McClellands And Christmas, They Just Go Together.
Nov 26, 2020 9:50:24 GMT -5
sperrytops, Ronv69, and 6 more like this
Post by trailboss on Nov 26, 2020 9:50:24 GMT -5
From a newsletter that I sent out to the Arizona Pipe Club.
When the Christmas season comes around, invariably someone will pipe up about the now discontinued Christmas cheer blend produced by the now shuttered McClelland's Tobacco company. There are a lot of tins out on the secondary market, but you will pay a steep price for it...still, if you can enjoy a bowl, savor it!
Last night at pipe night, we had a few discussions about McClelland's tobacco's and one member had asked some questions about the history and the reason for the closing of the brand, there are a lot of reasons why McClelland's closed. Market forces made it increasingly harder to source the tobacco's (primarily Virginia's) that met the standards that Mike and Mary McNeil would use to make the finished product. Mike had been dealing with a bad back issues for years, there was a financial incentive in selling the building that had leapfrogged in value, and Mike and Mary simply decided to retire.
A few years back, Brian Levine of the Pipesmagazine Radio Podcast had a 5 part series on the McClelland's story when he interviewed Mike and Mary and it was a very interesting series. You can hear the whole story of of the history of the company, some insights into the processes that they employed, and some insights into how the tobacco industry has evolved and changed. Mike goes into side discussions on other companies, like on how wonderful the House of Edgeworth blends were phenomenal, I was able to procure a tin of Edgeworth High grade slices, it blew my socks off, and it was a sad day when i finished it off.
Anyway, with the times being what they are, if you are working from home and can multi-task, have free time as a retiree, have a long drive coming up, or simply can listen to the segments in your quiet time with the pipe, I highly recommend listening in. If you haven't heard the interviews, I am sure that you will learn a lot.
The episodes are listed in order, but not sequentially numbered, because they were not aired week to week, Brian Levine had other shows in between the interviews. The shows are roughly an hour long, and you have to get through the introductory stuff before you hear the interviews.
On Sitcher:
Episode 324: www.stitcher.com/show/the-pipes-magazine-radio-show-podcast/episode/pipesmag-podcast-324-57438229
Episode 326: www.stitcher.com/show/the-pipes-magazine-radio-show-podcast/episode/pipesmag-podcast-326-57680081
Episode 329: www.stitcher.com/show/the-pipes-magazine-radio-show-podcast/episode/pipesmag-podcast-329-57970885
Episode 331: www.stitcher.com/show/the-pipes-magazine-radio-show-podcast/episode/pipesmag-podcast-331-58211347
Episode: 334 www.stitcher.com/show/the-pipes-magazine-radio-show-podcast/episode/pipesmag-podcast-334-58610425
On Itunes:
Episode 324: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pipesmag-podcast-324/id562603085?i=1000472549283
Episode 326: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pipesmag-podcast-326/id562603085?i=1000472549043
Episode 329: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pipesmag-podcast-329/id562603085?i=1000472549463
Episode 331: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pipesmag-podcast-331/id562603085?i=1000472549144
Episode 334: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pipesmag-podcast-334/id562603085?i=1000472549389
When the Christmas season comes around, invariably someone will pipe up about the now discontinued Christmas cheer blend produced by the now shuttered McClelland's Tobacco company. There are a lot of tins out on the secondary market, but you will pay a steep price for it...still, if you can enjoy a bowl, savor it!
Last night at pipe night, we had a few discussions about McClelland's tobacco's and one member had asked some questions about the history and the reason for the closing of the brand, there are a lot of reasons why McClelland's closed. Market forces made it increasingly harder to source the tobacco's (primarily Virginia's) that met the standards that Mike and Mary McNeil would use to make the finished product. Mike had been dealing with a bad back issues for years, there was a financial incentive in selling the building that had leapfrogged in value, and Mike and Mary simply decided to retire.
A few years back, Brian Levine of the Pipesmagazine Radio Podcast had a 5 part series on the McClelland's story when he interviewed Mike and Mary and it was a very interesting series. You can hear the whole story of of the history of the company, some insights into the processes that they employed, and some insights into how the tobacco industry has evolved and changed. Mike goes into side discussions on other companies, like on how wonderful the House of Edgeworth blends were phenomenal, I was able to procure a tin of Edgeworth High grade slices, it blew my socks off, and it was a sad day when i finished it off.
Anyway, with the times being what they are, if you are working from home and can multi-task, have free time as a retiree, have a long drive coming up, or simply can listen to the segments in your quiet time with the pipe, I highly recommend listening in. If you haven't heard the interviews, I am sure that you will learn a lot.
The episodes are listed in order, but not sequentially numbered, because they were not aired week to week, Brian Levine had other shows in between the interviews. The shows are roughly an hour long, and you have to get through the introductory stuff before you hear the interviews.
On Sitcher:
Episode 324: www.stitcher.com/show/the-pipes-magazine-radio-show-podcast/episode/pipesmag-podcast-324-57438229
Episode 326: www.stitcher.com/show/the-pipes-magazine-radio-show-podcast/episode/pipesmag-podcast-326-57680081
Episode 329: www.stitcher.com/show/the-pipes-magazine-radio-show-podcast/episode/pipesmag-podcast-329-57970885
Episode 331: www.stitcher.com/show/the-pipes-magazine-radio-show-podcast/episode/pipesmag-podcast-331-58211347
Episode: 334 www.stitcher.com/show/the-pipes-magazine-radio-show-podcast/episode/pipesmag-podcast-334-58610425
On Itunes:
Episode 324: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pipesmag-podcast-324/id562603085?i=1000472549283
Episode 326: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pipesmag-podcast-326/id562603085?i=1000472549043
Episode 329: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pipesmag-podcast-329/id562603085?i=1000472549463
Episode 331: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pipesmag-podcast-331/id562603085?i=1000472549144
Episode 334: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pipesmag-podcast-334/id562603085?i=1000472549389
