The Pipes Magazine Radio Show – Episode 285
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Kevin Godbee - Feb 27, 2018
- 1 min read
Kevin Godbee
Thank you for joining us for The Pipes Magazine Radio Show—the only radio talk show for pipe smokers and collectors. We broadcast weekly, every Tuesday at 8 pm eastern USA time and are available on nearly all podcast sites and apps. Listen on your computer, tablet, phone and even in the car! Tonight’s show will cover the two big news stories that recently hit the pipe world—the passing of legendary Danish pipe artisan, Lars Ivarsson, and the impending closing of renowned pipe tobacco maker, McClelland Tobacco Company. Our interviewee will be noted author of several pipe books and an avid pipe collector for decades, Rick Newcombe. Rick personally knew Lars for years, and he will be the topic of discussion with Brian. We will also have an exclusive statement from McClelland Tobacco. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
Tonight’s show is sponsored by SmokingPipes.com, Cornell & Diehl, and Savinelli Pipes and Tobaccos. Please give them some consideration when making your next pipe or tobacco purchase.
We hope you enjoy our 1-hour show produced just for you—the pipe smoker and collector. The following link will launch a pop-up player. Alternatively, you can download the show in iTunes and other podcast sites and apps after the initial broadcast is complete here.
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Rick Newcombe – Pipe Collector, Author of Several Pipe Books, Founder of Creators Syndicate
Rick’s Article: The FDA’s Unauthorized War on Pipes and Cigars
Still Searching for Pipe Dreams
In Search of Pipe Dreams
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End of an era. Wow! Well done Mike and Mary! You’ve earned a vacation! Thanks for all you’ve done for pipe smoking.
I felt some of the privilege Rick must have felt, just listening to his experiences.
This was / is a great episode! (bitter sweet, but, Rick’s stories pulled us back)
R.I.P. Lars
Great episode, Brian! Thanks for covering so much and for the continued good work you do with the Radio Show. Smoking Red Cake for the first time was my first “Ah-ha!” moment for smoking pipes. It’ll be sad to see McClelland go, but I’m happy for them both. A fine tribute to Lars, as well.
Brian, thanks for a great job with two such melancholy topics. Like many pipe smokers of modest means, I didn’t know much about Lars. Ricks personal memories really painted a great picture. It seems an automotive equivalent, in regards to industry influence might be Enzo Ferrari (but less ruthless). I was missing my little granddaughter this morning, thanks for bringing me down with “Best Of Times” (kidding, also a favorite album).
I made two mistakes during the conversation with Brian. Tony Rodriguez grew up in Nicaragua and not Guatemala, and even though I thought I remembered chickens at Lars’ house, he corrected me during the audiobook interview and said there were only sheep. His workshop, however, used to house the pigs for the farmer who lived there before! Lars always got a kick out of that.
So disheartened to hear about the closing of McClelland. So many of my favorite blends. I was quite surprised to hear that it is becoming significantly more difficult to procure red Virginias in the United States any more. What will this do to other American blenders (Cornell and Diehl, GL Pease, Hearth and Home, etc). Does this mean we are going to see a deterioration of quality from the likes of them? I hope that isn’t the case. And, all this following the discontinuation of Dunhill tobaccos. My best wishes to the McNeils. McClellands will be long remembered.
Godspeed Mary and Mike McNiel, the future is yours to enjoy! Richmond is waiting for a visit!
Thank you Dr. Rick for those joyous interludes – how I wish I could have joined you on a few of those visits! I was blessed at one of the Chicago shows to spend almost an hour talking with Lars about design – the golden proportion, Danish furniture design, and the importance of the pipe on some of those designers (and we agreed that they really studied their pipes to design that furniture 🙂 ). RIP Lars, I’ll join you in a smoke one of these eternities.
I was prepared for a very sad show, but you presented it well. Mike and Mary deserve whatever they choose to do next, whether retire or move on to a new industry. Of course I’ll be disappointed that my favorite Virginia flakes will no longer be produced, but all good things come to an end. Rick gave a very colorful and exciting eulogy of sorts, and it was wonderful to listen to.
Wow, what a great show!! Mike & Mary, both Doctor of Pipes, have earned a well deserved rest. Most people never realized that Mike handled all the tobacco that came in to their facility and all the blending. And he wouldn’t ship anything that Mary didn’t okay. He said she had the most astute palate in the business. They make an incredible team.
Rick Newcombe was a joy to listen to. His stories about Lars was a very fitting tribute to a man widely renowned as the best pipe carver in the world. I never seen Rick so keyed up before. I’ve only been around him a few times but he always seemed somewhat low keyed and reserved. I wish you could have kept him on topic a little better but the stories about all the Scandanavian carvers was very enjoyble.
Brian… super show as always. Up until now I’ve been a “lurker”, listening and enjoying but not participating. I guess I’ve never had anything to say… until now. This news about McClellands was a shock to be sure… the forums are all abuzz. Given your depth of experience in “the industry”, what can you tell us about the impact this will have on the tobacco farmers themselves? I understand that McClellands have dealt with many of the same farmers for years and years… Will there now be an imbalance between supply and demand causing further hardship on farmers due to falling tobacco prices? Thanks again for the service that you provide for the industry. Cheers, MoeSmoke