Club Info & Events

Details of the November Meeting
The main topic for the November meeting were the upcoming Kaywoodie Holiday Gathering and Pipe Smoking Contest. We should have a group of nine heading out to Peekskill this year and we look forward to another great time. Thanks in advance to Bill Feuerbach for hosting this excellent event.
We also took a head count of those planning to attend the Scotch and Cigar Night held at the Ahavath Torah Congregation. Five of us attended what was a very enjoyable evening. More about the scotch and cigar night below.

Important Information about the January 2008 Meeting
The January 2008 meeting will be held on Tuesday January, 8th due to the New Years holiday falling on our normal meeting day. Please make this note in your calendars.

Our newest member Derek printed up a couple hundred SHPC calling cards containing our club logo and website address for members to hand out to pipe smokers that may be interested in joining our club. We have also made them available at Peretti's of Boston, Mikes Brookline News & Tobacco and the Gold Leaf Tobacconist in Seabrook, NH. Thanks to Derek for putting in the extra effort in getting this done and to Rick and Tim for distributing them to the tobacco shops.

New Membership Dues Structure
A new membership dues structure was also discussed and voted on at the November meeting. Currently, we collect a $10 initiation fee from new members as well as $5 per meeting for any meeting a member attends. Each member also makes a charitable donation of $10 at any meeting they attend.
Starting in January 2008 the new member dues structure will be as follows:

The club voted to have the annual membership dues be $50 per year payable by the March meeting (a savings of $10). Monthly dues will remain at $5 dollars but any monthly dues paid up to March will be applied towards the annual dues when paid in full. Dues will cover all normal yearly expenditures including tobacco for the raffle. We have also agreed to waive the $10 initiation fee for new members however, the $10 charitable donation will still be required at each meeting.

R.D. Field Trunk Show at Peretti's of Boston
Photos and narrative by Rick Frederics
Last month R.D. Field held a trunk show at L. J. Peretti’s in Boston and the Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club was there in force. It’s always a great time getting together to smoke with old friends and meet new friends. This visit was no exception. It was great seeing Don Powers and Paul Dunn again, and it is always a good time with the guy’s at Peretti’s – both Steve’s and Charlie. It was especially nice talking and reminiscing with David and Jan of RD Field and learning about some of the treasures they brought with them. Afterwards a group of us, Tim, Nelson, Eric, Tom and myself went over to Cigar Masters where we further reflected on the day’s event. A perfect ending to a great day. Whether you are smoking a pipe or a cigar nothing beats getting together with a great group of friends.
Hope to see you at the next event.   by Richard Frederics
More images:   Image 1 | Image 2 | Image 3

Bill "Ashton" Taylor Trunk Show - Peretti's of Boston
Photos and narrative by Horace Harker
Thanksgiving isn't quite the same without our yearly visit to Peretti's for the Ashton trunk show. A trip to Peretti's is always a nostalgic event but having Bill Taylor visiting from across the pond really makes for a jolly good time. Tim, Rick and I met up around 12:30 and headed out back to the blending room only to find that some of our alumni, John Millholland and Ron Lau had already arrived. A little later on were joined by the Peretti regulars Paul Dunn and our former Pres Don Powers. Now if we could only get a couple of these guys to come back to a meeting.
Bill's pipes were laid out on the blending table in the usual fashion and although there didn't seem to be quite the selection I'd remembered from previous years there was definitely enough to whet one's Ashton appetite for an afternoon. Bill also brought with him some tampers made from snake wood (I believe) that were complimentary for those who purchased a pipe.
After pawing over his offerings I decided to pick Bill's brain about the state of tobacco in England these days. When I posed my question, Bill's expression went from it's usual cheerio grin to a scowl of utter disappointment and frustration. I've had this same scowl on my own face a number of times for the very same reason so I know exactly how he was feeling.. His description of the eight month old smoking ban in England sounded very much like what we are dealing with here in Boston and maybe even a little worse. He goes on to tell me that now you can no longer smoke in the tobacco shops and in many places, if not all, you are not allowed to smoke outside the doorway of the bars. What a sad state of affairs this has become.
Bill did try to improve our moods by describing the outdoor gazebo that they've constructed at the bar he frequents daily in Essex. It is a six sided structure with half walls, a roof, heat and mood lighting. The open areas of the structure are surrounded by trees giving it a cozy feel, Bill explained. Inside there are seats around the perimeter and a table in the middle. I have to admit this does sound very nice but I'd need to check it out for myself in the dead of winter before I could give it the thumbs up.
The three of us finished our pipes while chatting with Steve Smith and the others in the shop before making the chilly trek to CigarMasters on Boylston St. The pairing of Peretti's and CigarMasters seems to have become somewhat of a ritual with our trips into Boston. Might as well enjoy them while we can (sorry... I just can't shake the pessimism.)
We all enjoyed a cigar and a beverage and an occasional glance at the barmaid before heading back from whence we came. How many of you will be joining us next time??
More Images:   Image1 | Image2 | Image3 | Image4 | Image5

I'd been working for MEDITECH for a couple of years and done quite some traveling by that time. Cigars were still very big and you could count on spending twice the value of the cigar on average and even more if it was a 'name' cigar like Fuentes, Romeo y Juliet or Montecristo. Yeah, I know you all remember. I also had a friend who had an 'in' at the Oak Room. You have to know what the Oak Room was like. First, it was in the Copley Plaza Hotel, one of the ritziest in Boston. Come to think of it, as ritzy as the Ritz, about ten blocks east of it. Doormen, valet service, Concierge each one with their hands out. Beautiful carpeting greats you as you walk into the lobby. Then you turn right and enter the Oak Room. It lives up to its name. A long solid oak bar, rich chairs that swivel and low oak tables to rest your drinks. It was lavish. No small ashtrays. No, these things were too big to steal and too heavy, too. You understand, the Oak Room was a high class cigar bar. Drinks ran about ten a pop and a beer was six. Well, the group I was with that night had given our mutual friend $30 each that he was to feed the 'special' waiter, who would keep us from dying of thirst that night and see too it that the appetizers kept coming. One hundred and twenty bucks, to eat, drink and make merry. Seemed fair considering we each planned to drink three or four each and eat like pigs. Cognizant of where we were, we all dressed appropriately, suits or blazers were the standard, your best shirt and a good tie.