The 11th Congress

Members gather after the 11th Congress for a group photo. Pictured from left to right—foreground; Mr. B. Joyce, Mr. J. Stepp, Mr. R. Browne, Mr. M. Walker, Mr. M. Flagler, Mr. B. Johnson. Background; Mr. J. McLaughlin, Mr. J. Back, Mr. S Griffith, Mr. C. Farmer, Mr. J. Carr, Mr P. Box.

 

 

The 11th Congress
Neon's Unplugged on April 10, 2013

The 11th Congress convened on April 10th at Neon's.  Present were Messrs. Walker, Carr, Johnson, Griffith, Flagler, Back, Browne, Stepp, Joyce and Pledges J. McLaughlin and C. Farmer.
  Sec.-Treas. Johnson reported $130 in the till. Pledges Farmer and McLaughlin's nominations were unanimously approved.
  In old business, Ambassador Griffith reported on the sponsorship of the Roller Girls.  The club banner has been hung, well-hung I'm sure, in the Cincinnati Gardens.  Vice President Carr and Confessor Back led a discussion regarding the pipe club box, a very fine box I'm sure.  Confessor Back promised to provide members with keys to the box as soon he trusts them.  President Walker proclaimed the May meeting as Founder’s Day to commemorate the first birthday of the club. 
In New Business: Annual dues were established at $20.  Payments were received by the Vice President, Ambassador, Sec.-Treasurer and Mr. McLaughlin.  The Ambassador reported that the buttons were on order.  Two club outings were discussed and approved.  The first is a visit to the Tobacco Festival in Ripley, Ohio, in August, and the second to the USA v. Mexico World Cup Qualifier in Columbus, Ohio, in September.  With that, the meeting was concluded and the members retreated to the bar for official photographs and club shots.

FIeld Trip

Club Field Trip to Carrousel Tobacco Shoppe and The Mustard Club
On the morning of Saturday, March 9th, several members met in an OTR parking lot, permission slips in hand, and prepared to board various vehicles destined north to the Carrousel Keyer Tobacco Shoppe in Roselawn. 2 members had prior commitments and were unable to attend, another 2 were no-shows, and 3 others did not have their permission slips signed so were left behind. Of the 5 that made the trip all were greeted warmly by the Keep.
Members shuffled about the aisles, of which there are two if you count either side of the loose tobacco display, and purveyed the fine wares for sale. Items were purchased; most notably the large wooden pipe that now adorns the heights of the Pipe Box and a stylish new Peterson for Mr. J. Stepp. After sampling many of the smartly blended offerings, the Keep took our picture, we smoked with the Indian and departed. (See Cincinnati Tobacconists for a review)

After parting ways with the Ambassador, whom  had  a thingy or something to do elsewhere, members headed to Mecklenburg Gardens for the monthly meeting of the Händlmaier Mustard Club.   The intentions of an afternoon rumble were soon thwarted after calculating the number and size of the Mustard membership. With a quick vote, rumbling was exchanged for handshakes, split-the-pot donations, and cold pints of beer.  All-in-all a fine group of folks be they somewhat befuddled by the gents with pipes in their midst.

The gents at Mecklenburg Gardens enjoying pints of Bell’s Ale. From left: Mr. B. Johnson, Mr. M. Walker, Mr. J. Stepp, Greg Pilch of Bell’s,  Mr. J. Carr, and Mr. R. Browne.

  The establishment (c. 1865) is a treat in itself, featuring the original Germanic architectural elements intact, including heavy timber beams, stained glass windows, fireplaces and mahogany bar. The 100 year old grape vines flourish in the outdoor beer gardens providing shaded refuge for a quiet briar.

Recommended stop by; The Mustard Club meets the second Saturday of the month at 11am, at Mecklenburg Gardens, 302 East University Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219.

New Members

President, VP, and Mr. J. Taylor

Mr. J. Taylor, sponsored by the VP was voted in at the 8th Congress, Mr. Taylor claims the longest briar, enjoys baking, saying  the  word “sports” and the hookah.

VP and Mr. T. Hunter

 Mr. T. Hunter, also sponsored by the VP, joined at the 9th Congress and was voted in absentia as our first international member being that he currently resides in Mexico. Hunter owns/ops a beach bar, prefers Canadians and enjoys buying fish sticks and claiming he caught them.

Mr. J. McLaughlin

  Mr. J. McLaughlin and Mr. C. Farmer, both sponsored by the Ambassador, were voted in at the 11th Congress. Mclaughlin enjoys roller derby, baseball and defying gravity.

Mr. C. Farmer

 Mr. Farmer on the other hand is missing. We plan to send out a search party but we have to meet on it first assuming it makes the agenda. Hang in there mate, we’re coming, eventually, maybe.

The 10th Congress

The 10th Congress

Bockfest Pint Glass Award for Awesomeness or hats, one of the two.

Neon's Unplugged on March 13, 2013 6:08 pm
Mr. S. Griffith, The Ambassador,  substituting for Mr. B. Johnson, Sect-Treas.

Present: Pres. M. Walker, Sgt-at-Arms R. Browne, Ambassador S. Griffith, Confessor J. Back, Mr. J. Stepp, Mr. J. Taylor, Mr. C. Hochscheid.
Old Business: Mr. Ambassador discussed the sponsorship of the Rollergirls. Members expressed intrest in supporting, additional tickets. President will investigate a banner for hanging. President thanks everyone for their participation in the Bockfest March. Pipe Club won Best Dressed. President expressed sadness that the Confessor was not named New Pope. Mr. Ambassador detailed his story about being pulled over upon leaving Carousel.
In New Business:: Opening Day will have Baseball. President asks if we could get into the parade. April 13th, Tobacco Festival in Ripley Ohio. President proclaims interest. Confessor brought the Official Holder of Pipes for the new case. Cost of $35 will be reimbursed with special assessment. President proclaims Kudos to the new box on the wall at Home Base. President is “working on mission statement.”
Free Association Period: 
President asks who next tattoo girl of newsletter will be. President admonishes VP for listing self as editor and chief. It should be editor in chief. Discussion of business man’s day special.  Discussion of KY outing. President recommends Edgewood Tavern. Much discussion of the box. Engraving, etching, shelves and such. Mr. J. Stepp moves to adjorn. Mr. C. Hochsheid seconded. Motion passed.

The Back Page

Musings By Mr. J. Back, The Confessor
I like my phone. My phone is good because my friends call me and I answer when they do. When I get lonely I call myself. But I never answer. This is strange because I always answer my phone. I always leave a message and I always get the message but...but I stopped returning them because I never answer. Perhaps I will text myself. I like texting because it makes words and I like to read. I will text myself something clever. I am texting myself now.

Travel

Pipe Club Sponsors Rollergirls

The Pipe Club of OTR is extremely proud to be an official team sponsor of the 2013 Cincinnati Rollergirls for the entire season. The Pipe Club Executive Sub-Committee made a hasty, but brilliant decision between Congresses to seize the opportunity to sponsor the team alongside other OTR power brokers such as The Famous Neons Unplugged & MOTR Pub. The Pipe Club is featured in the program for each bout and on the website. The club also has a Pipe Club banner hung in the beautiful Cincinnati Gardens for each bout. Mr. S. Griffith, Ambassador  secured season passes, as well, for the purposes of wining & dining nationally renown pipe enthusiast luminaries. Thanks to: Griffith for leading the project, Walker for getting the banner produced.

Cincinnati Tobacconists

By Mr. S. Griffith, Ambassador
In the post-tobacco industry settlement & Ohio Smoking ban world, dedicated Tobacconist shops are dwindling throwbacks to an era that is passing. Though there are fewer and fewer quality shops across the nation, Cincinnati is very fortunate to have two very fine shops within its borders. The Pipe Club of OTR heartily endorses both Straus Tobacconist & Carrousel Keyer Tobacco Shoppe as fine establishments with excellent selections, good prices & fine locations to spend an afternoon having a smoke and a chat.
Straus Tobacconist is the last cigar & tobacco store remaining in the city core making it the last business one can still legally smoke in. Straus has a tremendous selection of cigars in their climate controlled humidor space. They also have a robust selection of reasonably priced pipes & bulk tobaccos. The employees are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their product. Straus is THE downtown destination for cigar & pipe aficionados.
  Carrousel is a small, but densely packed shop for pipe & cigar enthusiasts in the Roselawn neighborhood. They stock a very robust selection of new and estate pipes at very good prices. They also have a large selection of bulk tobacco varieties for sale. Owner-operators are always on site with friendly advice. Carrousel is on the must-visit list for any Cincinnati tobacco enthusiast.

Straus Tobacconist
Neighborhood: Downtown
410 Walnut Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 • 513) 621-3388
Mon - Fri: 9:00 am - 6:00 pm, Sat: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Carrousel Keyer Tobacco Shoppe
Neighborhood: Roselawn
8001 Reading Road Cincinnati, OH 45237 • (513) 821-5350
Mon-Fri: 10:00 am - 5:30 pm, Sat: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm

The 9th Congress

At the 9th Congress, Ace reporter of stuff, Bill Rinehart (seen in mirror) takes a picture.
Pictured from left to right are: Pipe Club members smoking pipes.

The 9th Congress

Neon's Unplugged on February 13, 2013
 
  The 9th Congress convened with the roll call.  Present were Messrs. Walker, Carr, Johnson, Griffith, Browne, Back and Joyce.  Absent were Messrs. Flagler, Stepp, Dolch and Hague.
  In old business it was reported that Ambassador Griffith was successful in obtaining more than 100 "Likes" for the Facebook page.  He is to be rewarded by an adult beverage of his choice. Vice President Carr was commended for his design of the page. Ambassador Griffith also presented and distributed the new business cards for the club.  They shall be distributed to the public during the Bockfest Parade on March 1, 2013.  A prototype of the crest patches was displayed by Mr. Johnson.  They shall be eady for the parade. The Club shall participate in the Bockfest parade.  Members shall convene at Neon's at 4:00 p.m. March 1 before retreating to Arnold's for the parade staging no later than 5:00 p.m.  The attire is a blazer, white shirt, khakis with chapeaus optional.
In New Business:
Mr. Back stated that the club pipe box would be installed at Neon's the following week.  The bookmakers in Las Vegas immediately set the odds against that occurring at a gazillion to one.  The club's first new international member, Mr. T. Hunter of Playa Del Carmen, Mexico; sponsored by. Mr. Carr, was unanimously inducted.  Mr. Dolch has purchased the car for the Bonneville trials, and the club has contributed a sponsorship.  Mr. Carr is developing a blog; however, the newsletter shall continue.  As the result of a special meeting conducted on January 12, 2013, Mr. Browne was officially recognized as Sergeant-at-Arms.  A club trip to the Carousel tobacco shop shall occur on March 9, 2013. Members shall convene at Neon's at 9:00 a.m. The secretary-treasurer shall develop a contact list of names, dates of membership, hobbies and turn-ons for the next meeting. The meeting was adjourned, and the members retreated to the bar for the official club shot.

Running Mates

Staying in top physical shape is a major priority for club members...OK, there is no truth in that last statement but none-the-less, 2 of our officers did do something that resembled exercise. Let’s compare the two:

Team “Bad Boys” at the start of The Bomberos 3-Legged race representing International member Mr. T. Hunter’s beach bar in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. From Left: Mr. T. Hunter-Team Manager, Mario-Team Transport, Kym Carr-Team Director, Vice President Mr. J. Carr-Right Leg and running mate Kjersti Rognes-Left Leg.  Not shown: Ms. Katie Buck Team Photographer.

Facebook

facebook.com/PipeClubofOTR

Congratulations to the Ambassador on the creation and management of the Pipe Club’s facebook page. The Ambassador achieved his lofty goal of 100 likes in the first month.
  Since then, folks have been enjoying the pictures and posts from various outings and have been utilizing the medium for general communications about upcoming events and happenings.

Behind Home Plate

From left: The Ambassador, The President, The Secretary-Treasurer and pipeless member Mr. B. Joyce. Photo bomb courtesy of the VP’s wife Ms. Kym Carr.

Unless Johnson and Joyce are watching Liverpool, the Reds will be on the patio TV and you can always count on a few pipers to be present at the end of the bar. But during weekday afternoon Reds home games (Business Man’s Specials), you can find the Pipe Club assembled in the “standing room only” area behind home plate at Great American Ball Park. Take the afternoon, grab a cheap ticket and join the Pipers rooting on the home team. All are welcome.

The Johnson Report

The 8th Congress

From the Ministry of Finance & Record
Mr. B. Johnson, Secretary-Treasurer
Neon's Unplugged on January 8, 2013

  The 8th Congress convened at -Present were Messrs. M. Walker, J. Carr, R. Browne, B. Johnson, S. Griffith, J. Stepp, M. Flagler, and B. Hague.  Absent were Messrs. J. Back, C. Hochscheid and B. Joyce.  
  President M. Walker whistled the meeting to order.  President Walker utilized a whistle because he misplaced his gavel. Old business was discussed.  The President has done nothing in terms of crafting a mission statement.  He was too busy losing his gavel.  B. Johnson's significant other and life partner continues to work on the Club's crest patch.  Secretary-Treasurer B. Johnson reported a treasury of $130.
In New Business:
Pledge J. Taylor was accepted as a new member.  Ambassador S. Griffith reported no other prospects loomed.  It was decided that Club meetings will occur on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. at Neon's Unplugged.  A field trip to Straus Tobacco was planned for January 12, 2013.
  M. Flagler blandly reported on his trip to Ireland.  B. Hague is working on a comic strip for the next newsletter.  He was also designated as the chair of the Bockfest planning subcommittee.  S. Griffith is working on business cards for the Club. With that, the meeting was adjourned and the members retreated to the bar for the official shot of the club.