Saturday at the Hut - 4/27/13

Saturday at The Tobacco Hut saw quite a few people folks hanging around for a cigar or pipe. Let's start with the roll call, in no particular order: Rob, Lou, Joe K, Don, Peter, Scott, Ed F, and Tom L. It was nice to see the Hut included in a lot of people's Saturday plans. I had to give Joe some crap regarding not calling me when he and James were at the shop a couple weeks ago. He responded with some sort of finger display which I shan't duplicate here, since impressionable young children may be reading this.

Tom arrived and promptly began making fun of us pipe smokers. He poked fun at Peterson's trademarked P-Lip and it's somewhat phallic-shaped profile. As Ed pointed out though, this coming from a man who was smoking a cigar. But, as Freud once said supposedly, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." I do think though that as much as Tom is a pipe-a-phobe, he actually secretly wants to come out of the closet and embrace the pipe. Tom, it's OK, at the Hut you're in a safe environment. Break out the pipe, become one with it.

Earlier, Rob and Don and Joe and I were talking computers and airplanes and other subjects. Don is a pilot so we - or at least I - were grilling him on various aspects of flying. How fast he can fly, how high, etc. All fascinating stuff to us "civilians." Speaking of pilots, when are we going to see you again, Arnie? It's been awhile.

Later Scott came in and delivered an old Magnavox transistor radio to Peter. Peter collects old radios and immediately set about trying to get it to work. He was confident he could get it working properly with a little cleaning. Scott, being the resident "Knife Guy", also brought me a pocket knife, pictured below. It's a Scout knife (not an official Boy Scout, that's just the name of the knife) from Seneca Cutlery Co. in Utica, NY. Thank you Scott!

My newest knife from the "Knife Guy" (click to enlarge).

This one has special meaning to me, not only because it's from upstate NY, but because it's a Seneca, like me. Well, I'm at least partially a Seneca. Indian, that is. My great, great grandmother was a Seneca and her name was...Steptoe. That part of the family tree has some really kind of odd names - at least by modern standards - and I'm glad those names weren't passed down through the generations.

According to Scott, the knife itself was manufactured between 1930-1940, and is in pretty good condition considering its age. After numerous discussions, Scott is well aware of my love for all things vintage, and all things New York. I recently scored this Genesee Beer Tray on eBay and will be receiving it shortly.

This Genesee Beer Tray from the 1950s will soon be
hanging in my office (click to enlarge).

Don't forget that this Friday, May 3rd is Pipe Night! From 6-8:00 pm, come in - whether you're a pipe smoker or not - and hang out! You could also win a $50 store gift card in the raffle. If you are a pipe smoker, there are going to be some great discounts on pipes and tobacco as well, plus food and beverages.

Saturday, May 18th is the official Grand Re-Opening, so make plans to attend.

See you next time!