Published by The History Press
Charleston, SC
www.historypress.net
Copyright 2016 by Brianna Dunlap
All rights reserved
Photography by Leonard Hellerman
First published 2016
e-book edition 2016
ISBN 978.1.43965.755.3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016939306
Print edition ISBN 978.1.46713.613.6
Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
For the Valley, its people and its beauty.
CONTENTS
Day Trip Location: The Institute for American Indian Studies
Day Trip Location: The Windsor Historical Society
Day Trip Location: The Southwick History Museum
Day Trip Location: Salmon Brook Historical Society
Day Trip Location: The Connecticut Valley Tobacco Museum
Day Trip Location: The Wood Memorial Library
Day Trip Location: Historic Deerfield
Day Trip Location: Suffield Historical Society
Day Trip Location: Browns Harvest
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book would not have the same impact without the stunning photography that you will see in these pages. The photographer who has contributed these tobacco images is Dr. Leonard Hellerman. Hellerman, a native of Windsor, Connecticut, has used photography as means of artistic expression for most of his life.
Hellerman has contributed to several books in which his photography graces the cover of the book as well as the interior. His photographs are found far and wide, including two permanent museum displays, at the New Britain Museum of American Art and in the permanent collection of the William Benton Museum of Art of the University of Connecticut, at Storrs.
I first got to know him better in 2014 when he and his wife attended the Fourth Annual Cigar BBQ at the Connecticut Valley Tobacco Museum. The event had sold out, so we had to utilize a transport van to shuttle attendees between the museum and the tobacco farm since the bus we rented for the event was packed. I unexpectedly found myself driving the van and its six passengers to the Habana tobacco fields in Enfield, Connecticut. We were all chatting on the way to the farm, and Mr. Hellerman asked me, So, how did you get into this? and I, never one to miss an opportunity for a quip, said, Well, Leonard, Ive always wanted to drive a van. We all had a good laugh and everyone got to share a bit about why they loved tobacco or cigars.
Since then, Ive come to know that Hellerman has prestige and pride in his art. And it truly is thatart. As I began this book, he was kind enough to have me visit his home studio. His wife made me tea and cookies while he toured me through his extensive collection of tobacco agricultural images. In these pages, you will find photographs of tobacco, its people and its landscape. Each image by Leonard Hellerman has been crafted just for you, the readers and lovers of the Connecticut River Valleys cigar tobacco heritage.
The following people have my deepest gratitude: Dr. Leah Glaser, head of the Public History Program at Central Connecticut State University, for her support, time and caring; thanks to Lucianne Lavin of the Institute for American Indian Studies for information on early tobacco use and spirituality. A big thank-you also goes to the research experts who are the knights in shining armor of the historian world: Pat Odiorne from the Southwick Historical Society, Claire E. Lobdell at the Wood Memorial Library and Museum, Michelle Tom at the Windsor Historical Society and David Bosse at Historic Deerfield. Thanks to Kimberly Reeger for her insight into cigars and women.
Id like to thank the board of directors of the Connecticut Valley Tobacco Historical Society exponentially!
And, thank you Jasonfor everything that words cannot possibly summarize.
INTRODUCTION
From the glory years of tobacco in the Connecticut Valley through the challenges of modern farming, the reader will know who shaped the history here and why the tobacco industry had influence and was also influenced by the global economy. This brief book will cover the full spectrum of Colonial Connecticuts cigar tobacco history, and each chapter will engage the public with a day trip to a tobacco-related site, making the entire narrative a source of history and as well as a driving tour.
The history will begin broadly, beginning with the earliest North American tobacco usage and the techniques used by native people in Connecticut for cultivation and consumption. The colonial era, as related to tobacco economy, will be delved into. The stories will include the initial successes in Jamestown, Virginia, and how tobacco became Americas first successful crop. Returning to Colonial Connecticut, the myths of Revolutionary War hero Colonial Putnam and cigar roller Sally Prout will be explored. From the boom of the 1860s to the glory days of the 1950s, the fall of popularity of tobacco in the 1960s through the resurgence of cigars in the 1990s and the reopening of Cuba in 2015, the tobacco industry will be explained in an engaging and relatable way.
The ultimate hope with this book is that you, the history enthusiasts, will enjoy learning of the hundreds of years of Connecticut River Valley tobacco agriculture and explore the back roads of the Valley with the included drivingtour destination in each chapter. Make a day trip out of visiting the sites in this book and feel empowered by being part of a living legacy in the Tobacco Valley. With this driving-tour component, you will build connections between the history and the important region that they are a part of.
As well as enjoying a connection to the landscape, many readers in the Connecticut River Valley have made tobacco a part of their personal history from working tobacco in their youth. Enjoy the spots across the same valley that will help them remember that past and think about the future.
The driving tour locations are set up to be experienced as day trips. While it is possible to fit in a few locations in one day, it is recommended that each spot be visited one at a time to allow for ample adventure and learning time. The locations found at the end of each chapter sometimes correlate directly to the subject of the chapter; sometimes they do not. The roads to every location will take you through gorgeous landscapes right to the sites of significant cigar tobacco history. Do not forget, the sites are family friendly.
Enjoy the history in these pages and out in the Valley!
SUMMER BREAK
Before the sun rose
and the mists burned off
we stood around in jean jackets
and work boots, smoking
Luckies and dreaming of Camaros.
And when it was time
we got down in the dark furrows
of earthstill clotted with pools
of irrigation water
