HAND ROLLING CIGARETTES

[williamlayton]

We are not going into dope stories on this one boys. This thread is a product of too much coffee and an old mind.
Most of you boys--not all--don't have a clue about how well those old boys AND GALS could roll a cig and do it quick.
Being a product of pre-WWII birth, I can tell you how amazing it was for me to watch----I never got the hang of it--but at 25 cents a pack, I didn't have much incintive to spend a lot of time trying.
My mother could roll a cig that was in competition with the Camels I smoked.
We lived on a dairy with my PawPaw and Mamo during thwe war---my mother worked at the draft board & my GF ran the dairy, delivered milk and was deputy sherriff.
They would sit on the back porch in the evenings--drinking coffee, talking about the war, reading the letter from my father who was in N Africa & rolling and smoking cigs.
The would trow the butts into the yard and I would fetch 'em and smoke 'em. I was one when the war started--so i guess I have been smoking since I was about three.
I got no scolding for smoking those hand rolls.
I remember watching them roll them and the butts, I examined, were just perfect.
So much about nothing.
Carry on!
Blessings

 

[Comrad]

We used to buy Bull Durham in a little cloth pouch with a small pack of rolling paper. We thought we were real cowboys. Don't think it cost more than 10 or 15 cents considering a pack of real smokes was about 28 cents. We used to take puffs off my fathers butts and nobody seemed to mind we were only about 4 or 5. Boy have times changed.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

My Uncle Clyde started each day by rolling his smokes for the day on the kitchen table. Used a little rubber mat to roll them up into perfect little cylinders, much narrower than a factory-made cigarette. He would roll up about 2 or 3 dozen, then put them in a two-piece aluminum box that went into his trouser pocket with his Zippo lighter. When he fired one up it always stayed in the corner of his mouth until he was done with it, then the butt went back into the box and those were stripped down for the little bit of tobacco left, which was used the next day. Nothing wasted, for sure.

Clyde was wounded during WW2 in Italy, heavy machinegun fire wrecked both legs. Walked with two canes. Owned the first car I ever saw with automatic transmission. Owned a truck stop (great hamburgers and terrible french fries, ice cream bars and bottles of Coca Cola for us kids anytime) and worked at least 12 hours per day, 7 days per week. There were huge racks of all kinds of cigarettes right behind him at the cash register, but I never saw him smoke a factory-made cigarette. Wore a necktie, an old fedora hat, and a leather jacket. Always had a freshly starched and ironed white shirt every day, his trousers were always crisply pressed, and his shoes were always perfectly shined. Aqua Velva was his after shave lotion, Brylcreem hair dressing. Lived all alone in a tiny little house. At every birthday all of us nephews and nieces received silver dollars from Uncle Clyde, 6 on your 6th birthday, 12 on your 12th birthday, and so on.

Clyde passed away in 1964 at age 49. I miss him still.

 

[kraigwy]

I use to be pretty good, I started out with Bull Durham. Back then we could smoke in school, at least if you were in 7th grade and above. 6th grade and below had to have parents permission.

I'd get 25 cents for lunch when my mother was working. Instead of spending it at school I'd go to a local gas station/grocery store and for 25 cents you could get a bottle of RC cola, a baloney sandwich (they sliced it right there, as thick as you wanted) and a sack of Bull Durham (which if I remember right cost 7 cents).

I'd have a couple penny's left for the afternoon milk break. 2 cents for a little carton of milk. But if I was real rich, I could spend 6 cents and get another bottle of RC Cola. If I was really rolling in the doe, (which wasn't too often) I could get a Moon Pie for desert.

My uncle grew his tobacco, but that stuff would burn your insides before you got it lit.

My fingers don't work good enough to roll a good cigarette now days.

 

[WNC Seabee]

I'm 40 and have never smoked a cigarette. But, one of my fondest memories is sitting at grandpa's table and helping him roll his smokes. The tobacco came in a blue can and he poured it into a little contraption that kinda looked like a big rubber stamp. Each time he pushed down the "stamp" a perfect cig rolled out. Oddly enough, I think of this whenever I'm reloading ammo....

 

[Straightshooter2]

I never rolled my own but my late uncle, a retired Navy Senior Chief did and could roll one on horseback (went from SCPO to cowboy when he retired). It always amazed me to watch him do that. Only one time did I ever carry a pouch and papers. When I started work at Delta there was a guy who never had his own cigarettes and was bad about bumming off of me (and others). One day he asked me for a smoke and I tossed him that little cloth bag of Bull Durham and said "here ya go." Needless to say he had a very confused look on his face and everybody in the break room cracked up. It pretty much stopped him from bumming off everyone.

CW

 

[sceva]

My wifes Aunt and Uncle in Southern Ohio rolled thier own mostly and only rarely had "Store Bought" cigarettes. Thier preference was Bugler tobacco and we would take them a supply whenever we visited.

 

[OFT II]

There was Bull Durham and Duke tobacco in the sack with a pack of rolling papers attached. Other folks used Prince Albert, Half & Half and Bugler to roll theirs. The little rolling machines with the rubberized canvas was made by Bugler, if I recall right. I think that I still have one somewhere around here.

 

[venomballistics]

I might not be a depression era artifact but at one time I could roll a reasonably fine smoke. If asked to now, I'd likely be somewhere between rusty and corroded.
the Top O Matic machine, a box of tubes and a bag of tobacco can turn into a carton of smokes in under an hour so theres little need for the skill to keep it honed

 

[kudzu3]

Daddy rolled his own. He'd sit down, roll the cig and almost disappear in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, he'd get up and go back to whatever work he was doing. He always had little burnt holes in the front of his shirt and overalls. I once asked him how long he'd been smoking, he thought for a few seconds and said, "I don't remember ever not smoking". Thanks folks for bringing back the memories.

 

[redlevel]

"You got the makin's?"

 

[Kelly Green]

William,

Your story brings back memories of when I was a young boy in the early 50's. We raised some horses back then and my dad and grandpa hired a hand to help. The person hired was a Cherokee woman form Oklahoma. Grandpa said that she could break a horse better than any man he knew. She also smoked from morning till night. I remember watching her roll her own and she could do it as quickly as most folks could pull one out of a store bought pack. The other thing I remember about her is that she always carried a long knife in a leather sheath on her belt.

 

[Marshwheeling]

I tried rolling Bull Durham as a kid, but never got the knack. The tobacco was always dry and flaky, hard to keep in the paper. Later on in Europe I got pretty good at rolling Dutch shag tobacco, usually Samson or Drum, half-zware. That was a good smoke, and a good way to save money over tailor-mades.

A buddy (some people accuse him of being stuck in the '50s) smokes Bugler even today. Rolls them up four or six at a time with the little machine and carries them in his shirt pocket. I quit smoking 40 years ago, but every so often I'll burn one of his, without inhaling, of course.

 

[deadin]

The tobacco came in a blue can and he poured it into a little contraption that kinda looked like a big rubber stamp.

Sounds like a Bugler kit. I think they're still available. I used one when I was young, poor and smoked a pack+ a day. Never did master the hand rolled Bull Durham................

 

[feralmerril]

williamlayton; you and I must be the same age, almost same story. This picture is me and my grandpa haveing a pipe together probley in 1944 in front of our country general store.

 

[tops]

I could roll a pretty good cigarette when I was younger. I learned just to be a cowboy and I knew some old people that did it. I'm thinking Golden Grain was what I used. When I was younger I knew an old man from Texas that could roll one with one hand. He said he could do it on a running horse but I never saw it. I knew another old man that used George Washington tobacco and I never saw him roll a good one. Sometimes after 2 or 3 tries he would just give up and try later. He was old when I knew him and maybe his fingers just didn't work anymore. Larry

 

[keith44spl]

Thanks William,

The Old Days have gone by......But are not forgotten

Su Amigo,
Dave

These little pouches came with their own cigarette papers

 

[buck460XVR]

One of my earliest memories as a child was watching my grandpa sittin' at the kitchen table with his can of Plowboy and his pad of Top papers, rollin what he referred to as "nails in his coffin". He would then light up and use the cuff on his bib overalls as a ashtray. This was the early fifties. While I never got as good at it as he did, and never smoked cigarettes, I did try to imitate his style during the seventies and early eighties. Mine were far from perfect, but at the time, for some reason, it did not seem to matter.

 

[Rule3]

Too much trouble. We had those Laredo Rolling Machines, it was pretty neat to see some guys roll them with one hand. We would swipe them from everybody's cig boxes on the living room coffee tables with the fancy lighters.

I'm gonna quit when they hit .50 cents a pack, OK $1.00.

Thank God those days are over!!

 

[xray97]

I remember watching grand-dad pour the tobacco into the paper and then roll the cigarette with one hand. Took him just a few seconds to turn out a near perfect smoke. When I started at the Sheriff's Office in 1977 prisoners were issued a bag of tobacco and pack of papers when they were booked.

 

[handejector]

Oh yeah.
I knew lots of people that rolled theirs. I knew a man that could roll left handed while driving a produce truck in the mountains. Ridin' with him made the hair on the back of my neck feel like a steel brush!

I remember a couple of cartons of "tailor mades" being a common Christmas present amongst country folk. Usually LS, Camel, Pall Mall, or Chesterfield.

 

[kamloops67]

when i was a boy i had a huge appetite id usually put away 2-3 plates of supper ever night . my step dad would finish his plateful, and reach for his tobacco tin ;spin one up and light it .i remember watching the thick cloud of smoke rolling across the table toward me as i ate my food, even holding my breath a little as it washed around me. it was kinda uncomfortable but it didnt seem to slow down my fork hand any.lol
that tobacco tin became the source of many a pilfered smoke...i think every kid that ever lived under that roof had their hand in it at one time or another

 

[williamlayton]

Dog gone it---I had completely forgot about hem useing the cuff on his pants if he was in the house.
I remember him saucering his coffee and smoking at the kitchen table.
Blessings

 

[S&WIowegan]

I have a friend who just retired as a senior executive of an insurance company. He still rolls his own...one at a time. He doesn't seem to be exceptionally adept at it. I think he does it to keep the number of smokes per day down.

 

[Old TexMex]

We rolled "Dr. Pat" in the mining camp, came in a flat round tin. Really a fine smoke, only sold in Australia, Had to keep a slice of potato or apple in it to keep the near zero humidity from drying it out. In the States we used to buy "sea stores" no tax stamp on them from the shrimpers...oops, that's an ATF issue.... Glad we burned the evidence!

 

[Old 44 Guy]

I remember when in the '30's when I was just a tad my folks smoked Golden Grain with white papers. Bull Duram came with brown papers that were not gummed on one edge. Grandpa smoked cigars, White Owl I think. Anyway this is when we lived in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Calif. They mined gold during the depression to survive. And money was real short.

 

[mikerover]

I can remember my grandfather rolling his own smokes from Half and Half. Used to get some interesting looks in the 70's at events rolling one after dinner. Plus he also had numerous small clothing burns from lit piece dropping and a trail of 'makings' when he was done! Those mechanical rolling machines were high tech back in the day.

 

[OFT II]

My granddad had a smoke stand by his favorite chair that contained a tobacco jar, ash tray, his pipes and cigarette rolling papers. After supper he would go turn the radio on, sit down and light up.

Our old fishing group had a WWII vet in it who owned a funeral home in Hobbs, New Mexico. He was in his eighties when he made his last trip. He said that his wife wouldn't let him drink or smoke at home but when he was with the boys he would pull out the Bull Durham, roll one and pour himself a Wild Turkey and water. He's long gone now and we sure miss him. He had some great stories about doing business.

 

[M3Stuart]

Yea, back when I was poor(er) AND smoked. I don't smoke anymore. And I'm not sure if I still qualify as poor...but with two kids in college, I'm getting there!

 

[HAWKEYE10]

Dad smoked Philip Morris. One night I swiped one and was smoking it in the bathroom. I had my head stuck way out the bathroom window "It was summer" smoking away when my mother yelled "Don are you smoking again" I said no Mam "Well put it out" She always new when I was doing something wrong. I guess she was gifted. Don

PS I tried rolling my own but with not much success.