This year's Chicagoland International Pipe and Tobacciana Show (April 25-May 1) will be held at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort at 10 Marriott Drive in Lincolnshire, Illinois.

The show has experienced some setbacks in recent years. Like all shows, and virtually everything and everyone else, it lost considerable momentum to the pandemic. It also lost Pheasant Run Resort, which hosted the show for many years. Pheasant Run closed and partially burned down, or burned down and then closed, it's hard to say, but either way, it is no longer suitable for pipe smokers to congregate. We like smoke, but not necessarily when it originates in the smoldering rubble of the structure we currently occupy.

It was a terrific venue during the time the Chicago Show thrived there. For many years we could smoke anywhere on the property — even in the elevators — but those days and their freedoms sadly passed. It still had the smoking tent, and some rooms were designated for smoking, so things were acceptable — until they weren't.

Among the changes is the location, and this will be the second year at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort. New officers for the show have also come forward: Craig Cobine, who took over as Show Director from Frank Burla, has moved to a new position, and Show Director Chuck Martin and his team of dedicated Chicago Club members now wrangle the thousands of details essential to the success of this important show — a show that has been the axis for much of the pipe world for two decades and a place where cool and influential people are always abundantly present.

Chicago Show History

The largest show in pipe history, Chicago has brought hundreds of pipe makers, tobacco blenders, cigar smokers, accessory makers, and pipe enthusiasts together, hundreds at a time gathering from around the world to congregate in the Chicago area for one glorious weekend (some stay a week), all thanks to the efforts of the Chicagoland Pipe Collectors Club (CPCC).

There were pipe clubs previous to the Chicago club, of course. Pipe Lovers magazine, a monthly publication in the 1940s and early '50s, printed information about active pipe clubs from around the country, and Chicago itself had pipe meetings of various groups previous to the CPCC, but none that would stimulate a global impact on the world of pipes.

Chicago is and has been home to many great pipe shops: Iwan Ries, UpDown, Cellini, Larson's — and in the 1970s, shops like these began attracting people who wanted to enjoy some pipe-enthusiast social time.

It makes sense. There are lots of pipe smokers who can talk about pipes all day, as you know if you've been to any pipe show. I've personally participated in conversations lasting all night at pipe shows, or multiple nights, and I'm not particularly talkative — but it's easy when you're around pipe people. I've witnessed the surprise in comrades realizing that the night has vanished and that a pipe show must now be navigated on only two hours of sleep. Time evaporates in these settings.

People from all professions, religions, personality types, and every other category of existence can become infatuated with pipe smoking and find themselves with an appetite for both tobacco and tobacco talk. Chicagoans were seeing other pipe smokers in the shops and enjoying occasional discussions of pipes and pipe tobacco, and like any of us would, they wanted more. A few decided to get together for organized meetings where more enthusiasts could congregate simultaneously.

Early Chicago Pipe Groups

There were two groups of pipe smokers in Chicago by the late '70s: one on the South Side and one on the North Side. Another group formed at the UpDown tobacco shop downtown, but it was the North- and South-side groups who started meeting together in the '80s and merged into the Chicago Pipe Collectors Club (CPCC) in the early 1990s. Mike Reschke was the first president of the club and remained so, except for one year, until his passing in 2016. His Parker pipe collection was award winning and vast, and he served as the assistant show director for the Chicago pipe show for its first 21 years.

Before that, though, in the 1980s, a few smaller shows met a few times, including the Briar Pipe Show, directed by Dennis Di Piazza, and the Antique Pipe Show, directed by Frank Burla, who would later become director and full-time promoter of the Chicagoland show. Frank worked for the FBI in 1983 when he emptied the ground floor of his home and hosted the first Antique Pipe Show there, including armed guards because the combined value of all the pipes displayed was astronomical.

Chicago itself had pipe meetings of various groups previous to the CPCC, but none that would stimulate a global impact on the world of pipes

The two shows were held together in 1986 and in 1988. In 1999, the shows merged, the combined event held at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Illinois, where many later shows would be held. The show didn't last, though. Frank had to curtail his involvement at his doctor's insistence. The stress and time invested in his FBI career, combined with almost equally full-time work for the show, injured his health. "You finish one show," said Frank, "and the next day you're already working on the following two years' shows." No one else could invest the time necessary, and several years passed without a show.

But after Frank retired in 1994, and his doctor said it was okay, he became show director for the CPCC, and the first show was planned for 1996. They needed some funds to get things going; Frank said they'd need $1,000, and 10 members contributed $100 each. If you're ever curious about who started the Chicago show, here they are: Bill Amato, Frank Burla, John Golderg, Ed Lehman, John Loring, Judd Perlson, Mike Reschke, Chuck Rio, Herm Schobel, and Al Smith. These are the people who have earned our gratitude for funding a pipe show that would become singularly successful.

"Successful," is not meant in an economic sense. It would develop into a multi-level event lasting a week and providing food, seminars, and other functions making the show attractive not only to pipe enthusiasts, but to their families.

The Modern Chicago Show Starts

The first CPCC show was at the Clarion Quality Inn in Rosemont, outside of Chicago, in 1996. They found this venue thanks to another group of collectors, the National Pocket Lighter Society. Obviously, there was a connection, and the Lighter Society arranged for them to share their show space for that first show. The combination was intuitive and fun for everybody.

However, the Clarion would not sign a contract for the pipe smokers to return, citing the expense of fumigating the ballroom after the pipe show. They needed a new place, and as any pipe show organizer will readily volunteer, that is a tough job. Hotels that would permit smoking were difficult to find, and at that time, pipe shows were smoking events. It was a prerequisite of that time, before we were ushered outside and into tents or onto patios to endure whatever weather conditions prevail.

The show moved to the Ramada Inn, in Harvey, Illinois, in 1997, and stayed there for three years. That '97 show was my first Chicago show. It wasn't as big as it later became, but it was already larger than other shows; attendance was great, famous pipe makers were starting to attend, and there were unbelievable pipes, so many pipes, pipes from all over and of stupefying quality. It was the Walt Disney World of pipes and every bit as invigorating as Splash Mountain. I don't know what the afterlife may be, not having visited recently, but any paradise for pipe smokers will include unlimited access to the Chicago pipe show.

I'd never seen such rare pipes of such artistic vision before, and my pipe collection was much improved — in direct proportion to the depreciation of my bank account. That's when I started telling my wife that no pipe costs more than $10. She didn't fall for that, but supported my hobby and asked for no details, and I soothed my conscience by presenting her with a brand new vacuum cleaner. She didn't like it as much as I hoped. For that, I blame the 1997 Chicago show.

The Show Expands

World-class pipe makers started attending the show because the Chicago club pursued them. Frank was promoting the show full time now, as well as arranging the thousands of details concomitant with such an extravaganza, and he was calling people in every country: tobacco manufacturers, pipe factories and makers, accessory makers, cigar people. "I'd be on the phone as late as 9:00 or 10:00 p.m.," says Frank. "I was involved in making air reservations for people, getting invitations approved by the state department for certain countries that had to be invited in certain ways, things like that."

Rex Poggenpohl of the Chicago club was instrumental in recruiting pipe makers. He volunteered to travel to Europe at his own expense to talk with pipe people about coming to the show. He attended a smoking contest where he met Tom Eltang, and also Per Billhal, who built an early website promoting and selling the work of artisan pipe makers. Both would begin attending.

The global impact of the show was profoundly reinforced when Smokingpipes sponsored the attendance of Japanese pipemakers Smio Satou and Tokutomi in 2003, and later Kei-ichi Gotoh. The show began looking like the Academy Awards of pipe making. It was joked that if the Chicago show were to be nuked, it would set artisan pipe making back 50 years.

The show outgrew the Ramada, moving to the Indian Lakes Hotel in Bloomingdale in 2001. It was nicer than the previous venue, which had required police to keep the parking lots clear of unauthorized, unsavory individuals for the duration of the show. However, the Bloomingdale location lasted only that one year, pricing itself beyond reach afterward.

Hotels that would permit smoking were difficult to find, and at that time, pipe shows were smoking events

That's when the Pheasant Run Resort, where that first show was held, contacted them. In the hotel business, evidently, one monitors various events of one's competitors, and Pheasant Run liked the numbers of people that the pipe show attracted, offering the CPCC a years-long guarantee.

The show continued its growth over the years until a global pandemic interrupted its momentum and, in addition, the Pheasant Run venue became unusable. This will be the second year for the Chicago show at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, IL, and it's looking like a great place for the show to call home for the immediate future.

The Current Chicago Show

Those who have attended past shows in previous years will notice some differences. Sadly, Frank Burla, who has always been there, has passed away, and his absence will always be felt. Craig Cobine, who accepted the Directorship when Frank retired from those responsibilities, is now Director Emeritus, and Chuck Martin, who has served in past years as Assistant Director, has stepped in to run the show. Tim Garrity, President of the CPCC, is of course heavily involved, as are board members like Craig Hairrell.

One of the differences is in the smoking tent, which while at Pheasant Run was 6,000 square feet, at the Lincolnshire Marriott is 4,000. However, says Chuck Martin, "it's actually about the same useable space because there are fewer amenities." There is no bar in the tent, and won't be staffed with servers because the hotel doesn't want to subject their employees to that environment, so a workaround has been found. "The bar will be adjacent to the hotel, so you'll have to walk a hundred feet to get a drink. It's a permanent tent the hotel uses for a variety of functions, weddings and that sort of thing. The air handling is considerably better than in the temporary tent that we had at Pheasant Run. Not to say it doesn't get smoky, but it's quite a bit better." It's also climate controlled and should maintain better temperatures than at Pheasant Run, where, depending on the swings of Chicago weather, it could be frigid or sweltering.

The show continued its growth over the years until a global pandemic interrupted its momentum

An interesting competition is scheduled for this show and will highlight the skills of established carvers in a Battle of the Briar. Hosted by Steve Fallon of pipestud.com and Jeff Gracik of J. Alan Pipes, the battle will be between three carvers: Jared Coles, Scottie Piersel, and Tommaso Ascorti. "It's a bit like 'Iron Chef,'" says Craig Hairrell. "It was Jeff Gracik's idea to create a competition to determine who could make the best pipe using the same materials, the same equipment, and with the same time constraint of one hour."

"It's deliberately featuring someone local and someone domestic and someone from overseas," says Chuck. "The finished pipes will be donated to the silent auction, where people can vote on which pipe they think is best. We'll award that either Saturday or Sunday." The carvers will have spectacular briar to work with, donated by third-generation briar cutter Makis Minetos of Makis Grecian Briar.

That competition will not interfere with the pipe-making seminar that has traditionally accompanied the Chicago show. "Jeff Gracik is leading that," says Craig, "along with Jared Coles, David Huber, and Alex Florov, and other carvers will pop in. You never know who's going to be there. In the past, Tom Eltang has been a regular, and Manduela, Lee Von Erck, just a lot of people will stop in and help out for a short time. But there's going to be a second class this year, and this is the first time we've offered it. It's a little more advanced, with some things that aren't taught in the basic class. And Makis has also supplied the briar for that."

Quality briar is important and not easy to find these days. "It seems that a lot of European carvers source their own briar and don't sell to others," says Tim Garrity. "China has been buying considerable briar, especially quality briar; they're pursuing pipe making in a big way, which reduces the amount of briar available elsewhere. I've learned through talking with carvers in Greece, Sicily, and one other carver from Italy, that COVID set them back because there weren't many people harvesting briar, and now there aren't many getting into harvesting. So we have kind of a perfect storm when it comes to briar, where we have a large up-and-coming market that's buying all the briar and at the same time a reduction in the people harvesting it."

"By the way," says Craig, "we'll be streaming that competition on one of our social media outlets. I'm not sure which, but we'll provide a link on our Chicago Pipe Show page and on Instagram and Facebook shortly before the show. We'll be streaming it live, so even people who aren't at the show can watch."

There's always plenty to do at the show and before and after. On Friday is the pre-show Swap and Smoke as found in previous years. "That should be ready by about 8:00 a.m.," says Chuck, "and people will have half tables throughout the day. And then at 4:00, we'll close the pre-show, empty the tent, and the Marriott people will come in and change the tables from eight-foot rectangles to 10-foot rounds for people to continue smoking."

An interesting competition is scheduled for this show and will highlight the skills of established carvers in a Battle of the Briar

Friday night also features the welcome dinner, open to all. "There's a $20 fee for that," says Chuck, "but it's way more than a $20 dinner. The buffet stations are vast, and they laid out quite a spread for us last year." Another dinner takes place on Saturday night for the Doctor and Master of Pipes ceremony.

Additionally, Fred Hanna, Ph.D. and Doctor of Pipes, will be giving a seminar on the benefits of nicotine, and the United Pipe Clubs of America will hold its annual meeting, as will the Charatan Society. Jeremy Reeves, Head Blender of Cornell & Diehl, will be demonstrating blending techniques, and UPCA will hold its second annual fast-smoking contest as well as the more established Slow Smoke contest.

The Chicago show is an event celebrating relationships and a deeper understanding of pipes, and is a social occasion that is often the only time many friends see each other. For those who seek education on any aspect of pipes and pipe smoking, it's an environment geared to fulfill those ambitions. And, of course there are rare tobaccos and pipes to be found and cherished. Many people work hard and long to make a show like this work, and those of us who attend are appreciative.