Kewaunee County and Cigars, Part 2

While it is known some of the pioneer women, such as Katherine Shaw, smoked pipes, cigarette smoking was catching on in the mid-1880s, replacing the cigars favored by women. A few years later, ladies parlors became fixtures in some hotels while there were railroad companies that set aside a “ladies carriage.” Both functioned as private smoking rooms for women. The hotel ladies’ parlors offered women the opportunity to also have an alcoholic beverage in private. Fashion of the day made a trip to the outhouse inconvenient and the ladies parlors also offered an opportunity to use an indoor facility with privacy. 

Smoking rooms insured discreetness when the Sturgeon Bay Democrat opined in late 1893 that it would not be many years before “it will be no more extraordinary to see a woman smoke than to see a woman play golf or tennis.” There were those who certainly shook their heads reading that column! 

When Boedecker Bros. was refurbishing its drug store at the southeast corner of 4th and Steele Streets, the firm was also refurbishing its hotel in the same location. At the time, the ladies parlor adjacent to the dining room on the first floor, was relocated to a large room on the second floor, thus enlarging the dining room. 

While William Karsten was planning for the rebuilding of his Kewaunee hotel in 1912, the Enterprise told readership that Karsten was over-looking nothing in the comfort and convenience of guests. No doubt women appreciated Karsten’s plans for a ladies’ parlor on both the ground and second floors.

Wisconsin women had the vote and at least some “rights,” however they still had a place in which to enjoy a smoke or drink. As late as May 1925, the Algoma Legion announced its plans for the refurbishing of the old Van Camp cannery into a Legion building now called the Dug-Out. When the Record Herald carried an article about plans for the building, it said that part of the remodeling included a 24’ x 15’ ladies’ parlor at the west side of the portico. It was backed by women’s toilet rooms. 

Although the Record’s tobacco news was primarily confined to area cigar makers, the Enterprise reported on tobacco issues of the day be they state, country or world-wide related. 

A late October 1891 Enterprise reported on the McKinley tariffs and the new cigar manufacturing boards that came about because of it. The duty on ordinary cigars was from 150-200%, however the duty on imported, expensive cigars was specific and, therefore, less. The paper said that domestic prices had risen, but they were still “below the top of the new tariff fence”. It further said that the situation tempted manufacturers who considered it “a disgrace to their calling to let such an opportunity go to waste.” 

A short time later, the Enterprise ran an article claiming big cigar manufacturers were taking advantage of the McKinley tariffs. The article said New York manufacturers were forming a 25-million-dollar trust to eliminate small manufacturers and labor unions while raising prices. 

Certainly affected in 1891 was L.C. Fensel whose Kewaunee store advertised maple syrup and such delicacies as piccalilli, chow chow and “my HIGH PROOF CIGAR, a fine” 5 cent Havana. How was Fensel able to sell a Cuban cigar for 5 cents? In 1898, Fensel was advertising his Globe Dollar cigar, that sold for 5 cents. 

Newspaper advertising on either side of 1900 suggests Kewaunee County residents favored the nickel or dime cigars, so it was big news in April 1907 when the Enterprise informed readers about $2.65 cigars. It was indeed pricey as in 2020 that cigar would cost over $65 dollars. Cigar makers of the era grossed about $700 a year according to Workers of the nation; an encyclopedia of the occupations ... v.2. digitized online, originally from the U of Michigan – Relative Pay of 100 Occupations Prices and Wages by Decade: 1900-1909. The sites says tinsmiths, boiler makers and cabinet makers earned a little less while merchants, dentists and hotel keepers earned a little more. 

What the Enterprise found so newsworthy was that for 30 years, Baron Rothschild presented England’s King Edward with a thousand $2.65 cigars each year. That prompted Aaron Hanover, the "mayor of Avenue C"* in New York, to tell the New York World that his cigars were much cheaper at two for a nickel. 

When the editor of Tobacco weighed in, he said $2.65 was not too much to pay for a cigar, however financier J. Pierpont Morgan’s cigars were less expensive at only $1.35. Morgan’s son had more expensive tastes than his father. The same editor said President Teddy Roosevelt smoked “a fierce black cigar, but when his fighting blood is up, he smokes a cigarette.” The editor apparently didn’t think much of Grover Cleveland as he said Cleveland smoked “expensive weed.” 

King Edward’s cigars continued to be the story when tobacco king James B. Duke talked about his $5 cigars and the choice Havana soil on which the tobacco was grown. Duke felt the King’s cigars were not expensive. The paper went on to inform readers about the largest and most expensive cigars ever manufactured, Lord Beaconsfield cigars. The manufacture, custom duties and expenses put the cost of those cigars at $34,723.29. Duke defended Rothschild’s gift to the king saying $2.65 was not a highly priced cigar. Duke said others must realize the specially raised tobacco and workmanship made the product expensive. The Tobacco Growers Society also weighed in saying the price of the king’s cigars “wasn’t any too high.” 

On November 26, 1909, the Enterprise carried a reprint from Harper’s Weekly. The article pointed out ignorance in ordinary smokers who felt dark looking cigars were stronger. Seeking to educate the smoking public, the article said wrappers did not make a difference, but the curing of tobacco did. Harper’s said that when one asked a dealer for a strong cigar, he would be given a dark one and his imagination would do the rest. 

Teen smoking was an issue as early as 1909 when the Wisconsin Legislature passed an anti-cigarette law forbidding the sales of cigarettes to those under 18, however the law was strengthened when it was ruled tobacco wrapped in tobacco was a cigarette, thus those under 18 were denied tobacco whether it was in the form of a cigar or cigarette. 

For well over 100 years, U.S. laws have regulated the tobacco industry. The CDC has documented proof regarding cigar smoking and increased oral cancers, gum disease and tooth loss. Heavy cigar smokers may be at increased risk for lung cancers and other lung diseases. In 2017 4.9% of American adults smoked cigars: 7.6% of those in grades 9-12 smoked cigars in 2019. During 1900, U.S. tobacco consumption was 7.5 pounds per adult. Of that, 2.0 of the 7.5 pounds was used in cigars, which was second to chewing tobacco at 3.5 pounds per adult. That is a lot of tobacco and illustrates the place in society for cigar makers in early Kewaunee County. 

* Avenue C, New York, is a north-south street in Alphabet City in the East Village of Manhatten.

Sources: Ahnapee Record, Algoma Record, Algoma Record Herald, Kewaunee Enterprise. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/tobacco_industry/cigars/index.htm; www,cdc,gov

Graphics: Katherine Shaw was found in Algoma Record Herald in June 1994; Boedecker Hotel was taken from the 1912 Kewaunee County Plat Map; Van Camp's Packing Co. post card postmarked 1910 in blogger's collection; Fensel ad from Kewaunee Co. Enterprise, 10/1891.