During a wonderful balmy November day in Merced, the Tenth Annual Northern California Pipe and Cigar Show took place at the Grizzly Creek Grange Hall. Sponsored by the Fresno Pipe Club and the Merced Pipe Club, the doors opened to the public at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday the tenth. Attendees were each given a raffle ticket as they entered for donated prizes which were given out during the day at three different drawings. Prizes included pipes, tobacco and various and sundry accessories, even including meerschaum cigar holders.
 
Building on last year’s successful first foray into the Merced venue after 8 solid years in Sacramento under Gary Malmberg’s guidance, we were anxious to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the event appropriately. During the vendor set-up time early in the morning, coffee was provided in the downstairs portion of the hall (Anecdotal feedback indicated that the coffee got as strong as Dark Birdseye as the day progressed). Submarine style sandwiches, soft drinks and water were also provided downstairs at lunchtime for a nominal fee and uniformly enjoyed by all.

The number of exhibitors was up from last year. This year’s group consisted of the following (in no particular order): Joel Shapiro, Greg Pease, GRC Pipes, Mike Edborg, Ye Olde Pipe and Tobacco Shoppe, Marty Pulvers, Tim Dowell, Charlie Scholl, Al Grosskopf, Rich Curll, Tobacco Road, Carmel Pipe Shop, Les Sechler, Wayne Boyte, Mark Lindner, Brian Burk, J. Alan Pipes, Lowell Ellis, Joe Cappel, Jack Eisenhauer, Villiger Stokkebye, Intl., Tim Comstock, Bjarne Nielsen, Pat Noakes, Cigar Monkey and Tobacco Barn. Also providing table displays were the Fresno and Merced Pipe Clubs and Smokers Forums. Unable to attend were Jim Ayers and Tom Pfaeffle.

There were many fascinating items for viewing and potential purchase or trade. Estate pipes ranged from Tsuge, Becker and Butera to Stanwell, Kaywoodie and Grabow. Tobacco abounded, with almost any conceivable current blend being represented as well as many examples of vintage blends, e.g., Three Nuns, Cope’s Escudo, Bengal Slices and hand blended mixtures from the old Dunhill shop.

Pipe carvers were represented by Joel Shapiro of JS Pipes, Darius “Christian” Dah of GRC Pipes and Jeff Gracik of J. Alan Pipes. Each of them brought outstanding examples of the carver’s art, attracting many attendees and evoking many positive comments. Retail establishments offered great selections of both new and estate pipes and accessories. The sizable number of pipe collectors provided selections of pipes that were almost impossible to grasp in a single day.

A good deal of trading seemed to be a favored activity. Jack Eisenhauer brought a very large selection of sturdy and functional pipe racks. Cigar interests were represented by Tobacco Barn, Cigar Monkey and Villiger Stokkebye. Greg Pease did not disappoint by virtue of his bringing generous sample jars of two new prototype blends; one an English and the other a cigar leaf blend. Tins of vintage tobacco were scattered throughout the show to further tempt the show goers. The Smokers Forums table provided a place for the online attendees to gather and to offer up items for sale or trade. As they did the previous year, Mike & Janet Siegel, as the host vendors, did the major work of securing the hall, tables and prizes.They also made sure that there were ashtrays and pipe cleaners available to all attendees.

Drawing door prizes and freebies were provided by:
Villiger Stokkebye, Intl.
Cigar Monkey
Tobacco Barn
J. Alan Pipes
Ye Olde Pipe & Tobacco Shoppe
Tobacco Road
Carmel Pipe Shop
B.J. Long
Joe Giardina, pipe importer
R.D. Fields

The Fresno and Merced pipe clubs were invaluable in setting up the show the previous day and in providing parking control, offering directions, providing food and drinks and in take-down and clean up after the show. As the last attendee and exhibitor filtered out at 5:00, attention was turned to Fernando’s Bistro, the site of the post show dinner. It was well attended, filling up four large tables. The food and drink was good, discussions were lively and even included speculations about details of next year’s show. All in all, the day was a success and we’re looking forward to event number eleven.

Submitted by Jim McClanahan