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Pipemaker Extraordinaire
While at the latest pipe show in New Jersey, Andy
"Doc Watson" Camire picked up a couple
of very interesting pipes made by pipemaker Bartolomiej Antoniewski
of Poland. The craftsmanship of these pipes exquisite but
these pictures do not do the pipes or the pipemaker justice.
If you'd like to see more of his work you can visit his website
at bacartpipes.com.
He will even carve a pipe from a portrait of yourself, your
dog or even your mother-in-law.
(click images to enlarge).
This month's
tobacco raffle
This month we will be raffling off the following tobacco:
Brebbia Preludio
 A
fine blend consisting of Virginia tobaccos from the US, high
quality Macedonian tobaccos, and Syrian Latakia. An exclusive
aristocratic pipe mixture - Classic English Blend.
Skiff Mixture
 Skiff
is for the pipe smoker who appreciates the fuller flavour
of an oriental blend. Blending a variety of different styles
of flue-cured tobaccos gives Skiff its characteristic yellow
and brown features. Its real identity comes with the addition
of Turkish and a beautiful black cyprus Latakia giving the
blend its full, round taste.
  Those
of you who were fortunate enough to make it to Steve Gutz's
house last month now know, without a doubt, why Steve holds
the nickname of "Mass Consumer". Personally
I found myself a bit awestruck and overwhelmed walking around
in a daze looking at everything but retaining nothing. I had
to go upstairs, regroup and eat something before heading back
down determined to see everything there was to see. But it wasn't
an easy task. While examining something intently on one shelf
you could feel an item or trinket on another shelf, another
wall or even in the other room pulling you away. Books of all
kinds were everywhere you looked, a closet filled with tins
of tobacco (we won't even talk about what's in the garage),
knick knacks and novelties on practically every shelf, drawers
filled with an assortment of lighters and ink pens, plus there
were pipe & tobacco slogans, pictures and cartoons covering
much of the open wall space. Oh and did I mention Steve also
has a few pipes as well? Fortunately we were only able to see
the ones that weren't still in boxes otherwise we might have
had to stay the whole weekend (hmm, maybe that wouldn't be
so bad). Just about everywhere you turned there was a rack
of pipes. No I'm not talking about your 7
or 14 day pipe rack, Steve has month and two month pipe racks.
There are display cases showing off just about every kind of
pipe you can imagine. Steve even commissioned a craftsman to
build him an oak pipe chest which sort of reminds me of a mechanics
tool box but instead of tools Steve has 20 drawers of pipes.
As I left the library area and headed into the den, I caught
2 of our members sitting cross-legged in front of one of the
display cases, eyes glassed over just
like when they were 10 years old and glued to the Saturday morning
cartoons. In one of the display cases I found two of Steve's
pipes that I am particularly fond of. These briar gems were
carved by Marc Darah and each depict an intricately carved scene
from a popular Sherlock Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Each Darah pipes is a one of a kind work of art and can range
in price from $700 to $2500 dollars. You can see more of Marc's
work in the latest issue of Pipes
and Tobacco Magazine. I was sort of hinting around to Steve
that one of those pipes might make a nice parting gift but I
don't think he was listening. Oh well!
A good number of our  members
showed up to check it all out, some brought their wives or girlfriends
(but not both) which was a nice change. Sid even came
alone bearing a bottle of his favorite "Old Fart"
wine (I can just image what the bouquet would be like on a bottle
of that stuff). Steve's wife and daughters were gracious hosts
and his son-in-law made a great cheeseburger. Speaking of food,
there was so much food, snacks and desserts that I became instantly
full just looking at it all. I think it's safe to say that no
one went home hungry that day, a tad envious maybe but definitely
not hungry.
Afternoon rolled into
evening at the Gutz's deeply wooded estate. Our bellies now
full, we all found ourselves a comfortable spot to digest,
converse or watch the Patriots game while enjoying a bowl
of our favorite tobacco or maybe trying a new one. Fortunately
for us, Steve supplied us with 6 different types of blending
tobacco so the choices were endless. I was feeling a little
creative so I decided to try my hand at creating the perfect
blend.
As I sat back in my chair
after a most enjoyable day I was reminded of a quote by Doctor
Barnstein:
"Nowhere in the world
will such a brotherly feeling of confidence be experienced
as amongst those who sit together smoking their pipes."
The Results and Merits of Tobacco, 1844.
Don't
Forget to Check Out the
Pictures of our Visit to Steve's
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After our visit to Steve's new
library and pipe room I thought this poem fitting for this
month's newsletter...
With Pipe
and Book
A gentler time and place I'd rather be,
With pipe and book on my knee,
I walk the paths of Whitman, Doyle and such,
The world and its troubles do not mean very much
As the day ends and night presses in,
I do not dwell on what might have been,
It's enough to be, to merely be.
With pipe and book on my knee.
As the smoke
from my briar
drifts above my head,
My body aches, my eyelids turn to lead.
But my spirits refreshed
as I seek sleep's sweet release,
I am at peace.
Anti-Smoking
News
Arnold for President
"CIGAR aficionado Arnold Schwarzenegger, eyeing a run
for governor of California, has weighed in on Mayor "Tali-ban"
Bloomberg's draconian anti-smoking policy. "I think that
other people shouldn't have to inhale the smoke if they don't
want to, but I would do it differently," Schwarzenegger
told The Post's Megan Lehmann. "I would have some restaurants
that are smoking restaurants and some non-smoking so there
is a choice. Now there is no choice, so I think it's a little
overboard." (NYPost)"
If
you'd like to keep buying and smoking tobacco, read this...
The following two bills, if passed, will not only hurt the tobacco
industry but will also hurt us as smokers and consumers. For
your convenience I am supplying the two documents you should
send to your Senators telling them that you are a smoker and
you vote. All you have to do is download the documents, add
your name and address then sign it and send one each to Senators
Kerry and Kennedy.
Vote Against S.1177:
A bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate that, if passed,
will prevent you from purchasing the cigarette brand of your
choice over the Internet. If you live in the states of Alabama,
Arizona, California, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa,
Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont or Wisconsin, it is vitally
important that you write, call, e-mail or fax your Senator
or Senators, urging them to vote against S. 1177.
Download
documents and instructions for this bill.
Stop the Tobacco Quota Buyout!
"Several U.S. senators have recently introduced bill
S. 1490, referred to as the "McConnell bill." The
bill, a $13 billion buyout of the 65-year old federal tobacco
quota program, would burden lower-and middle-income Americans
with one of the largest tax increases in the last decade.
If passed, the McConnell bill could also cost hundreds and
perhaps thousands of jobs in economically depressed areas
and exacerbate state budget shortfalls. This is a terrible
price to pay to enrich a relatively small number of individuals
and companies, most of whom do not actually grow tobacco."
Download
documents and instructions for this bill.
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