Club
Info & Events
Details from
the December Meeting
Our
December meeting has become the highlight of the SHPC club year.
Why? Because we get a chance to say thanks to the members who
supported the club throughout the entire year. Members can bring
friends and family to the meeting, we provide pizza and soda,
have a tobacco give away and the increasing popular pipe raffle.
Everyone who contributed to the monthly tobacco raffle receives
a free tin of tobacco and this year we included a 4th pipe, a
lighter and a leather pipe pouch to the raffle items. Raffle tickets
were $10 and you could buy a maximum of 3. Congratulations to
all of this year's winners:

Xikar Lighter - Joel
Stanwell Canadian - Nelson
Missouri Meerschaum Freehand - Derek
Leather pipe pouch - Neil
Savanelli Churchwarden - Rob
Butz Choquin pipe - Tim
What's New for SHPC in 2014??
Club Member Appreciation
We think it's important to recognize those members who
go out of their way to help make the club more appealing to current
and prospective members. This year we started by thanking two
members with a $25 gift certificate to an online tobacco shop
for their contributions to the club.
For
years Neil Morris has taken photos at our club meetings that we
used each month in the SHPC Gazette. They not only remind people
of the good times that were shared but also help to enhance the
look and interest of our website.
Over
the past few years Ernie Whitenack has made numerous literary
contributions to our newsletter including multi part pipe-centric
stories, walks down pipe-smoking's memory lane, tobacco reviews
and more. The extra effort from both of these individuals not
only makes my job easier but also makes the website more attractive
to it's readers and potential new members.
At the December 2014 meeting we hope to present additional awards
of thanks and although the categories have not been completely
finalized we're thinking about awards for club attendance, new
member recruitment, website contributions and maybe even most
enthusiastic. The club officers will make these determinations
soon and present them at an upcoming club meeting.
Return of the Club Meeting Monthly Theme
Back when we were meeting at the Holiday Inn in Mansfield (we
call those the good old days), we used to have a monthly meeting
theme that members could participate in. But over the years that
practice has sort of fell by the wayside. Recently a couple of
requests have been made to revive it so I figured we'd give it
a try.
This month's theme: Bring
in the first pipe you ever bought or owned and tell us the story
of how you got started smoking the pipe. If you don't have your
first pipe but still want to participate, just tell us the story
of how you first got into pipe smoking.

Ok, so some may call us wimps but I'm sure no one really wants
to be stuck on the highway, in the snow, miles and miles from
home in the middle of the night. At the same time we don't want
to shell out $100-$200 for a hotel room when that money could
be better spent on pipes and tobacco. It's sort of a "no
brainer."
The Kaywoodie Holiday Event is one of the highlights of our pipe
smoking year but it's a long drive and an even longer day. This
year the threat of snow worsened as the days grew closer. We had
one member back out which seemed to begin a chain reaction with
help from additional declining weather reports. I don't really
mind driving in the snow but I wasn't doing the driving. I do
mind driving at half the speed making a 4 hour drive into 6 to
8 hours whether I'm driving or riding. So much to our dismay we
decided to be prudent and stay home this year. Only one of our
members toughed it out (I'm sure we'll get an earful at the next
meeting) and he also enjoyed a wonderful 6 hour drive home in
the slush and snow. The least he could have done was to win the
slow smoking contest for us since we all weren't there to beat
him :-). Already looking forward to 12/14.
See how Rick Frederics dealt with missing out on this
year's Kaywoodie event below.
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Pipes &
Tobacco News & Info
PipesMagazine Radio Show - Recent Episodes
Below
are links to the Pipes Magazine Radio Shows that aired since
our last meeting.
* Particularly
good episode IMHO
Other
Important Links for Smokers: |
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Websites
Worth a Look
Never heard of J&J Pipes until I was sent a link to this
well done video about them. Two guys who met back in 2007
and whose friendship became bound in briar. They work out
of the Seirra Nevada region of California and produce some
beautiful pipes. Check
out the blasts on their site. Enjoy the video.
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2014 Club
Pipe by Brebbia
Based
on a vote that leaned more towards the sandblasted over the smooth,
the decision has been made and the 2014 SHPC Club Pipe will be
the Brebbia Ninja Sabbiata- Shape 8311 with a Boxwood Band and
Tortoise Color Acrylic Mouthpiece and should begin production
this month. SHPC's cost for the pipe will be $110. Payment will
most likely be due when the pipes are finished but I will provide
more info on that as I have it.
Club members who agreed to purchase a pipe are:
Nelson, Derek, Dock, Eric, Rick, Tim, Neil, Andy C., Omid,
Rob, Neil, Bob (2), Tony.
If you ordered a pipe but do not see your name on this list then
contact us.

SWEET SMOKING PIPE.
Sweet smoking pipe; bright glowing stove,
Companion still of my retreat,
Thou dost my gloomy thoughts remove,
And purge my brain with gentle heat.
Tobacco, charmer of my mind,
When, like the meteor's transient gleam.
Thy substance gone to air I find,
I think, alas, my life's the same!
What else but lighted dust am I?
Then shew'st me what my fate will be;
And when thy sinking ashes die,
I learn that I must end like thee.
If you have a comment,
story or photo you would like to contribute, send
us an email and we may post it in an upcoming newsletter.
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I
should be writing about the Kaywoodie Event ...............................
by Richard Frederics
What do you do when a snow storm prevents you from going to one
of your favorite smoking events of the year? That is what happened
this past December when an unwanted snow storm hit on the day of
the 2013 Kaywoodie Pipe Smoking event.
I couldn’t go out anywhere so I decided I would light up a
pipe and drink some of my favorite single malt whiskies. Sitting
down to watch some TV, I noticed that “White Christmas”
was showing. OK, I really like this movie so why not smoke my Bing
Crosby Savinelli pipe? Seems only fitting. During the movie I got
to thinking what kind of pipe was Bing Crosby smoking? When the
movie was over it was time to do some research. What else would
you expect from a college professor?
I learned that Bing Crosby had an interest in a variety of different
pipes. I first read about Ed Koplin Sr. who designed Bing Crosby’s
pipe in 1967. As an aside, Ed Koplin Sr. was called the tobacconist
to the stars. He converted the soda fountain in his father’s
drug store into a smoking bar in 1927, which laid the foundation
for the national chain of Tinder Box shops. He operated the original
one on Whilshire Boulevard beginning in 1948. Bing would go into
Ed’s shop in Santa Monica for artisan’s handmade pipes.
I further learned Bing Crosby promoted Mastercraft pipes, and that
he also had a love for the classy Savinelli smoking pipes; (which
appears to be the major reason Savinelli came out with the Bing
line of pipes). One last note – in the movie “High Society,”
Bing Crosby is smoking a Dunhill long-stemmed pipe - a shape that
was especially made for him.
There is more information about Bing and his smoking – a
lot of conjecture – the main points I have shared with you.
But as I was perusing different sites I found that there was a special
tobacco that he smoked, blended by Cornell & Diehl made especially
for Bing Crosby. Cornell and Diehl has since come up with a similar
blend called “Crooner.” Well, I had to have some of
this blend and at the same time, I found another Bing pipe. I was
feeling better already.
I never did find out which pipe he was smoking in White Christmas
– and it really doesn’t matter – just that he
smoked a pipe.
I would have rather been at the Kaywoodie event with my friends
and seeing the other pipe-smokers who I only get to see once a year.
But it wasn’t to be this year. So, I bought a new pipe, some
new tobacco, got to drink some scotch, watch “White Christmas”
– two times I might add, and most important – I go to
smoke my Bing pipe –with Bing Crosby himself (well sort of).

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