Monday, March 18, 2024
OFF INTO THE SUNSET
A show of colors were on display about two and one-half miles from Shelbyville city limits last night, around 8 p.m. | photo by JACK BOYCE
Up in Smoke: A Review of the Local Cigar Industry
by GEORGE YOUNG
Like many avid readers, I eagerly await the daily arrival of the Addison Times in my inbox. Living in the Pacific Northwest, it's my window to both current affairs and the nostalgic echoes of my hometown. My mind calls it my ‘Shelbyville Now and Then’ newspaper.
Just the other day, I was reading this article in This Day in Shelby County History:
1914: Peter Demmer, who had recently moved here from Rushville to establish a cigar factory at 108 South Harrison St., reported he was doing well. Demmer had four men and two boys working in the factory. “The smokers of Shelbyville are taking mighty kindly to the two brands that Mr. Demmer is making, ‘Big Ben,’ his leader, and ‘Pouch,’ both 5 cent cigars and pronounced extra good by competent judges,” The Republican said.
I never knew Shelbyville had a cigar factory. I did know many shops selling tobacco products were located on practically every corner of town during this era. The news of a cigar factory in Shelbyville piqued my interest, prompting me to delve deeper. I found an interesting backstory to go along with the Addison Times news nugget.
Peter Theodore Demmer was born Oct. 2, 1877, in Seymour, Ind., and passed away Jan. 8, 1951, in Cincinnati, Ohio. In between, he had an interesting career. Most of this story unfolded in the neighboring town of Rushville.
The 1900 census listed Peter, age 22, as a cigarmaker in Rushville, living with his parents, John and Mary Demmer. His younger brother, John, 20, was also a cigar maker. I learned that in 1900, more than 27,000 cigar factories existed in the US during this golden age of cigar manufacturing.
In 1907, tragedy struck as John Sr. died, coinciding with John Jr. launching his Demmer retail and wholesale cigar business in Rushville. By March 1908, the brothers united forces, renaming the business Demmer Bros. Their first location was a small room at Geraghty’s just behind Week’s meat market in Rushville.
By February 1911, the brothers announced moving their “Wall Street” retail cigar store to the Finney building; their manufacturing department would be in the same room. Extensive repairs and redecorating were done to that location. The business was booming, and both brothers exchanged vows with their wives during this prosperous period.
Come May 1911, the Demmer Bros embarked on diversification. They announced they would expand their current location to add a pool room to the cigar store/factory. This would add an additional revenue stream. Their strategy was, “Who doesn’t like to smoke the occasional cigar while shooting a few billiards racks?” This was a surefire win-win idea.
A few months later, in September 1911, the newspaper reported that Johnnie Singer, who worked for the I&C traction company next to the pool hall/cigar store, vowed to get Peter Demmer. Singer alleged the elder brother masterminded a cigar wrapper littering on the street at night as an advertisement to make people believe that everybody smokes them. Maybe this ingenious plot was too contentious for civic-minded citizens.
Just a month later, in October 1911, Demmer Bros. announced Pete would be going on the road to sell their line of cigars three to four days a week. He would be their traveling salesman, expanding cigar sales to other retail stores. He traveled throughout the state and even to Cincinnati.
In a bid for community engagement, in January 1912, the Demmer Brothers sponsored a Rushville city championship pool tournament that drew over 500 visitors to their pool room to watch the straight pool game between the two best players in town. The Demmers presented every visitor with a coveted Pouch cigar.
Legal woes surfaced later that month; Demmer Bros. was among a list of local businesses being prosecuted for having illegal penny slot machines. Harold Hill was correct; there was trouble right there in River City. Trouble with a capital "T" and that rhymes with "P" and stands for pool! Their master business plan seemed to be attracting the wrong crowd and not enough income.
By August 1912, their grand schemes started to unravel. The brothers filed to dissolve their partnership, citing debt of $3,250 (over $100,000 in 2024 dollars) and insolvency. It was listed as a friendly suit and was brought to dispose of their joint business.
Despite the partnership dissolution, the brothers didn’t bid farewell to the cigar trade; they just went their separate ways. In November 1912, John Demmer opened another retail cigar store on Rushville’s Third Street in a room in the rear of Weeks Fresh Meat store, back to his original location. John announced he would also manufacture cigars in that location. Also, he had a new brand of cigar called the “Ticket.” He was decades ahead of Jon Lovitz’s catchphrase: “Yeah, That's the ticket!"
Then, in January 1913, Pete Demmer opened a cigar factory over the Allen Daniels barber shop in Rushville. In Feb 1913, John Demmer sold his retail cigar business but continued to manufacture the same brands of cigars in a room over the Princess Theatre. Their businesses appeared to be in disarray.
Then, a severe health situation occurred for the Demmer family; in April of 1913, John Demmer had to leave Rushville to stay at the Indiana Tuberculosis Hospital in Rockville. His brother Pete announced he would keep his brother's business running, making the same quality cigars, while John took his treatments at the sanitarium. Pete did this while he ran his own separate cigar factory. I didn’t learn how long John was gone, but apparently, blood is thicker than smoke: despite splitting up their partnership, he steadfastly tended to his brother’s business interest during his absence.
A newspaper notice in October 1913 stated Pete Demmer and Fred Clevenger had just returned to Rushville after spending the day in Shelbyville on a business trip. Nothing was mentioned about the nature of the trip. That same month, P.T. Demmer placed an advertisement in the Rushville newspaper: Smoke Big Ben and Pouch Cigars. Hand-made, Homemade 5 cents. (A five-cent cigar in 1914 would equal to $1.50 today.)
On Jan. 10, 1914, the Rushville Daily Republican reported that Pete Demmer was considering a proposition to move his cigar factory from Rushville to Shelbyville. Mr. Demmer stated he had a good offer and may accept, although he has reached no definite conclusion. Just four days later, P.T. Demmer, cigar manufacturer, announced he would move his plant to Shelbyville that month, where he would be located permanently. He said he received a fine offer from Shelbyville, which he could not afford to refuse. The notice said he was a “pioneer” in the cigar business.
The Shelbyville Democrat newspaper stated on Jan. 23, 1914, that Peter Demmer of Rushville had rented a room over the Henry Bros. pool room on South Harrison Street and would remove his cigar factory to this city immediately. The goods would be shipped here tomorrow; the factory would employ six to eight men.
In February 1914, Demmer Bros filed a notice for all creditors to file all claims with the Rush County court for final consideration. Was moving to Shelbyville a final legal move to dodge creditors in Rushville?
The Shelbyville Republican reported on Feb. 23, 1914, this article: “Peter T. Demmer, who recently came here from Rushville and established a cigar factory at 106 ½ S Harrison, is doing well and is pleased with Shelbyville. Mr. Demmer, at present, has four men and two boys at work in his factory and will be pleased to add hands as rapidly as demand justifies. He ran a much larger factory at Rushville. Still, he said he did not know how many men to bring here as he did not know how Shelbyville was for backing up and supporting home institutions. The smokers of Shelbyville, however, are taking mighty kindly to the two brands that Mr. Demmers is making, ‘Big Ben,” his leader, and ‘Pouch,’ both 5-cent cigars and pronounced extra good by competent judges. Mr. Demmer has a payroll of about $100 a week, and if Shelbyville smokers are loyal to Big Ben and Pouch, the payroll can be made several hundred dollars per week, and all the money will stay right here at home. It pays to patronize home industry.”
In April 1914, John Demmer left Rushville and the cigar industry forever, accepting a position at the Lutheran sanitarium near Denver, Colo. After seven years, Rushville was without a Demmer cigar factory.
Meanwhile, after only two months in Shelbyville, it was announced on April 16, 1914: “Peter Demmer, who recently removed his cigar factory from Rushville to this city, has removed his factory from his initial location on South Harrison Street to the Daniel Deprez estate building at 48 East Washington Street. He has also opened a first-class cigar and tobacco store in connection with his business. His place of business will also be the headquarters for the Reserves, Shelbyville’s representative baseball club. Although a newcomer in this city, Mr. Demmer is a very pleasing and clever man and no doubt will enjoy a good share of the patronage of the residents of this city, to which he is entitled.”
I am unsure when or why Peter Demmer pulled up stakes in Shelbyville, but that is the last information I could locate on his cigar enterprise in Shelbyville. The next information I found on Pete is that he worked as a cigarmaker for R.A. Holmes cigar manufacturer in Connersville, Indiana, in Jan 1915. Later that year, in July, Pete Demmer returned to Rushville. A Rushville newspaper article mentioned he was lately of Connersville and had opened a shop in Cerre Gordo street in Rushville that would also manufacture cigars. It stated he was formerly in business in Rushville with no mention of his short-lived Shelbyville experience.
By 1920, the census shows that Pete had moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he worked as a cigarmaker. Later records indicate he worked as a night watchman in Cincinnati in the 1930s and 1940s.
Almost every city in the East and Midwest had at least one small cigar factory. These factories were not necessarily large operations, and many were simply a single person in a room hand-rolling cigars. By 1920, automated cigarmaking equipment began taking over, forcing many smaller businesses out of business. The Demmer brothers, together and individually, tried to make their fortune in the cigar business but never could make it. The brothers' tale as tobacco titans went up in smoke amidst the haze of time.
Public Service Announcement to my classmates of SHS 68: “Don’t start smoking, it will stunt your growth!”
NOTEBOOK:
Editor’s note: Right after publication yesterday, I realized I did not attach Jack Boyce’s name to his photos and information. Boyce covered the Rita Jackson event. The online edition has been corrected.
NATIONAL NEWS: A new report from the Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability at Purdue says most consumers expect food costs to rise in the next year. The February Consumer Food Insights report says 64 percent of 1,200 Americans surveyed predict rising food prices. “Rising food prices have been pretty consistent the past couple of years and past few months, but we are seeing inflation starting to cool,” said Elijah Bryant, a survey research analyst and co-author of the report. In 2022, food inflation rose to 9.9 percent. According to the latest Consumer Price Index report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, food inflation is at 2.2 percent. (Indiana Public Media)
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This Day in Shelby County History
2014: Gov. Mike Pence signed a bill into law ending the 67-year ban on selling alcoholic beverages at the Indiana State Fair. Sen. Jean Leising, who represented parts of Shelby County, helped champion the bill.
2004: The E.P.A. visited Morristown schools regarding concerns about air quality and mold. The agency found readings of molds, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide all within acceptable ranges. School officials said they were committed to continuing the investigation. “Students, teachers and staff members continue to experience health problems,” Superintendent John Jameson said. “We remain committed to finding the problem.”
1994: The Northwestern School board voted to reduce its teaching staff by three as a result of decreased enrollment. High school home economics would be one position.
1984: Following a contentious 1982 strike at Wellman Thermal Systems, the plant and union re-opened wage talks before the end of the three-year contract. Wellman employed some 450 works and about 300 of them were represented by the union.
1974: St. Patrick’s Day festivities downtown Shelbyville had included a parade and a parked Air National Guard helicopter, which children could climb inside and “pilot.” A newspaper photo showed Jeb Bass and his son chauffeuring parade guest Donald Davidson, a commentator, statistician and expert on past and present Indianapolis 500 races. Another photo showed WSVL announcer Tom Franklin attired in green Irish finery and astride a green-coated horse. Honorary parade marshals were Mayor Jerry Higgins and Frank Kehoe.
Marcia Schwegman and Scott Barker were named queen and king of the Waldron High School Sweetheart Dance.
1964: A wheel came off a semi-trailer going around Public Square, striking a parked car owned by Robert Thomas, 111 Fairfield Dr.
A Fairland woman who had been charged with intent to kill her daughter was deemed by physicians fit to stand trial in Shelby Circuit Court.
1954: Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company officials said sales and payroll were at all-time highs. They employed 381, up from 101 the previous year. The auto industry, the largest user of PPG’s glass, had produced more cars in 1953 than it had in several years, and 1953 models used more glass area per car, company officials said.
Bernard Sleeth, local funeral director, was named new exalted ruler of the 710-member Shelbyville Elks Lodge. Nate Kaufman and James Bansbach were elected trustees. Others elected to positions were Robert Rukes, Thomas Kelley, James Gilbert, Thomas Yater, Robert Eck and Keith Cawood.
New “walk-wait” lights were installed at Broadway and Harrison. Police officers would be stationed there for a few months to help drivers and pedestrians become accustomed to the new lights and the new three-phase traffic signals, officials said. “The greatest change is for the benefit of motorists driving west on E. Broadway. When the red light is on, stopping east and westbound traffic on Broadway, a green right turn arrow also is on part of the time for the west-bound driver on E. Broadway,” The Shelbyville News explained. The new “walk-wait” lights provided pedestrians 11 seconds to get across the street.
All county residents 15 and over were eligible to get a free x-ray in the mobile x-ray unit, which would be parked at various times at Waldron High School, Great States Corporation, Kennedy Car Liner & Bag Liner and Public Square.
Ground-breaking ceremonies were held to start construction on the new Indiana Bell Telephone Co. building at Broadway and Tompkins St.
1944: Mrs. J.W. Dickmann opened a housecleaning supplies business at 133 First St. She offered brooms, wall brushes, moth preventatives and four types of toothbrushes.
1934: Unemployed heads of families who had no garden plots or land of their own were asked to register with the Addison Township Trustee in order to receive land in the community garden program. R.R. Hays, 236 West Pennsylvania St., was appointed superintendent of the relief gardening work. Garden seeds for needy families would be supplied.
1924: Bids were submitted to build a new school building for St. Joseph Catholic Church.
1914: City Council passed an ordinance requiring all peddlers doing business in Shelbyville to pay a city license. Peddlers of lunches, popcorn or vegetables were granted a lower license fee. The ordinance did not apply to local residents who raised their own fruits or vegetables. “The ordinance is framed to keep out the foreign trade which in past seasons has cut a big figure with local dealers,” The Republican said.
What’s Happening at Your Library?
Donna Dennison, Head of Genealogy and History
This week I’d like to tell you about the Genealogy and History Department of your library. Here in my department we help people all over the United States and sometimes the world search their family history. We have Ancestry.com for free, we are a FamilySearch.org affiliate library, we have more than 200 family history files and thousands of other family and Shelby County history resources. We have a history program on the second Tuesday and a Genealogy workshop on the fourth Wednesday every month. Another thing that makes this such an outstanding department is the fact that we have three full-time and one part-time experienced genealogy workers on staff to help you. So, if you are looking for family history, local history, past newspaper articles, or have any questions about something here in Shelby County, come and see us at your Shelby County Public Library.
Baby and Toddler Story time: Friday, 10 a.m.; Children Storytime: Tuesday, 10 a.m., Wednesday, 10:30 a.m.; Thursday, 1 p.m. This week’s theme: Space!; Creative Club: Ages 6 to 11, Thursday, 6 p.m.; Teens - Fantastic Art Club: Monday, 5 p.m.; Epic Game Night: Tuesday, 5 p.m.; Anime Club Wednesday: 5 p.m.; D&D with Blake: Saturday, 1 - 3 p.m.; Adults -D & D Journey: Monday, 5:30 p.m. (in room C in Annex); Let’s Declutter and Organize Tuesday: 6 p.m.; Euchre Fun Wednesday: 6 p.m.; Movie Matinee: Friday, 2 p.m.For more details and great things going on at our Morristown Branch check out our website.
OBITUARIES
None today