April 2010

Club Info & Events

Details of the March Meeting
Another meeting, another new member. This is a trend I could get used to. Ryan is our newest member and was introduced to the club by Joel. We will have more details on our new member in the next newsletter but until then we welcome you to the club Ryan and look forward to getting to know you better in the coming months. I hope that leg is healing fast.
We were also contacted by another prospective new member Todd, who is both a Sherlock Holmes fan and pipe smoker and hails from Medford, MA. We hope you'll be able to join us at the April meeting Todd.

Aside from our new member the March meeting was pretty much, business as usual, which means we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves with plenty of good conversation enkindled by many bowlfuls of our favorite leaf.

The New York Pipe Show ..................by Rick Frederics
The March New York Pipe Show has come and gone but some fond memories will stand out in my mind for a long time. Like all other shows it is always a good time because it is a time to once again see old friends from the pipe smoking world – Steve Monjure, Joe Skoda, Dan Seatter from James Island Piper, Jay and Louise from Hermit Tobaccos and Andy Camire and Dock Perry from the SHPC were also there. And of course it was another show where new acquaintances were made. But what made this show special was that one of our very own SHPC members, Tim Hynick, who I had the pleasure of traveling to the show with, sold seven pipes, and his table was continuously busy with people commenting on his exquisite craftsmanship. Of course our club knows what a good pipe maker he is. Now there are several others who also share our feelings and I have no doubt that Tim’s reputation as a maker of great smoking pipes will continue to grow even more. Congratulations Tim.

See a detailed report of the NY Show by Dock Perry below.

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Better Days
A Series on Pipe Smoking's Nostalgic Past
                                                    By Ernie Whitenack

Member Ernie Whitenack has offered to write a series of articles about the "better days" of pipe smoking as remembered by him. We hope you enjoy these stories and look forward to them in future editions of the SHPC Gazette.

The Glamour and Lure of Smoking
The month of August brought on the annual trip to Boston and Raymond's department store for school clothing. Dad and I would take the train from Waltham before lunch and walk from North Station. This particular trip gave me a new insight to the world. We stopped at David P Ehrlich's where a man sat in the window at a strange wood lathe making white pipes. My questions prompted dad to explain Meerschaum and its merits. I watched for several minutes and then we entered. The clerks all had very large pipes going and the odor of DPE filled the store. At twelve years old the shop was a majestic palace with all the mahogany and glass and the goods so neatly displayed. That entrance into a truly man's world is something I will never forget.

Despite my mother's constant reminders about cigarettes being "coffin nails" and hearing her chant some ancient ditty about
    "Cigarettes must go, go-go-go –
    "Schoolboys, schoolboys say - say so"
I did succumb to the evil weed at fourteen years.
                                                                        [Read More...]

Upcoming Events

3rd Great Northeast Pipe Show, Albany, NY - November 13, 2010

Hi everyone,

I’ve got some great news for pipe smokers and vendors from the Northeastern part of the US. Habana Premium Smoke Shoppe (and www.pipesandcigars.com) in cooperation with the Capital District Pipe Club will be presenting our 3rd Great Northeast Pipe Show on Saturday, November 13 here in Albany, NY. Details about location and admission fee will be upcoming. We will have raffles, a wine tasting and lots of new and estate pipes. We are also looking for vendors to give our patrons the widest possible selection of pipes, tobaccos and accessories.

We’re going to put a lot of effort into making this a great experience for both the attendees and the vendors, so please contact me with any thoughts or concerns. We think that our location will make for a terrific show for all concerned as we are about equidistant from both NYC and Boston, and are easily accessible from Rochester, Syracuse, Hartford, Montreal and Buffalo. We will have special room rates available, and we will have surprises for anyone attending.

If you are an interested vendor, please contact me at russo@pipesandcigars.com, and I will answer your questions and supply
pertinent details. If you’re thinking of attending, go to www.habanahappenings.com or www.capitaldistrictpipeclub.com for updates

We sincerely hope to see you or hear from you.

Thanks,
Russ Ouellette

The New Your Pipe Show: March 2010.......................... by Dock Perry

I met up with friend and fellow SHPC and Brother of Briar (BoB) member Andy Camire at Rein's Deli in Vernon Ct. on the Friday morning before the show. After breakfast we proceeded down to the Wyndham. For once there was plenty of parking there and the rains had yet to begin their assault on New Jersey. We checked in and were overjoyed to find that our reservations had indeed been kept and that we were able to get rooms early. We were off to an excellent start!

After chilling out a bit I headed down to Andy's room. He's been settling the estate of Don Powers who had 400-500 pipes in his collection. Two really caught my eye. One was a flawless cross grained Larsen Select and the other a Larsen Pearl with very strange boxwood inserts on the bowl. I'm convinced it was made by Tonni Nielsen sometime in the 80's. A deal was quickly worked out and I had made my first purchases of the show. A time later I ran into my buddy Mel Feldman of The Smoker in Albany, NY. Mel's been liquidating his wares for retirement and brought with him two foot lockers full of aged tobacco and about 1,000 high grade pipes. I bought a ton of MacBaren's, Edgeworth, Dobie's and others from him as well as a super Castello lovat and a big Mike Frey freehand with exceptional straight grain for a very good price.

In leaving Mel's I ran into friend and show organizer and good friend Sammy Barnett. I didn’t know it then but this meeting was to change the course of my show in amazing ways. Sam had brought with him quite a few pieces for sale and was gracious enough to give me the first viewing. As he pulled them out of his bag I laid each on the desk in his room. Several caught my eye including a nice Jack Howell clam, a Jody Davis blasted lovat, a Premal Chedda blasted bent poker and a killer Tonni. The one I'd see next nearly made my head spin. Out of the bag came THE Nanna Ivarsson bent blasted egg that I've been after forever. The dream pipe! It was love at first sight I gotta tell you. A deal was QUICKLY worked out for the Howell, the Davis, the Chedda and the Nanna. From Sam's room I went next door to see two of my favorite folks in the world Jay and Louise Jones of Hermit Tobacco in Ohio. It's always nice seeing them and I really appreciate the fact that they never miss a NY show. I wish all vendors showed this same loyalty! Jay was kind enough to bring me a bunch of Dunhill newsletters for my ephemera collection.

[Read the full story]