55 Years of Smoking a Pipe
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Thanks for the memories, both those you shared and those you evoked. I'm an underclassman to you. I started my Freshman year 51 years ago, and picked up the pipe that same Sept. My "anniversary" is coming up later this month, but I will not be celebrating in quite the same way. I do still have my first pipe, and will light it up, but not with Cherry Blend, with which I first started. Stopped smoking it after a few months, was WAY too sweetly cased. Would love to find some Edgeworth Ready Rubbed to toast you, but may have to settle for some SWR, something I smoked for many years.
Congratulations!
Congratulations!
:
Checotah wrote:
P&C sells ERR Match, and it's pretty good stuff. The burley flavor really comes through.
Wow, what do you get someone on their 55th anniversary?
I am sure a jeweller will chime in and tell us.
Congrats, that is quite a milestone.
I am sure a jeweller will chime in and tell us.
Congrats, that is quite a milestone.
I'm only on my 48th year of pipe smoking but I have always admired the quote; " May my last breath be inhaled through a pipe and exhaled in a pun".
Hi Al, not the very original ones, but I've got a couple that do back 50 years or so. A favorite pipe was a City de Luxe billiard given me by a girlfriend for my birthday in April, 1961. It cost $10, and because we were both starving undergrads, couldn't come up with the $15 which was the starting price for a GBD. I lost the pipe in October, 1967, when I had some temporary duty aboard the USS Orion, and left it on my desk. I sent back for it, but it was never recovered. I did an Internet search for it a couple years ago, and found one exactly like it, still in the box. Someone in French was trying to sell it, but he would not ship it internationally, despite my offer to pay the shipping. That's the French for you.
Rav: Good to hear that we are the same age. You, Bradley and I seem to be the seniors here. I had my first pipe in 1954, but didn't start smoking them regularly until '56. Before that it was the little cigars, 5 for a quarter. I had no idea it was a stylish thing to do in college. I was the only pipesmoker in my school at that time. My best smoking experience was in 1958. I traveled to Lancaster PA with 2 high school friends to enter something called "The National Pipe Smoking Contest". It was a long smoke event. I finished 8th out of several hundred people, including a few dozen women.
Hey guys, thanks so much for all your wonderful remarks. It was a pleasure sharing my pipe smoking history with you, and your comments meant a great deal to me.
Just reviewing this thread and I'm responding to Coalsmoke's question about memorable pipe shops. First-let me say that back then, all pipe shops were good or better. There was no Internet, and the only way that you could get pipes, tobacco use and other supplies was by visiting the shop, or mailing those that had mail order systems in place. I made it a point to visit the pipe shop in any town I happened to be visiting, and always bought something – – the pipe, some tobacco, or other supplies. That said, here are some of my most notable brick-and-mortar places:
1. Fred Diebel- in Kansas Cit's upscale Country Club Plaza. This was the first pipe shop I ever visited, back in early 1961. It was a grand and glorious place, filled to the brim with exquisite pipes and equally exquisite tobaccos. Fred was patient and taught me a good deal about what I learned about pipe smoking in those early days. The shop still exists, but it bears only a slight resemblance to what it was.
2. David P. Ehrlich and Leavitt and Peirce- mainstays of the Boston pipe scene. They had it all, and generations of Harvard students and other proper Bostonians were regulars. I smoked their flagship blend, DPE for quite a few years. Ehrlichs is closed, and L&P, while still there in their original Harvard Square location, is a pale shadow of its former self. The staff know little or nothing about pipe smoking, and are simply sale clerks who will take your purchase and ring it up for you. You can still buy DPE, but the formula has changed somewhat, even though it still tastes pretty close to the original blend. They still sell Cake Box, and it's still a great blend. Judge's Mixture is also a tobacco worth noting.
3. Smoker's Haven in Columbus, Ohio. Again, a premier shop and Premal has done superlative work in keeping it going. I had a small tin of their flagship Our Best Blend (good old Balkan Sobranie packed under their label,) which I opened and shared with Premal a couple of years ago. The tin had absolutely no rust, inside or out, and the tobacco was amazing. I still have a large tin of OBB which I'm holding on to, until a heavenly voice tells me to open it.
4. Iwan Ries-- great then and now-a not to be missed experience.
5. Carousel- Cincinnati's best. They've changed a bit, but still worth a visit. After I handed in my dissertation, I worked there for a few months until graduation, fulfilling a childhood dream. It was a great experience, one I still look back on with some fondness.
6. Edward's - in various locations. They had great pipes and tobaccos, and some of the blends are still available.
There are still a few brick-and-mortar places open, and are all worth a visit.
1. Fred Diebel- in Kansas Cit's upscale Country Club Plaza. This was the first pipe shop I ever visited, back in early 1961. It was a grand and glorious place, filled to the brim with exquisite pipes and equally exquisite tobaccos. Fred was patient and taught me a good deal about what I learned about pipe smoking in those early days. The shop still exists, but it bears only a slight resemblance to what it was.
2. David P. Ehrlich and Leavitt and Peirce- mainstays of the Boston pipe scene. They had it all, and generations of Harvard students and other proper Bostonians were regulars. I smoked their flagship blend, DPE for quite a few years. Ehrlichs is closed, and L&P, while still there in their original Harvard Square location, is a pale shadow of its former self. The staff know little or nothing about pipe smoking, and are simply sale clerks who will take your purchase and ring it up for you. You can still buy DPE, but the formula has changed somewhat, even though it still tastes pretty close to the original blend. They still sell Cake Box, and it's still a great blend. Judge's Mixture is also a tobacco worth noting.
3. Smoker's Haven in Columbus, Ohio. Again, a premier shop and Premal has done superlative work in keeping it going. I had a small tin of their flagship Our Best Blend (good old Balkan Sobranie packed under their label,) which I opened and shared with Premal a couple of years ago. The tin had absolutely no rust, inside or out, and the tobacco was amazing. I still have a large tin of OBB which I'm holding on to, until a heavenly voice tells me to open it.
4. Iwan Ries-- great then and now-a not to be missed experience.
5. Carousel- Cincinnati's best. They've changed a bit, but still worth a visit. After I handed in my dissertation, I worked there for a few months until graduation, fulfilling a childhood dream. It was a great experience, one I still look back on with some fondness.
6. Edward's - in various locations. They had great pipes and tobaccos, and some of the blends are still available.
There are still a few brick-and-mortar places open, and are all worth a visit.
Awesome story. I go to carousal from time to time (I live in Cincinnati). If you are ever in Champaign IL go to John's pipe shop. It's one of the best.
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