Great stories Hobie, and you too Duncan.
Every pipe smoker should have an endless supply of pipes and baccy.
Every pipe smoker should have an endless supply of pipes and baccy.
Memorable Pipe Smokers From Your Past.
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My great-grandfather smoked a pipe his whole adult life. I remember a visit when I was in high school (he would have been about 80). He described a check-up he had recently gotten from the doctor. The doctor told him that he needed to quit smoking and drinking. Gramps said "Son, I'm more than 50 years older than you. I've already outlived 5 doctors and I have every intention of outliving you." I don't know if he outlived the doctor but he did live to be 89.
I agree with you, storient, this IS a great topic and I'm glad you resurrected it.
My whole life, my father has smoked a pipe. It's always been some variant of Captain Black in a Grabow. He would come to all of my sports practices and games (football and baseball) after work and everyone always knew when he was there because of the pipe smoke vastly improving the ambient quality of the air. Now I'm in my late 20's and play beer league softball but it's the same thing. He works a different shift now (5am to 1pm) and gets up at 3am to get ready and get to work on time, so it's few and far between when he can make it to the softball games that start at 6pm (his usual bed time) but when he does, everyone knows it because of the smell of his pipe.
That's me with my dad in my avatar.
I also recently found out that my great grandfather was a pipe smoker and we still have his churchwarden. One day, if I ever own a house, I'm going to put that pipe up in a place of honor..
My whole life, my father has smoked a pipe. It's always been some variant of Captain Black in a Grabow. He would come to all of my sports practices and games (football and baseball) after work and everyone always knew when he was there because of the pipe smoke vastly improving the ambient quality of the air. Now I'm in my late 20's and play beer league softball but it's the same thing. He works a different shift now (5am to 1pm) and gets up at 3am to get ready and get to work on time, so it's few and far between when he can make it to the softball games that start at 6pm (his usual bed time) but when he does, everyone knows it because of the smell of his pipe.
That's me with my dad in my avatar.
I also recently found out that my great grandfather was a pipe smoker and we still have his churchwarden. One day, if I ever own a house, I'm going to put that pipe up in a place of honor..
For me it was definitely my father. I remember as a young child maybe between 3 to 5 years old when my dad smoked his pipe the most. We would go to the local B&M and it always smelled great they had tons of bulk blends and I would help my dad pick one. My father loved storms and would often wake me up in the middle of the night to go out on the front steps and watch thunderstorms while he smoked his pipe. The smell never left me. He ended up giving up the pipe and smoking cigarettes sometime shortly after my parents split. About 5 years ago for Christmas I bought him a pipe and tin of tobacco. He never really smoked it regularly but he did enjoy cherry tobacco and I think when I was younger he smoked bulk cherry and half and half. He passed away in December but I still have that pipe and tin of tobacco I gave him with only a few bowls missing (I can see why as it is kind of a harsh aromatic.) I smoked a bowl out of it and now it has a prominent place in my pipe cabinet next to a photograph of him. I often think of those nights on the steps while I smoke and remember how many good times we shared.
Wow..these are good stories. I found out last week my father smoked a pipe before I was born, the memorable one for me tho is mu late uncle Vernon, I remember every time we went to his house his pipe was going and dad always had to stop halfway thru and say "man that smells good, don't it"
I don't have any direct kin that smoked anything at all. Pipes were something I saw in movies or read about, till I hit college. My fraternity had some puffers and though they didn't do much to teach me the proper ways of piping, they did get me started. Then I gave pipes up for cigars for 43 yrs, due to convenience and my bad habits.
Then in late '07 I found the forums and in short order learned what I needed to do to correct my poor habits. Within months, I found Philadelphia had a pipe club and morleysson (Bob Runowski, RIP) invited me to join. All the accumulated wisdom there was another revelation and I indulged ferociously in PAD and TAD. Each monthly meeting was basically a tobacco tasting. I rescheduled a lot of events so I could attend every meeting, and I would make sure I sat within earshot so I could hear what interesting stories Bob was telling.
It was a shock when Bob suddenly passed away, only a few months after retiring. Although he was past Latakia and the compleat burleyphile, he was generous with his unbelievable knowledge. In retrospect, it is not surprising that he formulated a number of C&D's most popular blends, such as Old Joe Krantz and Billy Budd. It was always especially interesting when Bob would bring versions of new blends he was working on to get the opinions of the members.
hp
les
Then in late '07 I found the forums and in short order learned what I needed to do to correct my poor habits. Within months, I found Philadelphia had a pipe club and morleysson (Bob Runowski, RIP) invited me to join. All the accumulated wisdom there was another revelation and I indulged ferociously in PAD and TAD. Each monthly meeting was basically a tobacco tasting. I rescheduled a lot of events so I could attend every meeting, and I would make sure I sat within earshot so I could hear what interesting stories Bob was telling.
It was a shock when Bob suddenly passed away, only a few months after retiring. Although he was past Latakia and the compleat burleyphile, he was generous with his unbelievable knowledge. In retrospect, it is not surprising that he formulated a number of C&D's most popular blends, such as Old Joe Krantz and Billy Budd. It was always especially interesting when Bob would bring versions of new blends he was working on to get the opinions of the members.
hp
les
My father and maternal grandfather both smoked cigars and pipes. I lost my father when I was 10, lived with my grandfather until I was 17, when he, too, passed away. I started smoking a pipe a few months later during my freshman year in college, in a large part because of my memories of both men.
Last year, my wife started scanning all of our pictures, including the old family ones, into the computer. Suprisingly, the scanned pictures were of a better quality than the originals, and, with the ability to zoom into the images, I found pictures of my paternal grandfather as well as my maternal great-grandfather both smoking pipes! Never knew that. Guess I just come by it naturally!
Sure would have liked to have been able to sit down with any of them and share a bowl or two!
Last year, my wife started scanning all of our pictures, including the old family ones, into the computer. Suprisingly, the scanned pictures were of a better quality than the originals, and, with the ability to zoom into the images, I found pictures of my paternal grandfather as well as my maternal great-grandfather both smoking pipes! Never knew that. Guess I just come by it naturally!
Sure would have liked to have been able to sit down with any of them and share a bowl or two!
I've been following this thread and there are such neat stories on this. So i'll add in the smoking memories from my youth. Unfortunately, in my family, I cannot recall anyone smoking a pipe.
My grandfather on mothers side was a big cigar smoker. A big tall man who worked until his 80's, I looked up to him as a kid. He smoked a box of 25 cigars each and every day. The cigars he smoked, being in Belgium, was Corps Diplomatique Senator. I did a little research on them and they are indeed a cigar for the Belgian Market with this description:
Not being a cigar smoker... sounds Chinese to me ;-)
But the guy smoked this all the time and after his workdays would come by the house for a glass of Asbach Uralt, a German Brandy. As kids, my brother and I would argue on who got to pour the glass and hold the lighter so he could light his cigar. Great man who took care of his younger brother when they both got orphaned during WW1. Lots of stories to tell about him and WW2. He had an absolutely great work ethic.
My grandfather on dad's side passed away when I was very little. Four years in the trenches in WW1 and some POW duty in WW2 just wrecked him. So no memories to speak of on that side.
My dad smoked cigarettes. Never saw him smoke anything else. A patient, kind and soft spoken man whom I rarely saw angry. But passed away at a way too early age. I most likely picked up the cigarette smoking from him. He didn't mind, so by the time I was 16, I was smoking full-time around the house. He'd offer me his pack, I'd offer him mine. A good man who died way too young.
The only pipe smoker I can recall from my youth was a neighbor across the street who I would watch as he was puffing on his pipe while mowing or doing yard work. I would sit on his fence and watch him, fascinated by the different smell of his pipe compared to my dad's cigarettes or my grandpa's cigars. I recall he always had a straight black rusticated billiard clenched between his teeth. Never figured out what pipe it was or what tobacco he smoked. But it smelled sweet, a little vanilla like. He was a friendly man all right.
Fun memories... thanks for this post so I could relive some of them.
My grandfather on mothers side was a big cigar smoker. A big tall man who worked until his 80's, I looked up to him as a kid. He smoked a box of 25 cigars each and every day. The cigars he smoked, being in Belgium, was Corps Diplomatique Senator. I did a little research on them and they are indeed a cigar for the Belgian Market with this description:
Not being a cigar smoker... sounds Chinese to me ;-)
But the guy smoked this all the time and after his workdays would come by the house for a glass of Asbach Uralt, a German Brandy. As kids, my brother and I would argue on who got to pour the glass and hold the lighter so he could light his cigar. Great man who took care of his younger brother when they both got orphaned during WW1. Lots of stories to tell about him and WW2. He had an absolutely great work ethic.
My grandfather on dad's side passed away when I was very little. Four years in the trenches in WW1 and some POW duty in WW2 just wrecked him. So no memories to speak of on that side.
My dad smoked cigarettes. Never saw him smoke anything else. A patient, kind and soft spoken man whom I rarely saw angry. But passed away at a way too early age. I most likely picked up the cigarette smoking from him. He didn't mind, so by the time I was 16, I was smoking full-time around the house. He'd offer me his pack, I'd offer him mine. A good man who died way too young.
The only pipe smoker I can recall from my youth was a neighbor across the street who I would watch as he was puffing on his pipe while mowing or doing yard work. I would sit on his fence and watch him, fascinated by the different smell of his pipe compared to my dad's cigarettes or my grandpa's cigars. I recall he always had a straight black rusticated billiard clenched between his teeth. Never figured out what pipe it was or what tobacco he smoked. But it smelled sweet, a little vanilla like. He was a friendly man all right.
Fun memories... thanks for this post so I could relive some of them.
I started with cigarettes. Then after a few years of that, I started thinking about Oregon again. There was a guy that stood in front of this nice hotel on my way to town, and he was always smoking a pipe, and it smelled really good. Other times, I would see him in his Willy's Jeep, going across the bridge with a trail of smoke waving behind him. There were also other people who I remember smoking, but not as vividly. So I guess I started because of the smell.
My greatgrandmother owned a servicestation/diner and there was the oldguys retired crowd who would hangout every morning and smoke there pipes while solving all the worlds problems,those were the good old days,wish i could go back now and enjoy a bowl with them.
My Grandfather smoked Half & Half in a Cob but he didnt always smoke one. He told me befor I was born he used to smoke cigs. So now I am a grandfather and I have laid them down as well just cant smoke Half and Half everyday I prefer Hal O The Wynd.
My grandfather on my mothers side was a pipe smoker and I always remember the great smell in his home. He moved to Miami Beach in the mid 50's so we would visit a couple of times a year and I always looked forward to that smell. My grandfather on my dads side was a cigar smoker and I grew up with that smell in his house. My dad smoked everything, cigarettes, pipes ( for a little bit) and cigars. The first time I smoked a pipe, I borrowed one of my dads and bought some borkum riff and burned my tongue off. I grew up with the smell of tobacco and followed in the footsteps of everyone. I began smoking at 12 with Tijuana Smalls and never looked back.
I remember my great grandfather. He was always mysterious to me. He wasn't close to my grandfather I'm told and bore no affection to my father. He was a German immigrant, I'm not sure when or how he came to Canada but here he stayed. No one seemed to know much about him. I have one particular, fairly vague memory of him. I remember going to his house with my Dad, it must have been to just check up on him make sure he was still alive and all that. It was a tiny house by a lake. It seemed small in there, even from my point of view. I remember it being quite dark, the only light was the light passing through my great grandad's musty curtains. I remember seeing wafts of smoke being lit up by the sun peeking through those curtains and my granddad sitting at the kitchen table smoking his pipe. That's all I really remember about him. It's not much but the memory has always kind of stuck with me.
I have one particularly fond memory of my maternal grandfather reading me the Hobbit while he smoked his pipe. I think I'll always cherish that one.
I have one particularly fond memory of my maternal grandfather reading me the Hobbit while he smoked his pipe. I think I'll always cherish that one.
Unfortunately, nobody in my family smokes a pipe, but I did have a professor in college who I would sit outside with and enjoy a bowl of tobacco. He smoked Sir Walter Raleigh without ceasing. He introduced me to SWR and was also my pipe mentor, but sadly he retired and left the area........
I grew up in a family of a blue collar hard workers made up of cigarette smokers in the early 60's. The only person I remember that ever smoked a pipe was a distant uncle that came over from Ireland names Morris. Uncle Morris was ancient to a lad of 7, when he was in his 80's. I was fascinated with the process of lighting and smoking his pipe.The aroma was most pleasant. Morris was a very large yet quite man. When he did speak I never understood a word he said as he spoke in the Gaelic of Ireland, but he made an impression on me with his pipe. When I turned 16 I bought my first pipe. It was a cheap drug store pipe which I have forgotten the brand of. Except for a brief time in the Navy in the 70's when I went to cigarettes, I stayed with the pipe. Some health issues in the early 90's had me put my pipes down. In the past several months I have returned to my first love, The Pipe! So much has changed over the years that it is like beginning all over again fresh. Back in the day we never had the selections in tobacco available, but, thanks to this site and the internet, I am learning a lot! Thanks for letting me share.
Personally I don't recall anyone in my family smoking a pipe other than my stepdad occassionally enjoying a bowl a few times a year on the porch. I sent him a Nording Signature for Christmas with some 1Q and a pipe stand and a Czech Tool. Hoping he gets into it as much as I have. Last week I sent him a good five or six tins I've had laying around forever and haven't finished.
Just foundout last summer that my dad gave the pipe a try a few years before I was born. I think he's one of those people though that view nails just being quicker and therefore easier.
Just foundout last summer that my dad gave the pipe a try a few years before I was born. I think he's one of those people though that view nails just being quicker and therefore easier.
There were no pipe smokers in my family. But as a young guy, to young for a drivers license I would hitch a ride to the big city (Flint, Mi) and I would usually make sure to visit Paul's Pipe Shop for the great aromas. When my brother wanted to give up cigarettes I bought him two pipes from Paul's. When he passed away I got the pipes back. I still have the Ben Wade I bought him, and I hope the other one is in a box somewhere. Anyway having his pipe inspired me eventually, and I love the hobby and the connection to my brother.
I no longer live in Michigan, but I have fond memories of Paul's, and it is still open, they have been open for 84 years. Paul is 101 years young and still smoking. I can't imagine a better B&M anywhere.
I no longer live in Michigan, but I have fond memories of Paul's, and it is still open, they have been open for 84 years. Paul is 101 years young and still smoking. I can't imagine a better B&M anywhere.
My Great Uncle John who has been deceased for some time now smoked a pipe many years ago. I never saw him with a pipe as by the time I was born he had switched to cigars. I remember as a young child he would have cigars that had plastic tips and smelled like pipe tobacco, as I recognized the smell from a tobacco shop that was located in a mall we frequented when I was a kid. Sometimes I'll smell a cigar that reminds me of him. It brings back fond memories. I never knew what happened to his pipe(s). I would have liked to have seen what he had smoked.
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