Info
CALL TO ACTION!
It never seems to end does it? More legislation on
tobacco. Speak Out Against FDA Control of the Premium Cigar
Industry. If this happens, this is what you can expect to
see at your local B&M:
- Your cigars could be behind lock and key,
or, worst case scenario, behind black curtains. You would
have to make your selections from a binder of black and
white photos.
- Detailed artwork that grace many cigar
boxes—gone and defaced by health warnings covering
50% of the box.
- If the FDA gets its way—the word
“cigar” or “tobacco” could be illegal.
- Manufacturers would have to submit new
blends to the FDA for testing, analysis, and eventual approval
(or denial).
- Flavored cigars could be banned by FDA regulations.
- FDA regulation means higher cigar prices because manufacturers
will be forced to pay user fees to the agency
Do nothing and this is what may very well happen
to your local premium cigar and tobacco shop if cigars are
brought into the FDA’s regulatory control.
WHAT'S
WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
There's no mention of pipes and pipe
tobacco. Great! So we WILL be able to go into a smoke shop,
look at all the pipes and pretty artwork on the pipe tobacco
cans right? I don't think so. What's to stop them from doing
the same thing to us? Why doesn't the Cigar Rights of America
want to include the pipe community in their fight? It's true,
the CRA has been approached by members of the pipe community
asking to be included but they have received no response and
no explanation. Why? Do they have this situation under control?
What ever happened to the old adage... "There is strength
in numbers?" I have been looking into this and will report
back when/if I hear anything.
But in the meantime we still
need to do our part. Please contact
your elected officials and let them know you are against
further legislation or before too long we will need to change
our Country's motto from "Home of the Free" to "Home
of the Oppressed!"
Click
Here to Show your Support!
Other Important
Links for smokers: |
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Websites Worth a Look
What is a Balkan Blend?
I once went into a tobacco shop and asked if they
had any house Balkan blends. The tobacconist looked down at
me and smugly said, "There's no such thing as a Balkan
blend." But my mind heard him say.... "You stupid
fool, if you don't know anything about tobacco, why are you
even in here?" Not exactly the response I was expecting
and probably one of the reasons I don't frequent that shop
much any more.
Well it seems the folks at PipesMagazine.com
are also a little interested in finding out the story behind
the Balkan blend and have put out an interesting article that
may satisfy the curiosity of some of you but may also leave
the skeptics, still skeptical. Either way, it's still worth
a read.
Take
me to the Balkans
This
Month's Tobacco Raffle
Here are a couple of Captain Earle's Blends by Cornell &
Diehl
Captain Earle’s Mystic Blend
Sailors and land-lubbers alike will appreciate the complexity
of Mystic Blend. Nine separate tobaccos are blended in a harmony
so perfect only a true Mystic's touch could have concocted
this medium bodied English masterpiece. Named in honor of
Mystic Seaport, Ct., present day berth of Capt. Earle's Lady
of the Sea, the Charles W. Morgan.
Capt. Earle’s Stimulus Package
Pipe Tobacco
A
new release from Hermit Tobacco’s Capt. Earle Series!
Capt. Earle’s Stimulus Package is a true delight for
the Latakia lover! Rich and full-bodied, Stimulus Package
is pressed to deliver a perfectly balanced blend to the true
aficionado of full English blends.
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Pipes in the
Movies
I received a couple of responses to last month's piece about pipe
smoking in the movies. Here they are:
The Stranger --
with Orson Wells, Loretta Young and Edward G. Robinson -- 1946
Pipe smoking Robinson tracks down a vicious Nazi war criminal who
is posing as a professor at a U.S. prep school. A high quality suspenseful
movie.
Spaghetti Westerns
Lee Van Cleef's had major supporting roles in For A Few Dollars
More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, in which he smoked an African
Meerschaum. He continued to star in spaghetti westerns for much
of his subsequent career. I haven't seen many of these westerns
but from the way he lit and handled his pipe I doubt that it was
just a prop but part of his life.
In the film Barquero Van Cleef smoked a Peterson
What's your favorite pipe smoking movie? E-mail
us.
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