January 2005

Club Info & Events

SHPC January 2005 Meeting
This month's meeting is set for the 18th in Stoughton. Details and directions have been emailed to all members. Others interested in attending a meeting can contact SHPC for more information.

Founder of the Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club dies at 60
Allan Rosenfield, who founded the Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club, Ltd. in September of 1989 died of cancer last month after having open heart surgery 3 weeks earlier. Allan had reconnected with the club in February of last year after being away for some time due to medical and other reasons. In my 3 short years of membership I already have so many great memories, for this I owe Allan my gratitude. We wish you luck on your final journey.

A Hudson Valley Pipe Club Holiday Extravaganza
                                                                       By Nelson Pidgeon
What started out four years ago as a simple pipe smoking contest of the Hudson Valley Pipe Club has turned into an impressive gala event. Held for the past two years at S.M. Frank & Co., home of Kaywoodie, Yellow Bole and Medico pipes, this event was not only a holiday celebration but a mini pipe show, pipe smoking contest, and fund raiser all rolled into one.

Sharing in the festivities were members of the Hudson Valley Pipe Club, the Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club of Boston, the Pocono Intermountain Pipe Enclave of PA., and the New York Pipe Club. The total in attendance this year was thirty six, fourteen more than last year. Included in the group were six local pipe makers, Bill Feurbach from S.M. Frank, who hosted the event and supplied everyone with pipes for the pipe smoking contest; Paul Bonaquisti, who brought with him a handful of his first ever Christmas pipes; Rolando Negoitia, winner of this year's P&T Pipe carving contest; Darius Christian of GRC Pipes, who has taken a hiatus from pipe making since the birth of his daughter; and Joe Skoda and Tim Hynick from the Hudson Valley and Sherlock Holmes pipe clubs respectively, both of whom had entries in this year's P&T pipe carving contest. Between the pipes brought by these pipe makers and the numerous estate pipes made available by Mel Feldman, Fine Olde Briars and others, it was very difficult to go home without first buying yourself a well deserved early holiday gift.
                                         Read the whole story and see the pics

A Visit to Pipemaker Tim Hynick

In last month's newsletter I neglected to mention that club member Tim Hynick had entered a pipe into the P&T Pipe Carving Contest. Although his pipe wasn't chosen as one of the top 10 finalists, the constellation of having your name and work appear in the pages of the world's most prominent pipe smoking magazine is reward enough (well, for now anyway). The day my copy of P&T arrived in the mail, like most of us, I took a quick first glance though the pages. I had forgotten that the pipe carving contest article would be in this issue so when I came across it and saw Tim's pipe, I immediately picked up the phone and called to congratulate him. Tim was unaware that all of the pipes entered into the contest would be shown in the magazine so you can just imagine his excitement when I told him about it. He didn't have his copy yet and it was too late to buy one, so I scanned the article and emailed it to him so he could sleep that night.
Tim has been carving pipes for 2 years now but you'd be hard pressed to distinguish his pipes from those made by a more seasoned carver.
                                                                       More story and pics

The February SHPC Meeting
Unless things change before then, the February 2005 pipe club meeting will be held at the El Capitan Cigar Lounge in Hanover, MA. The El Capitan is located on the 2nd floor behind Joe's American Bar and Grill at exit 13 off Rt. 3 on the South Shore. It's not a huge place but the seats are comfortable and it's private. There are also a number of other restaurants very nearby including Pachini's Italian Eatery right down stairs and Uno's Bar and Grill a half mile up the road. McDonalds, Burger King are also in the vicinity. If you've never smoked a Bucanero cigar this may be the perfect opportunity to try one out. Hope to see you there.

A 2005 New Years Rant
Well, another year's gone. And just like other years we've had our share of highs and lows, gains and losses, good times and bad times. In 2004 being a Red Sox fan from Massachusetts meant we got to experience one of the highest of highs, I'm talkin' right up there with winning the lottery, it just doesn't last as long. Yes, after 86 very long years our beloved Red Sox finally won the World Series creating a feeling of joy and satisfaction that cannot be explained with words. We'd been bitching for so long about the curse of the Bambino that when it was finally over and we no longer had anything to bitch about, we didn't know what to do with ourselves. But unlike the short lived highs of the Red Sox victory, the lows we've experienced from our losses in 2004 will linger on indefinitely.
I could be talking about all the lives lost in Iraq this past year but it's a little closer to home than that. While our troops are half way across the world fighting for a free Iraq, back here in the good old US of A. we're losing our own freedoms daily and no one's doing much fighting back. Maybe people are too ashamed to fight from being brainwashed all these years. Do I sound angry? You're damn right I'm angry. Three years ago I became a member of a small local organization. We were a respectable group of folks comprised of doctors, technicians, law students, veterans, businessmen, teachers and retirees that met once a month to enjoyed a good meal and celebrate our favorite pastime...smoking our pipes.
                                                                                                                                                 Read the whole rant.....

Occasionally I'm looking for a news item to help fill out this newsletter. So if you have some interesting
pipe, tobacco or smoking related news, or would like to share your knowledge on a particular
pipes and tobacco related subject, please send it along and maybe I'll use it. (Preferably by e-mail).