At our Saturday, March 12th meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop, we had 28 regular members in attendance along with three guests who subsequently became members. Thanks guys for visiting with us, and welcome to the “CPCC family”!!

MEETING SCHEDULE:

April 16th: Pre-show meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

April 30th-May 1st: Show time!! “Mega Center” Pheasant Run Resort, St. Charles, IL. Saturday 10:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M. Sunday 9 A.M.-5:00 P.M.

May 14th: Post show meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

June 11th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

SHOW REPORT:

The 2016 show will be “packed to the rafters” with exhibitors this year with many first time exhibitors attending. We have many meerschaum exhibitors attending, with two of them bringing in pipe carvers from Turkey who will be carving new pipes from raw block to a finished pipe!! This should be very interesting to watch as the work progresses.

At the “pre-show” on Friday, with so many exhibitors attending, if the weather is decent outside of the tent we will be setting up tables there also. We expect this year’s pre-show to be almost as big as the show itself, so if you can, BE THERE for this event!!

GLASS DISPLAY CASES:

Tsuge Pipes will display a collection of historic pipes in honor of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the company. This will include pipes dating from 1936 to present.

J. Wittkamp will display a portion of his pipe collection entitled “The great Danes of Sixten’s workshop”. Pipes from Sixten Ivarsson, Lars Ivarsson, Jorn Micke, Jess Chonowitsch and Nanna Ivarsson. The display will include 15 pipes made by each of these legendary makers.

TEE-SHIRTS:

We will have tee-shirts available from thebriarking.com this year!! The tee-shirts will have graphics with the CPCC logo on them, and will be available in medium, large, extra large 2 extra large and 3 extra large. The prices for the shirts are as follows…

Med, large and X large…..$15.00 each

XXL……………………………..$17.00 each

XXXL…………………………..$19.00 each

SATURDAY NIGHT CIGAR DINNER TICKETS:

There are only a few tickets left for this event. If you don’t want to miss out, the time to get a ticket(s) is NOW!!! Contact Craig Cobine at porshcigar@aol.com to make your reservation.

Tom Dinelli

CPCC Club Secretary

At our Saturday, February 13th meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop, we had 28 regular members in attendance along with three guests, one of whom became a member. Thanks guys for visiting with us and to our new member!!

MEETING SCHEDULE:

March 12th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

April 16th: The “pre-show POW WOW” meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

April 30th-May 1st: SHOW TIME!! Pheasant Run Mega Center, Saturday 10:00 A.M.- 5:00 P.M., Sunday 9:00 A.M.- 5 P.M.

May: T.B.A.

June: T.B.A.

OLD BUSINESS: None stated

NEW BUSINESS:

The Chicago tax proposal on tobacco, championed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel was RESOUNDINGLY DEFEATED by the members of the Chicago City Counsel last week. The counsel members felt that there was already enough “bootlegging” of tobacco products in the city-and didn’t want more!! However, Emanuel plans to keep bringing this up for vote every month until he wins and gets what he wants!! Welcome to democracy, just keep voting until you get your own satisfaction if it doesn’t go in your favor…

SHOW REPORT:

The 2016 Chicago Show has been sold out since the third week in December, a new show record!! We have many MANY new exhibitors this year. As of now, we have an exhibitor “waiting list”. The CPCC officers are trying to get MORE tables into the “Mega Center”. We could really use an extra 25-30 tables for the exhibitors that don’t have one. More information as it becomes available.

UPDATE ON PHEASANT RUN ROOM AVAILABILITY:

The hotel STILL has “Tower” and “Golf” rooms available with SINGLE king sized beds. However, the rooms with TWO king sized beds in them are gone!! The Hilton Hotel across the road from Pheasant Run still may have some double bed rooms.

The hotel is filling up rapidly, so again, don’t wait to reserve your room!! You can still reserve a Tower or Golf Wing room by using the link OR phone numbers below…

https://bookings.ihotelier.com/bookings.jsp?groupID=1350331&hotelID=2932   OR

1 (800) 474-3272   OR   1 (630) 584-6300

Also, the hotel is opening up a VERY limited number of the “Courtyard Rooms” (about 15 in all), in the “B” Wing which have patios and balconies, (you can smoke in these areas and not get fined $150.00 for smoking in your room!!).

However, the “Courtyard” rooms CAN NOT be reserved from the internet link!! You MUST CALL to reserve a room by using the phone numbers previously mentioned.

PIPE MAKING SEMINAR:

There are still a few positions left in our annual pipe making seminar. This seminar is a lot of fun to take (the instructors can be rather funny at times), and you get a “hands-on” education on how pipes are made. It will give you a real appreciation of what your favorite carvers have to do to make the pipes you like so much!!

The seminar takes place on Wednesday April 27th and Thursday April 28th. It starts at 9 A.M. and ends at 5 P.M. with an hour for lunch (12-1) both days. Contact Craig Cobine at porshcigar@aol.com for more information.

Tom Dinelli

CPCC Club Secretary

At our Saturday, November 14th meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop, we had 24 regular members in attendance along with three guests. Thank you guys for coming to attend our meeting!

MEETING SCHEDULE:

December 12th: Christmas Party!!! this is NOT a regular meeting!!! Catering will be provided by  B.B.Q. Jim (the same gentleman as last year) and was it ever GOOD!!! Please bring your “significant others” with you to our party. Prizes will be given out, along with a raffle. 6:30-10:00 P.M.

January 16th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

February13th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

OLD BUSINESS: None stated

NEW BUSINESS: The 8to8 Cigar Shop’s annual Christmas sale will be held on December 4th, 5th and 6th. 20 representatives from the various cigar manufacturers will be there on Friday only. Cigars will have 35-45% discounts. 25% off on ALL Dunhill cigars!! Dunhill pipe tobacco will also be on sale!! There will also be raffles and giveaways to those who attend…

Craig Cobine, our Show Director is still in the Springs of Monarch Landing Rehabilitation Center. The good news is that Craig’s doctors are planning for Craig’s release on or about January 1st. Can’t wait to have Craig back at home!!!

Mark Drysdale, one of our long time members, passed away Tuesday, November 10th from injuries sustained after falling off of a ladder. Mark will surely be missed not only by myself, but also by many in the pipe community-he was a GREAT GUY!!

SHOW REPORT:

As of this writing, we have 189 tables sold with more being taken almost every day. 175 of the 210 rooms at Pheasant Run Resort and Hotel are now taken, and we are WAY AHEAD of last year’s bookings. If you want a room at Pheasant Run, I wouldn’t wait to get your reservation in.

We also have many new pipe carvers that will be attending our show this year. I have 3 new carvers from Italy, 2 from Turkey, 1 from Brazil and 2 from Beijing, China so far. I’ll keep you all posted as new carvers are added to the list…

There WILL NOT be a Cigar Event this year at our show.

Also, there WILL NOT be a New Orleans Pipe Show in 2016. However, there may be one held in 2017.

The CPCC show officers will be having a show meeting in a few weeks, and one of the subjects to be discussed will be the Advanced Pipe Making Seminar. At this point, we need to determine if there will even BE a seminar, or if it will have to be postponed until next year. More information as it becomes available to me…

St. Louis Pipe Show:

The show’s date has been set for February 20th, 2016 at the Masonic Temple in Webster Groves, Missouri. The primary hotel will be the Best Western in Kirkwood/Sunset Hills MO.. If you mention the show, the hotel rate is $114.00/night until three weeks before the show. There are also four other hotels nearby whose rates are a little less…

Tom Dinelli

CPCC Secretary

At our Saturday, October 17th meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop, we had 35 regular members in attendance with one guest. Thank you sir for attending!!

MEETING SCHEDULE:

November 14th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

December 12th: “Christmas Party”!! THIS IS NOT A REGULAR MEETING. If you wish to, bring your “better halves” with you! 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

January 16th, 2016. :Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

NEW BUSINESS: None stated.

OLD BUSINESS: None stated.

CRAIG COBINE:

Some of you know, and many of you don’t know, that Craig has been hospitalized for the last 3 weeks, and had part of his right foot amputated due to complications from diabetes. Craig, this past Thursday, was transported to a rehabilitation center so that he can learn how to walk again with the aid of a prosthetic device on his foot.

If you would like to visit Craig, the name and address of the rehabilitation center is…

Springs of Monarch Landing

2308 N. Route 59

Naperville, IL. 60563

Phone: (630) 300-1350 Room # 144

If you can’t visit, please give Craig a call or send him a card-he would love to here from you!

SHOW REPORT:

Nothing is really new at this point, it’s sort of a slack time. Starting next month, I should have a loot of show news for you…

NEW/OLD TOBACCO RELEASE:

One of our members, Pat V., has been working in collaboration with Mr. Dan Johnson (The Standard Tobacco Company of Pennsylvania), and Saturday night brought in samples of the following tobaccos. They are:

John Cotton’s No.1: A light Latakia blend with lots of Orientals and Virginia.

John Cotton’s Nos.1&2: Has more Latakia plus a blend of Orientals and Turkish along with a base of Virginia.

John Cotton’s Smyrna: Which is a medium-full Latakia blend, with a healthy amount of Turkish tobaccos.

Bengal Slices: Which is a rich crumble cake with Latakia, Virginia, bright Orientals and a touch of Black Cavendish with a light top note added.

War Horse Ready Cut: Which is a rich blend of Burley, Red Virginia, a good amount of Dark Fired and some Perique with a mild flavoring added. It’s got a nice “Nick Kick” but is pretty smooth.

Pat informed me that there will be samples of each at the “West Coast Show” (Las Vegas), and that they should be available in tins as of the first of December through www.pipesandcigars.com

Well, that’s it for this time, hope to see many more of our members at our November meeting…

Tom Dinelli

CPCC Secretary

At our Saturday September, 19th meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop, we had 24 regular members in attendance. We also had one guest who later that night became a new member of our “Merry Band”!!

MEETING SCHEDULE:

October 17th: “Pizza Night”!! at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

November 14th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

December 12th: “Christmas Party”!!! This is NOT a regular meeting this month. Wives, girlfriends and “significant others” are all invited to attend!!! There will be food and drink (non-alcoholic), for everyone who attends, along with a raffle and other GREAT prizes!! This is a great time to get together with our members before the holidays-way better than stomping through some “packed-to-the-rafters” shopping mall !!! 6:30-10:oo P.M.

January 16th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

2016 HOTEL RESERVATIONS:

Since Pheasant Run is tearing down 175+ rooms that won’t be replaced, THE TIME TO MAKE YOU ROOM RESERVATIONS IS NOW!!!! Here Is the 2016 code that you’ll need, or you can call Pheasant Run direct at 1 (630) 584-6300.

https://bookings.ihotelier.com/bookings.jsp?groupID=1350331&hotelID=2932

Rooms are being reserved much faster than they were last year, and as of this writing we are already up to more than 500 room nights. Don’t procrastinate!! If you do, you MAY NOT get a room…

OLD BUSINESS: None stated.

NEW BUSINESS: The Dunhill “Trunk Show” at Iwan Ries & Co. will be early this year. The date is Friday, November 20th and starts at 9 A.M.

SHOW REPORT:

We will have a CPCC table at both the New Orleans and Las Vegas shows. We hand out registration forms for our upcoming 2016 show at our table for the Pheasant Run show. Drop by and see us if your interested in reserving a table at our show.

TOBACCO BLENDING SEMINAR:

This seminar will take place on Thursday, April 28th, 2016 from 9 A.M. until 4 P.M. in the afternoon with a 1 hour break for lunch at 12 noon.

The cost of this seminar has YET TO BE DETERMINED unfortunately, because we are still working out how much the “raw materials” (tobacco leaf) are going to run.

The seminar will also be limited to 32 people at his point. Registration will begin in either February or March of 2016.

I’ll keep you posted as more information becomes available…

OTHER INTERESTS:

A new show is in the works to take place from August 18th-21st at Split Rock PA. The show is being created by Russ Ouellette, Master Blender at pipesandcigars.com . Contact Russ for more info…

Hope to see you at our October “Pizza Night” meeting!!

Tom Dinelli

CPCC Secretary

At our Saturday, August 15th meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop, we had 19 regular members in attendance.

Meeting Schedule:

September 19th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

October 17th: “PIZZA NIGHT” at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

November 14th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

December 12th: “Christmas Party”!!! NOT a regular meeting this month. Wives, girlfriends and “significant others” are all invited to attend.

OLD BUSINESS: None stated.

NEW BUSINESS:

If any one lost a “unique” tamper at our 2015 show, please contact me at tdinelli633@gmail.com . One of our members said that he had found this “unique” tamper in the wee hours of the show which I would assume was late Saturday night/ early Sunday morning…

SHOW REPORT:

PIPE MAKING SEMINAR:

This coming year (2016), we will be offering an “Advanced Seminar” for pipe making. In this seminar, you will be making a pipe from “raw materials”, which are a block of briar wood, and a length of vulcanite rod. The briar block will need to be drilled for both the tobacco chamber and draft holes. The length of vulcanite rod will be turned on a metal lathe, and then hand finished.

The fee for the seminar will be $150.00 . To be eligible to take this seminar, you MUST have successfully completed the “basic” pipe making seminar. We will be taking reservations right after the first of the year. The number of students (due to space restrictions) will be limited to 8. More info to follow in upcoming months…

NEW SEMINAR FOR 2017:

Were are also creating a new seminar entitled “PIPE REFURBISHING”. This seminar will focus on the PROPER way to clean a pipe (no matter how filthy it is ) and will include subjects such as reaming the bowl, shank cleaning and waxing your pipe using a buffer. More details as they become available…

CIGAR DINNER:

The price of our “Cigar Dinner” has been raised from $65.00 to $70.00 for the 2016 show. Contact Craig Cobine at porshcigar@aol.com for tickets…

2016 SHOW ENTRY:

This coming year (2016) we will no longer be using tickets stubs for access to the show. After you pay your entry fee, you will be given a thin plastic wristband that MUST be worn on your person to gain entry to the show. The reason for this is that we had to many attendees that either misplaced, lost or just plain forgot their ticket stubs. Should you lose your wristband, you will have to pay another entry fee to get into the show!!

UNITED PIPE CLUBS of AMERICA:

The new U.P.C.A. tobacco blends (there are 5 of them) hit the shelves of your favorite dealers a couple of weeks ago. Tad Gage will be reviewing the tobacco blends in the FALL issue of Pipes and Tobaccos Magazine.

The Chicago Pipe Club’s website now has a way to electronically register for show tables. Please take advantage of this new feature on the website….

Tom Dinelli

CPCC Secretary

At our Saturday, July 18th meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop, we had 25 regular members in attendance. We also had one guest.

MEETING SCHEDULE:

August 15th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

September 19th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

October 17th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

OLD BUSINESS: None stated

NEW BUSINESS: One of our club members proposed a share & tell (similar to show & tell) with new, or cellared tobacco, with one or more of the members bringing in a tin(s) for the other members to try out while in attendance of our meeting. This proposal was very enthusiastically received by all of the members.

Our member brought in a tin of J.F.Germain’s  Royal Jersey (a Perique mixture) from 2005. Upon cracking the tin open, the aroma that emanated from it was just scrumptious!! It was even better when lit in our pipes!!!

THANK YOU H.H. !!!

U.P.C.A. TOBACCO: Was released this weekend at the I.P.C.P.R. show in New Orleans. It should start showing up on retailer’s shelves and websites in the next few weeks.

SHOW REPORT:

One of our members received a certificate of appreciation for volunteering his services at the front desk (Entrance) of our 2015 show. A BIG THANK YOU goes out to A.S. !!!

Another one of our members came up with a new advertising poster for the Thursday night Cigar Show. This advertisement/poster will also be seen in the Chicago Tribune this coming spring. THANK YOU G.B. !!

The Chicago Pipe Club’s website now has a way to electronically register for show tables. Please take advantage of this new feature on the website…

Hope to see more of you at our August meeting!!!

Tom Dinelli

CPCC secretary

At our Saturday June 27th meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop, we had 19 regular members in attendance. There weren’t any guests or new members.

METTING SCHEDULE:

July 18th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

August 15th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

September 19th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

October 17th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

This will be a short newsletter as there were not many of us in attendance due to graduations, vacations, birthdays etc.

OLD BUSINESS: None stated

NEW BUSINESS: None stated

SHOW REPORT: We will have a new Chicago Tribune advertisement for the 2016 show.

ELECTIONS: Meet the new boss, the same as the old boss (so go the song lyrics)

All of the officers remained the same. They are…

President: Mike Reschke

Vice President & Treasurer: Paul Bender

Secretary: Tom Dinelli

Four new members were elected to the Board of Directors. Congratulations guys!!!

CHICAGO BOWL: In my last newsletter, I inadvertently left off the list of the Tobacco Bowl contestants and their corresponding assigned numbers. They were:

#27 Hearth and Home Marquee Series, pipesandcigars.com (Russ Ouellette): “Viprati”

#37 Cornell and Diehl: “Poplar Camp”

#54 G.L. Pease: “Threepenny Opera”

#59 Hermit Tobacco: “Captain Earle Honor Blend”

#68 Stokkebye 4th Generation: : “1855”

#71 McClelland Tobacco Company: “Virginia #27”

#76 Scandinavian Tobacco Group, (Lane LTD.): “125th Anniversary Blend”

#82 McClelland Tobacco Company: “Black Parrot”

#98 Arango Cigar Company: “Wessex Brigade”

The winner was McClelland “Virginia #27”.

My apologies for this oversight.

Tom Dinelli

CPCC Secretary

CPCC Members,

At our Saturday May 23rd meeting at the 8to8 Cigar Shop, we had 25
regular members in attendance. We didn't have any guests or new
members sign up at this meeting.

MEETING SCHEDULE:

June 27th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.
July 18th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.
August 15th: Regular meeting at 8to8 Cigar Shop 6:30-10:00 P.M.

OLD BUSINESS: None Stated

NEW BUSINESS:
Club officers will be elected/retained at the June 27th meeting!!
Please try to attend...

Leftover open tins of Cornell & Diehl tobacco that were generously
donated by Chris Tarler to the club, were given out to all members in
attendance. It was a great chance to try out and take home some
tobacco that you may not have had the chance to smoke before. A BIG
THANK YOU goes out to Chris!!!

William Nelson of Pipes and Tobaccos Magazine donated tote bags from
past RTDA/IPCPR shows to the club, and these were handed out at the
meeting. For those of you who couldn't attend the May meeting, I still
have some left over from Saturday night and will bring them with me to
our next get together. See me if you want one...

UNITED PIPE CLUBS of AMERICA:
Has 5 new blends that I introduced at the annual UPCA meeting on the
Friday afternoon of the show. Mike McNiel of McClelland Tobacco and I
started working on this endeavor over a year ago, and things finally
came to fruition in time for the show!! These blends benefit the UPCA
much as the other McClelland "Club Blends" do for CPCC, GKCPC, and the
Seattle club, with a portion of the proceeds going to UPCA. The extra
funds that UPCA receives will be used to provide high quality pipes
for the National Smoking Contest held each year at our show. This
year, there were 105 entrants!!! The pipes were provided by Viprati,
THANK YOU LUIGI !!!!

The new UPCA blends should be hitting the shelves of retailers such as
Iwan Ries, PipesandCigars.com, and Smokingpipes.com in the next few
weeks.
The blends are:

CALUMET: Subtle, Mellow Virginia Ribbon
MAPLE SUPREME: Virginia and Black Cavendish with Sweet Maple Flavor (
the maple flavor flashes off quickly so you can taste the tobacco, but
has a great room note )
PANACHE: Black Cavendish and Virginia, Fragrant with Rich Vanilla
Flavor ( I find it similar to Lane's 1Q)
TRAVELER: Cool Latakia, Fragrant Turkish, Sweet Virginia and Rich
Cavendish (unsweetened)
VENTURE FORTH: Virginia Ribbon Seasoned Liberally with Latakia,
Oriental and Perique

Please try some or all of these new blends, and if you like them,
purchase a lot of tins. The proceeds go to a worthy cause!

THE BIG SHOW:
This year's show was the best that CPCC has ever produced in our 20
year history, and it was fitting for our 20th anniversary!!!
First of all, we gained 25 new members to the CPCC family, and we
welcome more of you to join our "Merry Band".
At the Friday night free dinner, we had to add eight tables, seating
10 per table to accommodate all of our guests, another first.

We had 160 more attendees than last year which brought our "walk-in
traffic" up to 750 people.
All of our exhibitor tables were sold out by March 1st, and as of
right now, we already have 160 tables reserved for 2016. Bottom line,
if your even thinking of getting a table(s) for next year, DON"T
WAIT!!! Contact Craig Cobine NOW at porshcigar@aol.com.

All of the glass display cases have been reserved for next year's
show, and we have all of our guest seminar speakers lined up (more on
the topics in a later newsletter).
So, as you can see, things are progressing VERY quickly...we could
almost have another show in August at this rate (I wish)!!!

SEMINARS:
The 2016 "Pipe Making Seminar", in addition to the "Basic Seminar",
will include an "Advanced Class" in which students will be
boring/drilling a "raw block" of briar and fashioning their own
bit/stem from a length of vulcanite rod. We plan on having 12 students
in the advanced class, and if you've already attended the basic class,
you're eligible for the advanced class. The price of the advanced
class has not yet been determined. If your interested, contact Craig
Cobine at the email above right after the first of the year...

TENATIVE:
We are also working closely with one of the major tobacco companies on
the topic of creating your own tobacco blends. This seminar would take
place on Thursday in the tent starting at 9 A.M. and ending about 4
P.M. that afternoon, with about an hour lunch break. The company
representative would first explain the characteristics/types of the
various tobaccos (and also cuts) in the morning, with the actual
blending taking place in the afternoon. Five NEW clay pipes would be
supplied so that you could get an accurate idea of how your blend will
taste.
Now, before you get your shorts all bunched up in a wad, remember THIS
SEMINAR IS TENTATIVE!!! Like you, we hope that we can get everything
worked out in time for the 2016 show. More information as it becomes
available in upcoming newsletters...

CIGAR EVENT:
To those of you who purchased a cigar(s) at the event-thank you...

TENT DAMAGE:

Sometime late Sunday night-early Monday morning, some UNSCRUPULOUS
SWINE(S) set off a fire extinguisher at the east side of our smoking
tent!!! This heinous act of STUPIDITY not only damaged the walls and
floor of the tent, it also cost the club a lot of money to clean and
repair the tent. If you either witnessed this happen, or heard of the
names of the SLOBS who did this, contact Craig Cobine at
porshcigar@aol.com . Don't worry, you WILL remain anonymous!!!

OTHER TENT PROBLEMS:
Unfortunately, the prom goers this year decided to TRASH the restrooms
in the Mega Center!! So in 2016, we are planning to have
port-a-potties (4 of them) set up right outside of the smoking tent.
This should also help out those who don't want to have to hike a half
a mile for some relief...
We were also made aware that some of our patrons were "watering" the
cars/trucks in the parking lot, the trees, fences, dumpsters and
everything else that was in sight. Hey, if you have to go THAT BAD, go
more often!!! I'd like to think that our patrons are more
sophisticated than acting like a bunch of drunks at a sports event...

A BIG PROBLEM:
Was the fact that this year we were prohibited from smoking in the
hotel rooms. If you haven't heard, here's the reason why... Way back
in 2008, our then Governor, Rod Blah -Goya-bich,(now a convicted FELON
serving 14 years in prison), decided to make just about EVERYWHERE in
Illinois "Smoke Free". That's how our smoking tent came about-but
that's a whole 'nother story. Anyway, at that time, Pheasant Run was
privately owned, and the family that had control, for the most part,
looked the other way-they were grateful to have us there!!! Then,
(another long story), the resort went into receivership and was
basically owned by a bank. They didn't much care if we smoked in the
rooms either, it was just another piece of property to be sold as far
as they were concerned...
So, when you get right down to it, we WERE breaking the law-but hey,
we're Chicago Guys. We're like the people in Washington D.C.--the laws
don't apply to us!!!

This year, about a week before the show, we were made aware that some
investment Group from Miami, FL. had bought the resort. We figured no
big deal, things would still be the same as they ever were. Even the
Pheasant Run staff believed this to be true.
This firm knew that there was a HUGE pipe show coming up, and that we
drop a TON of money on the place, so all was good--until they figured
out that the show was about SMOKING PIPES, not SEWER PIPES!!!!
TOBACCO PIPES??? SMOKING TOBACCO??? They FREAKED!!!

A few days before the show opened, Craig got called in for a meeting
at Pheasant Run, to talk with some representative from this investment
firm whom stated that smoking, in ANY of the guest rooms, was STRICTLY
FORBIDDEN!!!! No ifs, ands or butts (pardon the pun) about
it---PERIOD!!!
Now, Craig, and the rest of the CPCC officers were caught in between a
ROCK AND A ROCK----HARD ONES!!
We were informed that ANYONE caught smoking in their room(s) would be
facing a $250.00 fine, (which we eventually got down to $150.00), but
that Pheasant Run would also provide some form of shelter (small
tents), to smoke in placed around the grounds outside. Little
consolation when it's 30 degrees outside with frost forming on the
ground at night.

It was then decided by ALL of the CPCC officers, DAMN THE TORPEDOES,
(Miami Guys), THE SHOW MUST GO ON!!!
Also by this time, many of our exhibitor's products had already shown
up, (pallets full), and were being stored for the opening of the show.
What were we to do? Tell all these exhibitors that because of the
NO-SMOKING rule, that there wasn't going to be a show, because a lot
of people cancelled for not being able to smoke in their rooms? And
don't bother coming, because we have to ship all of your stuff
back--at your expense!! As I said, it was decided to go on with the
show anyway...

Now, some individuals had A COW, A HORSE AND 3 CHICKENS, (read hissy
fit), because they were not allowed to smoke in their room(s). And
those that did, got fined 150 bucks for doing so. Hey, you were warned
when you checked in, that there would be consequences for doing so.
Plus the fact that there were places all around the resort where you
COULD enjoy you're cigar, cigarette, or pipe. It wasn't our FAULT...we
tried to do everything we could to keep things the way they were
before!!!
Hell, I DIDN'T even smoke in MY room...

I also find it interesting that these same individuals, who were
having a major meltdown, were among the first to make reservations for
the 2016 show--go figure!!!
Aside from the shows that are being held in casinos this year, (Kansas
City and Las Vegas, possibly New Orleans), you are not allowed to
smoke in any of the other hotel rooms either. Look at what happened to
Columbus this year, the Crowne Plaza hotel is now "smoke free" also!!!

Bottom line, if not being able to smoke in your room caused YOU some
inconvenience, it absolutely DEVASTATED the CPCC officers and club
members!! The "ANTI'S" had invaded OUR "SACRED SANCTUARY", that is the
Chicago Pipe Show, and there was NOTHING that we could do about it...

THIS WAS NOT OUR IDEA...So I hope you can accept this explanation...

ROOM RESERVATIONS:
Here is another "monkey in the wrench" that we're up against!! It is
planned by the Miami Investment Group that at sometime in the near
future, ALL of the "Courtyard Rooms" will cease to exist, meaning that
they are slated to meet a date with a bulldozer. I had heard that the
reason for this is that the rooms/wing didn't meet code standards,
(handicapped accessible). The resort would have to install elevators,
40 inch wide doors, and also have to install ramps because all of the
rooms on the ground/lower level of the wing, are 3 inches above the
main floor level. It would cost Pheasant Run tens of thousands of
dollars to make these improvements--and they would STILL have rooms
that were built in the early 1960's. So from a financial aspect, this
makes sense...

However, this also means that we are LOSING 175+ rooms that WILL NOT
be rebuilt!!!
This year, Pheasant Run had over 1,200 room nights sold at our show,
(another first for CPCC), and for next year, the elimination of 175
rooms is going to be a big problem!! So, for 2016 we will have to make
rooms available in "satellite" hotels in the Pheasant Run area. Guess
what guys? You won't be able to smoke in these rooms either!! The one
consolation prize out of all of this is that for the weekend (Friday
and Saturday), of the show, Pheasant Run will ONLY be booking rooms
for the show attendees. No other people will be allowed to register...

A word to the wise, if you want to stay at the Pheasant Run resort,
BOOK YOUR ROOMS NOW!!!!!!!!
We are at this time, trying to work out a shuttle bus service for the
satellite hotels to and from Pheasant Run.

OTHER THINGS:

In talking with Brian Levine at the pre-show Friday morning, I found
out that the "Pipe Cruise" that was supposed to take place later this
summer has been cancelled. It seems that Brian only had 8-10 people
that were interested in going (he needed at least 30), and things just
weren't working out.

The Greater Kansas City Pipe Club Show is coming up June 19th-21st. If
you can, please try to attend the show!! Contact info at
www.gkcpipeclub.com ...

Mark Ryan's (Daughters & Ryan Tobacco) Perique fields bus tour at the
New Orleans show is sold out. This is NOLA'S first show, and I urge as
many of you who can to attend-It should be a GREAT time

So, that's it for this time around...

Best to ALL,
Tom Dinelli
CPCC Club Secretary
CPCC Associate Show Officer