| Club
Info & Events
Details of the March Meeting
 We
hit the jackpot this past meeting with the addition of four new
members. We always enjoy meeting new members but to have four join
in one day is quite a treat and I believe is also a first for the
club. From left to right they are Tom, Joel, Neil and Sean and all
seem like a great fit for the club. Could this be a sign of a resurgence
in the pipe smoking? In February there was a non-negative article
about pipe smoking in the Wall Street Journal and now this. Seems
like a positive sign to me. Hey... do any other Massachusetts (and
neighboring area) readers want to continue the trend in April??
You're all welcome.
The New SHPC Club Blends
Members got a chance to sample the prototypes of the two new SHPC
Blends that are due to come out very soon. Although sitting in my
cold car all day didn't do them much good the initial reviews were
positive. We're all very excited about having our own club blends
and I personally cannot wait to order a few tins of the VR Blend
which has already become one of my favorites. Keep a watch out on
the PipesandCigars.com website for your chance to pre-order yours
before they are available to the public.
Second Round of 2008 Club Pipes - Update
The second round of 2008 club pipes are in. I will try to
get them out to their new owners in the next week. Thanks for your
patience and thanks for supporting SHPC Boston.
Member Contributions
The New York Pipe Show - March 14th, 2009
This month we have two reports from the New York Pipe Show. The
first by Dock Perry and the second by Rick Frederics. Thanks to
both of you for sharing your report for those who couldn't attend.
Dock Perry writes....
 After
checking in and seeing my room I headed down to the lobby where
I almost immediately met up with friends and show promoters Sam
Barnett and Rich Esserman along with Don Seatter of The James Island
Piper, Ardor Distributor Steve Monjure and Washington DC Estate
pipes dealer and collector Ron Colter. As has been the tradition
lately, we along with SHPC member and friend Andy Camire all went
to lunch. A great discussion was had about pipe buying now as compared
to 25 years ago. Things were so much different before the Internet.
It may take you weeks and months to find a certain pipe that you
were after by calling various folks looking for leads as to that
pipes whereabouts.
 Many
friendships were built up in the process though something that isn't
quite as prevalent in today's pipe buying world. It seemed to be
a much more organic/grass roots approach. I personally came to this
hobby only a decade ago and missed out on all of it's early history.
Hearing how it was then gives me a glimpse into the past that I'd
never otherwise get. This for me is the true benefit of attending
these shows...
Read Dock's full Report
Rick Frederics writes....
It had been several years since I last attended the New
York Pipe Show. No real reason – most of the times there were
previous commitments that I had made on the show dates, and I just
didn’t want to change my plans. This year, however, was different.
I had the opportunity to accompany my good friend and pipe-maker
Tim Hynick; and I am very glad I did.
We left quite early on the day of the show. It was a four-and-half
hour car ride and we needed to be there by 9:30 - Tim was displaying
several pipes he had made – and with the doors opening to
the public at 10:00 we did not want to be late. We talked a lot
about pipe smoking, reminisced about our pipe club, talked about
things we’ve been up to lately, just had a great ride down
there. We arrived in plenty of time and I helped Tim set up his
table.
While Tim was with prospective customers, I renewed some
old friendships with pipe smokers I haven’t seen for awhile.
Two great pipe makers, Rolando Negoita and Joe Skoda had a table
right behind Tim’s. I had a nice conversation with Steve Monjure,
distributor of Rinaldo and Ardor pipes among other items. I saw
Louise and Jay of Hermit Tobaccos and discussed what we hoped to
do with our gardens if this winter ever leaves us. Doc Perry from
our pipe club, the Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club, was also there. Doc
talked about some great buys he made. Doc always has a knack for
finding some great pipes and this show was no exception. It was
great seeing Andy Camire who also had a table of some great looking
pipes. But the best part of the show was being there with Tim and
watching pipe smokers marvel at his pipes. Tim had a very good show,
but who would be surprised as his pipes are great looking and an
excellent smoke. Members of the Capital District Pipe Club from
Albany came down to the show and stressed an interest in doing some
things together with our club which would be nice.
The day went by quite fast. Most of the tables were filled –
some with good deals to be had. Tim not only sold several pipes
but also bought a couple. I did not go to the show to buy a new
pipe since I have a number still waiting to be smoked. But I found
some tobacco and some miscellaneous tobacco items that had it not
been for the show I would never have gotten. But that is not why
I went to the show. I went to support a friend and reacquaint with
some old friends. And from that perspective, it was more than I
could have asked for. It was a very memorable time and I am looking
forward to the next show.
From
the Cybershire
I found this article online at the British Medical Journal's website
(www.bmj.org)
and thought you might find it interesting.
A memorable patient - Protective
pipe smoking
When I first started in general practice in 1946 a man of about
80 came to see me and, as it was my first contact with him, I asked
a few leading questions about his health and his smoking habits.
He replied–"I smokes a pipe and it's all the fault of
you doctors." Sensing a story, I asked for an explanation.
At the start of the century he was running a daily carrier service
with a horse and cart between Tewkesbury and Gloucester, a distance
of about 12 miles.
Unfortunately in 1901 there was an outbreak of smallpox in Gloucester,
and some of the inhabitants of Tewkesbury became worried about the
possibility of this daily carrier service, which at the time was
the only regular contact between the two towns, bringing the contagion
back to Tewkesbury. As this service was his sole means of livelihood,
my patient consulted the doctor who acted in the capacity of medical
officer of health to the borough and put the problem to him. This
learned doctor advised my patient to buy a large pipe, fill it to
the brim, and light up as soon as he approached the toll gate on
the outskirts of Gloucester. If he kept it going all the time he
was in the city he "would be all right." He never did
contract smallpox, and my patient continued with his carrier service
and with his smoking. I was privileged to receive an invitation
to his 100th birthday party, where I observed that he was still
happily puffing away on his pipe
.
BMJ 1997;314 (15 February)©
Robert J House, retired general practitioner in
Twekesbury
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| Pipes
& Tobacco News & Info
We Remember Don "The Colonel" Powers
 We
received the unfortunate news last month of the passing of
Don Powers. It's always hard to lose a member whether it's
because they've moved away from the area or life became too
busy for them too attend. It's even harder if they leave because
they've decided to stop smoking the pipe. But in these cases
there's always that chance, however slight, that they may
return at some time. The hardest ones to handle though, are
the ones that leave and we know they're never coming back..
Don Powers was the first official member of the Sherlock Holmes
Pipe Club and was the President of the club when I joined
back in 2001. Here is an excerpt from the very first newsletter
put out by club founder Allan Rosenfield:
"On Sept. 1, 1989, I went to the
Post Office and rented a box. Later that day I called a
friend and fellow pipe-collector (it was Don) and told him
of my idea for the Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club, Ltd. USA.
His response was "Great! I'll send in for my twenty
five dollar life membership today.""
And a life member he was and dedicated right to the very
end. Even when he was much sicker than we thought he was he
still wanted to buy the 2008 LePeltier club pipe, saying to
me "I don't really like clay pipes but I want to
buy one for the club." And speaking of dedication...
I don't know about you but it strikes me as a little odd that
the meeting following Don's death we end up with four new
members. Seems like a little more than a coincidence to me?
It wasn't until after sending Don his club pipe and receiving
no call from him that I found out how sick he actually was.
I got a chance to talk to him briefly but he was very weak
and had not even had a chance to look at the pipe. I had been
attempting to get a group of members together to go up and
visit him but waited a little too long to make it happen.
Something that still bothers me and a good lesson we should
all learn. Don't wait too long to visit a sick friend.
You were a good friend to many Don and we'll all miss you.
Here are some of the responses that came from members who
knew him.
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This is truly a sad
day folks. Donald was always the consummate gentleman
through and through. When I first joined our club he
was responsible for my joining "The Universal Coterie
of Pipe Smokers" as well as the NASPC. He was a
wealth of information about anything relating to pipes
and was always willing to answer the questions of a
young newbie. Some of my happiest memories of belonging
to the SHPC were from the days when met at the Holiday
Inn when He, Steve Gutz, Andy Camire and Bob Kiess were
all there
Don loved our club dearly and once told me that the
members of the SHPC were among the finest gentlemen
he had ever had the pleasure to know. I for one am glad
to have had the chance to know him too. He will be fondly
remembered and sorely missed.... Dock Perry
I am very saddened to hear about
Don's passing. He was the first person that I contacted
years ago to learn about the club's existence. Don spoke
very positively about the club and and the members.
It was his words that persuaded me to attend a first
meeting. I am thankful that I did because that paved
the way for a host of excellent friendships and many
good times. I have Don to thank for that. I experienced
him as a true gentleman who was always nice to others.
Don was a pleasure to speak to. He was quite knowledgeable
about pipes and always had may interesting stories to
tell. Some of you may know that he devoted much of his
years to caring unselfishly for a friend who was ill.
Don was a class act. He will be missed by all..... Tim
Hynick
A broken pipe of great value. A
friend of great insight and a mentor to all the club
members who new him. A kind and gentle man who dismissed
much of the technoworld we live in because it took him
from his books and the pleasantry of living life a little
on the slow side. He paid attention. When you talked
to him, he listened. He was also a great listener to
what you didn't say. His interests were varied and wide.
Always, well read, and worldly, I could have easily
imagined him on some comfortable directors chair with
an ascot, martini and pipe. See ya' Don. Bon Voyage....
Eric Kahn
This is a sad time. When I wrote
my article on Nostalgia in NASPC, I referred to our
club and certainly Don gave me many memories. It was
always a pleasure to talk to him at the meetings as
he had a wealth of pipe information and was a true gentleman.
To us "younger" pipsters, Don was a great
connection for us to the wonderful "good ole days"
of the pipe world. I still moistening the tar on the
top of my bowl and wipe it clean with a tissue as I
caught on to how he did it. Funny little things we pick
up! His devotion to Rose was commendable. He was a unifying
presence and I missed him a lot after I left Mass. for
Vermont. Hopefully some of us will be missed like him
after we are gone.... Bob Kiess
If it were not for Don I would
never have joined the Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club. I was
introduced to Don by Mike of Brookline News and I gave
in to Don's persistent and persuasive calls to have
me come to a pipe club meeting - and for that I am ever
grateful to Don. That was a long time ago and over the
years Don and I became very good friends. I enjoyed
not only getting together at meetings, but also looked
forward to our frequent and long phone conversations
- talking about pipes, books, jokes - just about anything.
Don was a great man and a great friend and I will truly
miss him. Rest in peace, my dear friend.... Rick Frederics
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| Other News
& Information for smokers: |
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This
Month's Tobacco Raffle
And
now for something completely different. I know this
may not go over well with everyone but it's new and I figured
it might be good to smoke when you have a cold.
Von Eicken Piccolo Pipe Tobacco Plugs
Honey & Rum (Pack of 15)
Von Eicken Pipe Tobacco plugs. Von Eicken Pipe Tobacco plugs
are a convenient way to transport and store pipe tobacco.
Each plug is sealed in its own sealed stay-fresh pouch. Remove
the plug and simply push the tobacco out of its casing and
into your bowl! Each plug is sufficient to fill a standard,
large, group 4 sized bowl.
Gawith & Hogarth Balkan Mixture (50g)
The finest Virginia, Turkish and Oriental tobaccos expertly
blended with Latakia to give the smoker a unique taste and
aroma.
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Kahn's
Korner
It's that time of the month again. Time to get Kahn's Korner into
the newsletter. This time I'm actually going to write about something
to do with smoking.
 Now
we've all sought after the perfect dry smoke. Pipe makers have been
touting their system pipes that help keep the dottle to a minimum.
For years some of us have been using screens at the bottom of our
pipes to stop that horrible buildup of moisture that causes us to
toss out so much of our tobacco. The gurgling sound that we so despise
keeps coming back. The buildup of well, for lack of a better term,
tobacco sludge at the bottom of the bowl, that you scrape out with
your spoon tool.
Well, a few years ago, I bought something that seems to really
do the trick. These little pellets of clay that, when placed on
the bottom of the bowl, keep the tobacco from collecting the moisture
that ruins so many of my smokes. I did a little research on the
product and found an old article in Smoke Shop magazine. Here is
a quote from the article:
Nørding also offers Keystones, which Nørding
describes as “ice cubes for hot-burning pipes.” They
are small pellets of naturally-occurring mineral clays, found
only on a Danish island that cool and dry the smoke, sweeten the
pipe, and extend its life, due to their heat- and moisture-absorbency.
I've been putting these in my pipe the last few weeks, and been
pleasantly surprised at the results. These are little pebbles of
clay that form air pockets at the bottom of the bowl. Each is only
a millimeter or two in size. I put three or four in the bowl and
then pack it in the usually method. I tried this with several tobaccos,
and some moist ones, too. The smoke was dry and pleasing. There
were no gurgles. The tobacco smoked all the way down to the stones,
and sure enough, only dry ash was left.
Of course, now that I've rediscovered the stones, I can't find
them anywhere. One of the local shops suggested that I sacrifice
an unwanted or broken meerschaum and break it into tiny pieces.
Funny man. I contacted local shops, shops in Georgia and the Internet
to no avail. Nording Keystones were sold in matchbook size boxes
and in 100gram bags. That's a lot of bowls when you only use 4 for
a bowlful. The good news is that they are reusable. So I fish them
out of my ash, and pop them back in the box. But it would be nice
to get them again. So if you know a shop still carrying the product,
let us know.
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