Wheeling’s Stogie History in Cigar Box Art
Thanks to legendary Wheeling collector and history enthusiast, Thad Podratsky, with some additional help from our friend Peg Brennan, the Ohio County Public Library has been able to assemble a fascinating and visually stunning array of Wheeling themed cigar boxes and tobacciana for its April archives display.
A Bad Product Made by Good Men
Though it is now well known that tobacco use is detrimental to one’s health, there is no denying stogie manufacturing was an integral and important part of Wheeling’s industrial history. The tobacco industry not only helped grow Wheeling’s early economy, spreading the Wheeling name far and wide, but it also affected the way labor relations positively developed here in Wheeling.
A Friend to Labor: Augustus Pollack
Augustus Pollack set the example as a stogie factory owner. He maintained an open-door policy with his workers, who were always welcome to come to him with complaints or concerns. Employees were paid well, enjoyed good working conditions, and fair hours. Pollack was unusually progressive by late 19th century standards and his attitude influenced other cigar manufacturers (see, for example, the Bashar’s box in the photo gallery below).
When Pollack died on April 23rd, 1906, the Ohio Valley Trades and Labor Assembly called a special meeting encouraging local members of all trade unions to attend the funeral. The Garfield Assembly of International Stogie Makers organized a collection of donations to erect a monument in Pollack’s honor.
The monument, depicting an employer and employee shaking hands, was placed in a prominent location in front of Wheeling’s old City Building. An inscription reads “Erected by Trade Union Members of United States in Memory of Augustus Pollack Whose Business Life and Actions Were Always in Sympathy with Organized Labor.” It is thought to be the only monument built by labor to honor a business owner.
When the old city building was razed in 1956, the monument was moved Main Street near the Fort Henry Bridge. In 2013, it was once again moved and now stands at Heritage Port.
The Famous One
Of course, one of the oldest and most recognizable stogies manufacturers was Marsh Wheeling Stogies.
Founded in Wheeling in 1840, Marsh sold hand-rolled stogies out of market baskets to crews and captains on Ohio River steamboats. Founder Mifflin Marsh walked up and down the bank of the Ohio River selling his stogies to every crew member, captain, and passenger.
Presidents including James Monroe, John Adams, and Abraham Lincoln smoked Marsh Stogies, as well as General Lafayette and General Sam Houston. Other famous fans of Marsh Stogies were P. T. Barnum, Black Hawk, John Wayne, Andrew Mellon, Annie Oakley, and Mark Twain, who said, “Then once more, changed off so that I might acquire the subtler flavor of the [Marsh] Wheeling Toby … I discovered the worst cigars, so called, are the best for me, after all.”
Marsh Stogies appeared in movies like Jaws, Missing, Fool’s Parade and How the West Was Won.
According to legend, Marsh also sold his stogies on the side of National Road, and made sure every Conestoga wagon driver had one going in and out of Wheeling. [see Wheeling by William A. Carney & Brent Carney and Legendary Locals of Wheeling, various authors].
Treat Yourself to the Best
The third of the “Big Three” of Wheeling’s most notable tobacco concerns, was, of course, Bloch Brothers of South Wheeling, founded by Andrew and Samuel Bloch in 1879. In those days, the Blochs were making hand-rolled stogies, but soon noticed that their employees enjoyed chewing the leftover tobacco bits that fell out as the stogies were rolled. Seeing an opportunity, the Blochs packaged up those bits and sold them as West Virginia “Mail Pouch” tobacco [Carney].
Mail Pouch Barns were among the very first early examples of outdoor advertising. The Bloch brothers wanted to advertise in rural areas where the majority of their customers lived, and so selected barns on the side of highly traveled roads to display their brand.
“Space men” sought out barns fitting the criteria and negotiated deals with the barn owners. The side of the barn would then be painted by contracted workers with the trademark yellow and white letters on a black background. Mail Pouch barns could be found in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, New York, the western coasts of California, Oregon, & Washington, as well as southern Michigan & western Maryland.
As many as 4,000 barns were painted, all with a lifespan of 30-40 years. In the 1960s, as rural population declined and radio and television were taking over advertisement, barn painting tapered. Around this same time, Federal highway legislation passed that banned outdoor advertising within 660 feet of a federally funded road. By 1969, barn painting “officially” ceased. However, the law did not stop a few more barns from being painted in subsequent years.
Recognized for their iconic status, in 1974, the Mail Pouch barns were designated as National Historic Landmarks. In 1992, Swisher International obtained Bloch Brothers and officially stopped barn painting [see The West Virginia Encyclopedia].
Samuel Bloch built his family mansion on National Road in 1902. He named it “Elmhurst” in honor of the numerous elm trees growing around it. Not to be outdone by Pollack in terms of community outreach for a tobacco baron, after his death, in keeping with Bloch’s philanthropic ideals, the mansion was converted into a retirement community called “Elmhurst, The House of Friendship.”
The Tobacco Hub
In addition to the “Big Three,” Wheeling boasted numerous other stogie makers in its heyday. In fact, lying as it did, in the middle of the “Stogie Belt,” Wheeling was once considered the hub of the American tobacco industry. During William McKinley’s presidency, the city boasted nearly 100 stogie factories, with more than 6 million cigars produced annually. Many of the cigar boxes from those companies can be seen in the photo gallery below. The originals are now on display (courtesy Mr. Podratsky) through the end of April in the main display area at the Ohio County Public Library.
After all this, you may be wondering, what makes a stogie a stogie. Longer and thinner than cigars, stogies are made with different blends of cigar leaves, giving each a unique taste. The actual name “stogie” came from the Conestoga wagon drivers who would smoke the thin cigars as they traversed the National Road, possibly even the same Conestoga wagon drivers Mr. Marsh sold his cigars to so many years ago. [source: The National Cigar Corporation].
[Special thanks to OCPL Archives intern Rebecca Rogders (Wheeling Jesuit University) for compiling a large part of this information and helping put together this month’s display.]
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I’ve got a “Melo=Crown” Box I’ve had for years. Kept it when my father passed back in 1991. Factory 84 stamped on the box.
My grandfathers grandfather was Albert C. Wheeler. He wishes he could find a stogie box from his business but has never been able to. So glad I was able to see all of this history and see his home!