Red Lion drops cigar on New Year's Eve

(York Dispatch) The eastern side of York County Friday night will be full of cigar raising, shoe drops, fireworks and, if all goes well, streets packed with revelers in Hallam and Red Lion boroughs.
For the 14th year, Red Lion will hold a giant, free celebration in its downtown area from 7 p.m. to midnight that committee chairman Joe Valenti thinks should attract people from around the region.
They even added "area" to the "Red Lion Area New Year's Committee" to better represent the goal of bringing in people from outside Red Lion.
"We're willing to take as many people as we can hold," he said. Continued

Moonshine Crooks Cigars

If you came across a box of Moonshine Crooks in a store, you might think they were a novelty item, what with the cartoon moonshiner depicted on the lid and the bent shape of the cigars in the box, but they aren't a novelty item, they're a real cigar.
"Crooks," says the Cigar History Museum, are a "type of cigar which, after being made, is pressed in moulds to take on a rectangular cross section with a double bend in the middle. Almost always sweetened with various sugars and/or liquors. Most popular in the 1950's, a beginner's cigar for many smokers, the style can be traced back as far as 1900 with certainty (probably earlier)."
Moonshine Crooks are "rum cured" and made in Red Lion, Pennsylvania by the last cigar maker in town, T.E. Brooks & Company (also known as G.W. Van Slyke & Horton). According to Tobacco Reporter, the company also makes Don Rey Dons, Spanish Maid Crooks, Canadian Club, Hava A Sweet, Brooks Grande Prima, El-Rees-So Sweets, and Palma Throw Outs.
At one point in its history, Red Lion (York County), was home to 150 cigar factories. In October of 1929, the local railroad (the "famous MA&PA"), shipped out 15,000,000 cigars and 1,633 cases of tobacco. Today, old industrial Red Lion is almost gone, the cigar factories and railroad having given way to cigarettes and automobiles, so I was excited to see that there was one last cigar company cranking out some old-timey smokes. The problem, like so many vintage American brands, was finding them, it took a little internet sleuthing, but I finally found some Moonshine Crooks online.
How are they? Well, they're not bad, not bad at all. They sport a genuine leaf wrapper and I don't know what inside, but it tastes good. The telltale crook is plainly evident in each cigar. At around a buck each (and much of that taxes), they won't stand up to a premium cigar, but they aren't supposed too. If you match them against other inexpensive, flavored, machine made cigars, they stand up quite nicely - sweet, mild, and flavorful. And maybe it's psychological, but they do seem to taste better before the crook is smoked up, but by that point, you're almost through anyway. You can get a five-pack of Moonshine Crooks from Amishshop.com (more on them in a future post when I'll be trying out their "Amish Cigar Sampler"), and they are also available by the box (50) at Finck, Carey, etc. online. Recommendation: Recommended. Industrial history never tasted so good.

This little railroad station used to ship around 100 million cigars a year. (Photo courtesy of MDRails)

Update: 5/21/2011, Moonshine Crooks are now extinct Last Remaining Red Lion Cigar Factory Closes After 100 Years

Also: A last visit to the G.W. Van Slyke & Horton cigar factory

Has the Crook Cigar Gone Extinct?

With the recent closing of the GW Van Slyke & Horton cigar factory in Red Lion, Pennsylvania, the crook cigar seems to have gone extinct. Crook cigars, says the Cigar History Museum, are a "type of cigar which, after being made, is pressed in moulds to take on a rectangular cross section with a double bend in the middle. Almost always sweetened with various sugars and/or liquors. Most popular in the 1950's, a beginner's cigar for many smokers, the style can be traced back as far as 1900 with certainty (probably earlier)."
According to Patricia A. Cooper, the crook cigar originated in Red Lion, so it seems appropriate that a Red Lion factory was the last to make them. The second to the last company to make them was House of Windsor, which was right up the road from Red Lion, but they sold out a few years ago and, after a brief revival, disappeared entirely. House of Windsor's brand was called Wolf Brothers. They also made a small cigar called a "crookette." While there are plenty of rum flavored cigars left, none of them have that crooked bend in them, which seems a shame as a lot of people appear to still like them, if internet chatter is any indication.
Rum Crooks started out as a five cent cigar and never aspired to anything grander, but they were a good smoke, something you'd grab at the gas station while waiting for a tire to be changed, or to fill your vest pockets with, before a fishing trip. Some people smoked the lowly crooks exclusively - and happily - for decades. I never liked them enough to make them my only smoke, but I always liked to keep some on hand, occasionally passing over cigars that cost ten times as much, just for the sheer pleasure of the things. The demise of GW Van Slyke & Horton leaves us with only a handful of old-time American cigar makers still in operation: F. X. Smith, Finck, Avanti, and National Cigar are about the only one's left.

Despite its last tobacco factory closing, Red Lion will still raise the big cigar

(York Dispatch) For the first time in 15 years, a cigar factory will not be in operation in Red Lion when the giant fake cigar is raised on New Year's Eve.
Van Slyke & Horton Inc., the last remaining factory from the industry that built the town, closed early this year.
"It's kind of sad we don't have a cigar manufacturer in this town anymore," said Joe Valenti, chairman of the Red Lion Area New Year's Eve Committee. "It's a shame."
But the show must go on. Continued

Notice for G.W. Van Slyke and Horton Tobacco company

STEVE FARMER
Auctioneering & Appraisal Co.
(717) 244-4867 or (717) 880-9294, License # 2438L

* * ON SITE AUCTION * *
G. W. VAN SLYKE & HORTON, INC.
49 South Pine Street, Red Lion, PA

With Over 100 Years & Shipping All Over World…
The Last Operating Cigar Manufacturer in Red Lion is Shutting the Doors & AUCTIONING Off the Remaining Inventory. also, Items From T.E. Brooks!!!!!

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011, 10 AM
DOORS OPEN AT 8 AM

* * ITEMS FOR SALE * *
The Success Tobacco Machine NO 8 by B.F. Strickler Co. Benroy, PA; Complete Hand Rolling Table W/ Cutters; Lg. Selection of Cigar Boxes (4000 reg. & 450 Wooden); 1600 Wooden Cigar Trunks; 100's of Wooden Cigar Trays; 75 Wooden Crook Molds; 1000's of Cigar Bands; Couple 1000 Assorted Labels; Assortment of Wooden Cigar Molds; Printer Blocks; Shipping Stamps; Scales; Signs; Cash Register; York Floor Safe; File Cabinets; Desks and Other Misc. Items.....

AUCTIONEER’s NOTES & TERMS OF SALE
Large Items must be removed from the site within 1 week by appointment only. There is a 10% Buyer’s Premium plus, NO Sales Tax on all merchandise. Cash, Checks & Major Credit Cards accepted - Photo ID required.

Link

Photos

Also: Last Red Lion cigar factory closes for good - York Dispatch

Red Lion Raising Giant Cigar for New Year's

 

(York Dispatch) Red Lion [Pennsylvania] was once known as the cigar making capital of the world, and on New Year's Eve, the borough will pay tribute by raising a giant cigar above the borough building.
The 18th annual free New Year's Eve celebration will take place from 7 p.m. to midnight. Festivities include live music, a disc jockey, food, and fireworks. The celebration is free of charge and open to the public. Continued

Renovations to Red Lion cigar factory bring its history back to life

(YDR) Stroll through the alley behind Bethany United Methodist Church in Red Lion, and you'll find two women chatting from their office windows, a man snoozing on his lunch break, birds landing on a ledge and cats soaking up the sun.
The scene looks real, but is it?
"We've gotten commentary from people walking down the alley, 'Oh, that's not really people there. I thought it was.' We're tricking their eye into seeing something," artist Judy Stamets Markle said.
She was hired in July by Scott Thompson and Sandi Graham to paint scenes on the exterior of the former W.M. Gemmill Cigar Manufacturing Co. behind the old Zarfos Furniture Store, at 21 W. Broadway. Continued

DomRey Cigar to distribute Heaven and Red Lion Brand Cigars

(SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) DomRey Cigar, Inc. is proud to announce it has been awarded by Heavenly Cigar Company, Inc. the exclusive U.S. distribution of its Heaven and Red Lion brands of premium cigars. The transition is scheduled to take effect December 1, 2010.
DomRey Cigar, Inc. currently distributes their own brands Cuvee, and Cusano (cusanocigars.com), as well as the U.S. distribution for Panter and Mehari’s brand from Royal Agio Cigar. Continued

Photo: Black Hawk Cigar factory, Burlington, IA (Library of Congress). Black Hawk Cigars are now made by National Cigar. {As is often the case at Firecured, the photo has nothing to do with the story.}

Labor Day Cigars

(York Daily Record) When I was about 10 ... I used to sell crab cakes and fish for a man down Mason Alley. ... I used to go to a place out on Poplar Street and Dewey Street in West York called T.E. Brooks cigar factory, and they were not allowed to have breaks back then. They worked constantly for their eight hours. Anything they needed was right there where they worked. . . . I went to a lot of different factories doing this job selling crab cakes and fish . . . all around York on my bicycle, but T.E. Brooks cigar factory always stands out to me because I (had) to go from person to person. Any of the other factories, they came to me during their break time, but this place here did not have a break. . . . That always stood out in my mind.
Steven A. Hatterer, 46, of York

I was raised one mile below Red Lion off Route 74. I very well remember the cigar factories in Red Lion. They had quite a few, but the thing that I remember mostly was we had a strike (in 1934), and a man was blinded during the strike (reportedly because tear gas was fired by police), and in 1935, he had a Ford coupe . . . and I bought that from him for $150. The man was from Windsor that was blinded. A friend of mine told me about this man that became blinded, and he had a Ford coupe, and I borrowed the money from my father and bought it.
Mildred Knisely, 92, Springettsbury Township

Last Remaining Red Lion Cigar Factory Closes After 100 Years

(WPMT) Joe Jacob's father bought JW Winter's Cigar Factory in Red Lion in the 1960's.
Since than it's been under the name GW Van Slyke & Horton and produced quality cigars and chewing tobacco for nearly a half century. But the last remaining cigar factory is about to shut its doors. Continued

Labor Day Cigars

(YDR) When I was about 10 ... I used to sell crab cakes and fish for a man down Mason Alley. ... I used to go to a place out on Poplar Street and Dewey Street in West York called T.E. Brooks cigar factory, and they were not allowed to have breaks back then. They worked constantly for their eight hours. Anything they needed was right there where they worked. . . . I went to a lot of different factories doing this job selling crab cakes and fish . . . all around York on my bicycle, but T.E. Brooks cigar factory always stands out to me because I (had) to go from person to person. Any of the other factories, they came to me during their break time, but this place here did not have a break. . . . That always stood out in my mind.

Steven A. Hatterer, 46, of York

I was raised one mile below Red Lion off Route 74. I very well remember the cigar factories in Red Lion. They had quite a few, but the thing that I remember mostly was we had a strike (in 1934), and a man was blinded during the strike (reportedly because tear gas was fired by police), and in 1935, he had a Ford coupe . . . and I bought that from him for $150. The man was from Windsor that was blinded. A friend of mine told me about this man that became blinded, and he had a Ford coupe, and I borrowed the money from my father and bought it.

Mildred Knisely, 92, Springettsbury Township

Continued

Railroads & Cigars

This little railroad station, in Red Lion, Pennsylvania, used to ship around 100 million cigars a year. (Photo courtesy of MDRails)

(Cigar History Museum) Experiments had been going on for a few years when, in 1832, steam driven railroads were proven once-and-for-all to be fiscally practical. A coal powered steam engine on the two-year-old Baltimore & Ohio Railroad hauled 50 tons over a distance of 40 miles at a speed of 12 to 15 mph. The engine burned $16 worth of coal compared to the $33 and 42 horses it had taken to move that much freight over the same tracks the previous year. The timing couldn't have been better for the growing U.S. cigar industry. Continued

Cigar factory memories

(YDR) Married at 16, Betty Fife was a teenage mother struggling to find work in the depths of the Great Depression.
Inexperienced and unskilled, she had few options, until hearing about the cigar factories in Red Lion. In August 1941, she walked into J.C. Winters and Co. and left with orders to show up for work the next day.
The 86-year-old Dallastown native can describe vivid details of her first day at the factory on Pine Street -- a stretch known as "cigar row" for its many tobacco processing plants. Continued

Rattray’s Red Lion Review

A last visit to the G.W. Van Slyke & Horton cigar factory

I took a ride up to Red Lion yesterday to visit the last cigar factory in town before it was to be auctioned off, later that day. The place was a real museum piece, covering decade upon decade of cigar history. The local papers called it "the end of an era," though, in reality, the era had passed long ago. Van Slyke was an anachronism, selling grandpa cigars until it ran out of grandpas. I don't think they'd rolled out a new product in my lifetime, there was no web presence, not even an email address, distribution was, at least around here, sparse. It's too bad, and even though I'm not a grandpa, I liked their cigars. Here's some pictures of the place. I'll try and post a few more soon.

See also: A few more pictures from the old cigar factory

Born this day in 1880 writer and cigar lover H. L. Mencken

(Cigar Aficionado) ... The cleanest, mildest and best-made five-cent cigar, according to Mencken, were "Uncle Willies," produced by the Schafer-Pfaf Co. of Baltimore (now T.E. Brooks Co. of Red Lion, Pennsylvania). There were always several bunched in his coat pocket for ready use: "Most of the advertised brands selling at eight cents are like garbage beside it."
Once a month, Mencken ordered 300, in bunches of 50, without bands, to be sent directly to his home at 1524 Hollins Street in Baltimore. Continued

"Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere is having a good time." - H. L. Mencken

Visual Mastery: A Look At Vrijdag Premium Printing

Printing plate for Brooks Cigars, Red Lion, PA.

(Tobacco Business Magazine) For some, cigar bands are merely an afterthought—a cigar smoker buys a cigar, rips off the band and lights up his or her smoke without so much as taking a glance at the colorful ring of paper encircling it.
To others, the artwork adorning the band surrounding their favorite smokes adds to the mystique of the cigars they choose. It attracts them, and they identify with the colorful designs that adorn the band and the box that contains the cigars. Continued

Dating Cigar Boxes

(National Cigar History Museum) There are two kinds of information on every cigar box:
information that is [1] optional and [2] that required by law.
Optional information includes advertising, guarantees, slogans, ingredients lists, copyright and registration dates, type of labor, type of tobacco, source of tobacco, retail price and the like. Everything optional was exactly that. Pictures were optional, Text was optional. Truth was optional. The latter was abused unmercifully by this creative and opportunistic industry.
When it came to decorating a box with claims, there were no restrictions or guidelines. Anything went. “Key West Favorite Cigars” (according to the label on the inside lid) were made by the “New York Cigar Factory” (according to a label on the bottom) but the cigar maker’s I.D. (required by law) identifies the cigars as having been made in Factory 978, 9th tax district of PA, a tiny one-man factory owned by Fred Runkle in Red Lion, the heart of the nation’s cheap cigar district. Continued

Photo: Wikipedia

Cigar Review: La Aurora Broadway

(tikibaronline.com) ... The New York City skyline graphic on the band of the Broadway definitely sets it apart from anything else in La Aurora's catalog (nary a lion in sight) and really from just about anything else I've seen in the humidor. The black, silver and red has a vaguely art deco-ish design.
The wrapper has a faint glisten of oil, but under my fingers it felt more oily, with a slightly velvety touch to it. I also picked up some glints of what could have been plume when I held the cigar at certain angles under the light in my office; probably just the beginnings of some real plume formation, but still...it shows that the cigar was kept well.
Bringing it to my nose, I got an aroma of barnyard, which is probably something not smelled in NYC in over 150 years. The foot gave off rich, earthy scents. Continued