Articles by Chuck Stanion | Smokingpipes Daily Reader

Estate Pipes: Perfect Enough

August 23, 2019 by Chuck Stanion

20 Comments

The building housing Smokingpipes is the size of a respectable big box store. There's a lot it has to fit: offices, warehousing, a gigantic walk-in cigar humidor, a kitchen large enough to accommodate 70-80 people, photo and video rooms, conference rooms, and a shipping department that's a visual extravaganza ... Read More

Albert Einstein: Pipesmoking Genius

August 9, 2019 by Chuck Stanion

17 Comments

When one thinks of Albert Einstein, what image manifests? His pipe, naturally. That's easy for pipesmokers, but most people unfamiliar with the benefits of the briar think of E = mc² first, then about Einstein's hair, and maybe his violin. But Einstein's pipe is a near constant in photos of the physicist ... Read More

Cornell & Diehl Releases Small Batch Sun Bear

August 6, 2019 by Chuck Stanion

5 Comments

Sun Bears are omnivores, the smallest species of bear, and voracious consumers of honey, though they don't display a lot of fastidiousness and seem to enjoy eating beehives and bees almost as much as honey. They do not hibernate, possibly because they enjoy a constant sugar rush, and they hang out in southeast Asia ... Read More

J. Alan Pipes: Modern Marvels

August 2, 2019 by Chuck Stanion

5 Comments

No one told Jeff Gracik that Civil War reenacting could be boring. In 2001, shortly after getting married, Jeff was bonding with his new father-in-law, a Civil War reenactor, and they were in the field, in full regalia. "During one of the long, frequently recurring periods of nothing, followed by more nothing," says Jeff ... Read More

Tobacco and the Shipwreck of the Endurance

July 26, 2019 by Chuck Stanion

7 Comments

Antarctica experiences temperatures that have been measured, by satellite, as low as -135.8 °F (-93.2 °C). That's without the wind chill factor, and the place is the windiest of the continents, with winds gathering speeds on the coastline of up to 185 mph, though in 1972, wind speeds of 199 mph were recorded. ... Read More

The Burley Flake Series: Cornell & Diehl's Specialty

July 25, 2019 by Chuck Stanion

6 Comments

Burley has its own distinctive character, and part of that character is that it isn't particularly sweet. Not by itself, anyway. But once Burley marries and mellows, it will develop its own unique and pleasant characteristics. ... Read More

St. Augustine Ghosts

July 23, 2019 by Chuck Stanion

4 Comments

Lighthouses are famous for their hauntings, or so I gather from watching the Travel Channel for a few hours of ghost hunting shows (save your get-well cards; I'm recovering). Those shows are popular now, or so I infer, given their prevalence. Brave teams of paranormal investigators visit haunted locations and find ... Read More

Jess Chonowitsch: A Legend Mentored By Legends

July 19, 2019 by Chuck Stanion

6 Comments

At the center of every hobby are practitioners who build reputations on the exceptional quality of their work. Those who collect knives, firearms, fishing rods, or virtually anything else that can be handmade, know who makes the finest products in their hobby. Some craftspeople commend themselves with superior skills, at a higher level than most can ever hope to accomplish. Like musicians or actors, some are just enormously talented. Some are geniuses. ... Read More

Grandpa & The Toboggan

July 17, 2019 by Chuck Stanion

4 Comments

My grandfather and the 10 Tobys (all of his dogs were named Toby) avoided the Middaugh brothers, who lived on a neighboring farm at the bottom of the long, steep road that connected most of the farms in the area when I was a boy. The road made a quick turn just before the Middaugh house ... Read More

The Silver Pipe of Wampanoag Legend

July 12, 2019 by Chuck Stanion

6 Comments

The Wampanoag People of Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts were native Americans primarily active in the 17th century and before, though members survive today in two tribes. They numbered about 3,000 people when Europeans arrived, and their population was decimated by what was probably smallpox. ... Read More

Chuck Stanion

Estate Pipes: Perfect Enough

Albert Einstein: Pipesmoking Genius

Cornell & Diehl Releases Small Batch Sun Bear

J. Alan Pipes: Modern Marvels

Tobacco and the Shipwreck of the Endurance

The Burley Flake Series: Cornell & Diehl's Specialty

St. Augustine Ghosts

Jess Chonowitsch: A Legend Mentored By Legends

Grandpa & The Toboggan

The Silver Pipe of Wampanoag Legend

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