From cigars to Sousa and back again

[Dave Detwiler]

Hi all - my research on John W. "Jack" Richardson is moving along nicely. Here's what I've learned about the role that cigars played in his life. Enjoy!

https://tubapastor.blogspot.com/2023/11 ... again.html

[York-aholic]

Once again, I am amazed at the depth of your research. Great work and enjoyable reading. Thank you!

[tofu]

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[donn]

I was always just catching the tail end of a train as it was leaving the station. I’d then walk up through it to get to the best car for my stop.

The way I picture this, you were at some risk of your hat falling off as you sprang up to the rear rail of the moving train's caboose car?

Some things today like smoke free work places are indeed an improvement vs the good ole days.

Oh yeah. Not just work places, though that was sure a major thing for me, but people smoked in the grocery store, ... everywhere.

In the science fiction pulp magazine stories that were the basis for classic science fiction literature, in the '50s the characters in their faster than light spaceships traveling between the stars would pull out a cigarette in a quiet moment. Proof of a causal link with lung cancer in 1952 seems to have filtered into public awareness and cut back the rampant cigarette smoking in science fiction by the late '50s. And in reality too, decades later, but in the meantime, the struggle pioneered industry-backed denial science, subsequently to find various other applications.

[bloke]

and - luckily for cannabis addicts - they don't inhale...but they sure do eat a bunch of Doritos, so heart disease anyway.

[Grumpikins]

I have been enjoying cigars all of my adult life. They are not good for you, but numerous studies have not been able to show a significant difference between lifetime cigar smokers and non smokers.
https://www.rstreet.org/commentary/fda- ... s-per-day/

I smoke about 30 to 40 cigars per year. It's just relaxing.

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[arpthark]

I smoke about 30 to 40 cigars per year. It's just relaxing.

Do you fit those all in on one day, or is that spread out throughout the year?

[Ace]

Interesting post, Dave. I like your research. What's next? A story on this giant's clothing and shoe size? And, I am not being a smart ass by posing this question. I truly am interested in what a monster-size man like Richardson would have worn and walked in. That interest stems from the problems my nephew, Harvey Salem, had when he was an All-American collegiate football player at UC Berkeley (CAL) and 11 year NFL offensive tackle. His first NFL team was with the old Houston Oilers who had to special order a helmet to fit my nephew's head. Special shoes, size 18. Etc.
Ace

[Grumpikins]

Spread out of course.

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[tofu]

[

[donn]

Actually a Fedora.

Sure, that's what they used to wear when leaping up onto the back of the train.

I wouldn't bet on them coming back. I mean, they sure did for a while there - between late middle age boomers watching Indiana Jones and wondering how they'd look in one of them things, and tech bros having a sort of thing for expensive old school apparel (though not the suits.) I lived near a tech bro concentration, and there were young men all over the place with great big beards and spendy wingtips - not so many hats, but if they didn't have a poufy hairdo to go with the beard, a hat would work. But the boomers tried the hats and were embarrassed, and the tech bro style thing kind of faded. That's my impression anyway. Seattle had a fine hat store, up to a few years ago, but generally the crowns in hats produced today are a little skimpy to be a match for the fedoras of yesteryear.
[/quote]

[Grumpikins]

Back to the original post, Wonderful work digging up that history. It's really interesting to read about the things people did way back when. Thank you.

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