I have not written much lately but I have been doing some collecting. My 87 yr old Aunts out barn , a musty old basement in Schenectady N.Y. Discovered a milk bottle from the H Wilson Crounse Dairy in Altamont N.Y. probably from the 1930's or 40's. That was my brother in laws Christmas present cause he collects as well. My wife was a Crounse as is he. So a piece of family history was discovered. Anyway , what I ended up discovering was alot of old cigarette stuff. Mainly in my Aunts old out barn/storage area.
1. A pack of Kent from the 1950's. It had an atomic mushroom cloud on it. Back then I discovered they were marketed as the atomic age cigarette. The filters had a slight blueish tint. So , I attempted to discover if what I heard was true. Asbestos , was contained in that generation of Kents. I took out my old scalpel from high school biology class and cut one filter open. put it under my mini microscope. Yes indeed it appeared that those were asbestos fibers I observed. Nicotine , tars and carbon monoxide on top of asbestos. Wow , were those deadly.
2. A crumpled up empty pack of Chesterfield 101's. You can Google their 60's commercials. When Benson and Hedges came up with the concept of 100mm cigarettes to keep up sales post Surgeon Generals Report Chesterfield launched their new filter cigarette as a 101mm. Sales Gimmick......but it apparently was not very successful as that brand did not last long. Lets face it 1 mm was like a tenth of a puff.
3. Found in the back of a cupboard in my Aunts a full pack of Benson & Hedges Deluxe. Green in color , long box with a wood paneled look. Purple writing on the cigarettes. Unopened. My departed uncle used to smoke them after he switched from Lucky's. I smoked a few in my youth. Many ladies smoked them as well as the extra long box fit in a purse much better than a shirt pocket. Well......to be honest as an experiment mind you I rehydrated this pack using refrigeration and a heavy humidity container for over 10 days. Even though my smoking days are supposed to be behind me I tried a couple. Though this exact package and blend has not been in stock for probably over 25 yrs , it was a taste from the past that was familiar and rather good , despite the age.
4. Finally an in person event. So I can continue my rehab and keep getting back in shape post heart attack and cancer I belong to the Ciccotti Family Recreation Center. A retired professor and folk singer who once taught at Skidmore College and I struck up a couple of conversation over time in the weight room. Turns out she was the singer who sang the background song for Benson & Hedges TV commercials. She used the money for Post Graduate education. You can Google the commercials and hear her lilting tones. So before she moved to South Carolina to be closer to her daughter she gave me a present. A Benson & Hedges ashtray shaped like a bent 100mm cigarette which was sort of one of their logo's.
So , a couple of finds I bring to you and will now dispose of. Probably , sell the ashtray on e-bay.
1. A pack of Kent from the 1950's. It had an atomic mushroom cloud on it. Back then I discovered they were marketed as the atomic age cigarette. The filters had a slight blueish tint. So , I attempted to discover if what I heard was true. Asbestos , was contained in that generation of Kents. I took out my old scalpel from high school biology class and cut one filter open. put it under my mini microscope. Yes indeed it appeared that those were asbestos fibers I observed. Nicotine , tars and carbon monoxide on top of asbestos. Wow , were those deadly.
2. A crumpled up empty pack of Chesterfield 101's. You can Google their 60's commercials. When Benson and Hedges came up with the concept of 100mm cigarettes to keep up sales post Surgeon Generals Report Chesterfield launched their new filter cigarette as a 101mm. Sales Gimmick......but it apparently was not very successful as that brand did not last long. Lets face it 1 mm was like a tenth of a puff.
3. Found in the back of a cupboard in my Aunts a full pack of Benson & Hedges Deluxe. Green in color , long box with a wood paneled look. Purple writing on the cigarettes. Unopened. My departed uncle used to smoke them after he switched from Lucky's. I smoked a few in my youth. Many ladies smoked them as well as the extra long box fit in a purse much better than a shirt pocket. Well......to be honest as an experiment mind you I rehydrated this pack using refrigeration and a heavy humidity container for over 10 days. Even though my smoking days are supposed to be behind me I tried a couple. Though this exact package and blend has not been in stock for probably over 25 yrs , it was a taste from the past that was familiar and rather good , despite the age.
4. Finally an in person event. So I can continue my rehab and keep getting back in shape post heart attack and cancer I belong to the Ciccotti Family Recreation Center. A retired professor and folk singer who once taught at Skidmore College and I struck up a couple of conversation over time in the weight room. Turns out she was the singer who sang the background song for Benson & Hedges TV commercials. She used the money for Post Graduate education. You can Google the commercials and hear her lilting tones. So before she moved to South Carolina to be closer to her daughter she gave me a present. A Benson & Hedges ashtray shaped like a bent 100mm cigarette which was sort of one of their logo's.
So , a couple of finds I bring to you and will now dispose of. Probably , sell the ashtray on e-bay.
