Spring Program 2009

Tuesday, February 12
Informal Smoker
Higginson's Place

Tuesday, March 4
University Series
Edward Hamilton
Iwan Ries Building

Tuesday, March 18
University Series
Harold!
Iwan Ries Building

Tuesday, April 1
? University Series
Speaker TBD
Iwan Ries Building

Tuesday, April 15
? Informal Smoker
The Mews, Hyde Park

Tuesday, April 29
University Series
Achy Obejas
Iwan Ries Building

Tuesday, May 13
University Series
Robert Wallace
Iwan Ries Building

Tuesday, May 27
? University Series
Speaker TBD
Iwan Ries Building

About the Cigar Society

ONE OF THE OLDEST AND greatest traditions of the University Club is the discussion of intellectual, social, legal, artistic, historical, scientific, musical, theatrical, and philosophical issues in the company of educated, bright, and appropriately provocative individuals, all under the beneficent influence of substantial amounts of tobacco and spirits.  The University Club Cigar Society embraces this tradition and extends it with its fortnightly Informal Smokers, monthly University Series lectures, and quarterly Cigar Society Dinners, in which cigars, and from time to time pipes and cigarettes, appear as an important component of our version of the classical symposium.  To be included in the Cigar Society's mailing list, write to the Secretary, Curtis Tuckey.

Recent Speakers

Robert Karrow, Curator of Special Collections, Newberry Library, on "Maps: Finding our Place in the World," December 11, 2007.

Allen Frantzen, Professor of English, Loyola University, on "Remembering the Great War," November 11, 2007.

Stephen Presser, Raoul Berger Professor of the History of Law, Northwestern University, on "The Rule of Law in America," October 11, 2007.

Charles Middleton, President of Roosevelt University, with "Some Observations on the Rise and Decline of Great Powers," September 11, 2007.

George Thiruvathukal, Assoc. Professor of Computer Science at Loyola University, on "Episodes in the History of Information Technology," August 28, 2007.

Theodore Foss, Director of the Center for East Asian Studies, University of Chicago, on "Jesuits in China," June 4, 2007.

Charles Wheelan, Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago, on "What is Public Policy?"  May 8, 2007.

Jack Zimmerman, author of Gods of the Andes, read from his book on April 3, 2007.

Robert Wallace, Classics Department, Northwestern University, on "A Whirlwind Tour through Greek and Roman Coins," March 6, 2007.

Rick Kogan and Charles Osgood, Chicago journalists, talked about their book, "Chicago Sidewalks," February 22, 2007.

Mark Warden, past president of Daley College, on "Leo Strauss and Neoconservatism," January 23, 2007.

Cigar News Archive

IN OBSERVANCE OF THE 199th anniversary of the birth of the sixteenth president of the United States, the Cigar Society will meet this Tuesday at Higginson's Place, on Stratford near Broadway in Lake View.

Snacks and copious amounts of cold gin will be provided; for other spiritous libations as well as cigars, please bring your own supply.

There is no charge for this event, but please RSVP to the secretary, Curtis Tuckey, by Monday. 

From Abraham Lincoln in Bourbon Country, by Charles K. Cowdery:   "Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in Kentucky, where his father was a seasonal distillery hand. One of today's better bourbons, Knob Creek, was named after the site of that distillery. As a young man in Illinois, Abe Lincoln applied for and received a state license to sell liquor, and he operated several taverns. As a politician during the period when anti-alcohol forces were gaining strength, Lincoln often straddled the fence on that issue. Here is the story of Abraham Lincoln's connection with bourbon whiskey. ... The founder of the distillery on Knob Creek was Waddie Boone, a "near relative" of Daniel Boone. When Thomas Lincoln worked there the distillery was owned by Waddie's oldest son, Charles. The plant's master distiller was "Uncle" Johnnie Boone, Waddie's second son. According to legend (and this one gets a big grain of salt), one of these Boones predicted great things for young Abe and said that "if he goes into the whiskey business, he will be the best distiller in the land." ...  [continued]

Edward Hamilton will address the Cigar Society on the history of rum production and the rum trade, and lead a tasting of several of the world's finest examples of this noble spirit.

Edward Hamilton has explored every rum distillery in the Greater and Lesser Antilles.  He is master of the Ministry of Rum and is the author of four books on rum, including The Complete Guide to Rum: An Authoritative Guide to the Rums of the World (Chicago: Triumph, 1997) and Rums of the Eastern Caribbean.  He divides his time between Chicago and the Caribbean.

The charge for this event is $30 inclusive, which includes hors d'oeuvre, rum, and special cigars.  There are a limited number of spaces and reservations are required.  RSVP to Curtis Tuckey. 

Reading: Tasting Cigars and Rum, from Cigar Aficionado. "Given that rum and cigars are so often created in proximity, they are among the most perfect companions. Three Cigar Aficionado senior editors conducted a tasting of 13 rums to provide a starting point for your own experiments into pairing the two. ... [continued]

Join us for a lively discussion, slide show and book signing for Harold!   Photographs from the Harold Washington Years (Northwestern University Press), featuring author Salim Muwakkil, photographers Antonio Dickey and Marc PoKempner, and editor Ron Dorfman.  Presented in conjunction with the Harold Washington Commemorative Year, this event gives us a chance to remember Harold and analyze his legacy a quarter-century after his election, on April 12, 1983, as the first African-American mayor of Chicago. 

Noted local photographer Antonio Dickey snapped photos of Harold Washington during his 1982-83 Chicago mayoral campaign.  Local independent photojournalist Marc PoKempner has had his work exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Cultural Center and HotHouse.  He’s been on assignment for such publications as Newsweek, Fortune, Forbes, In These Times, Village Voice, Rolling Stone and others.  Award-winning journalist Salim Muwakkil is a senior editor of In These Times, where he has worked since 1983.   He has written for the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Washington Post, Chicago Reader, Chicago Magazine, Toronto Star, Newsday, Utne Reader and many others.  Veteran Chicago writer and editor Ron Dorfman was a founder and editor of the pioneering Chicago Journalism Review and later served as articles editor of Chicago magazine; editor of The Quill, the national magazine of the Society of Professional Journalists; and director of publications at The Field Museum. 

Tribune culture writer Achy Obejas will join us for a cigar and some Cuban storytelling on this Tuesday in late April.

Achy Obejas (born 1956 in Havana, Cuba) is the editor of Havana Noir, an anthology, and the author of This is What Happened in Our Other Life, a collection of poetry, Days of Awe, a novel set in the Jewish community of Cuba, Memory Mambo, a novel, and We Came All the Way from Cuba so We could Dress Like This?, a collection of short stories.

After leaving Cuba at the age of six, she lived in Michigan City, Indiana until she moved to Chicago in 1979.  Since 1991, she has been a journalist with the Chicago Tribune.  She was the Springer Lecturer in Creative Writing (2003-2005) at the University of Chicago.  In fall of 2005, she served as the Distinguished Writer in Residence at the University of Hawaii.  Her work has been published widely, including in the Village Voice, Vogue, Playboy, and the Nation.  During her career, Achy has received a Pulitzer for a Tribune team investigation, the Studs Terkel Journalism Prize, several Peter Lisagor journalism honors, two Lambda Literary awards, and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in poetry.  As of 2006, she is the Sor Juana visiting writer at DePaul University.

Events in the University Series include cocktails at 5:30pm, a lecture or reading starting at 6:00 sharp for about thirty minutes, with discussion and more cocktails to follow.  Smoking is permitted and encouraged at all times, and the topic of conversation will wander.  All members of the University Club and Tower Club are invited, and guests interested in a smoke and a drink in good company are always welcome. 

The University Series augments our fortnightly Informal Smokers, held at various locations, and our quarterly Cigar Dinners. 

Mortals say their heart is light when the clouds around disperse;
But clouds to gather, thick as night, is the smoker's universe.

Respectfully submitted by   
Curtis Tuckey, Secretary   

University Club Cigar Society Officers for 2008
David O'Connor, Supreme Dodo.  Gerald I. Bauman, Treasurer.  Curtis Tuckey, Secretary.  Alexander Sherman, Metropolitan Philosopher.
J. Douglas Johnson, Liaison to Various Other Clubs (Honorary).  Jeffrey Dean, Chair of the Subcommittee concerning Pipe Smoking.
David Fitzpatrick, Government Relations.  Jorge del Castillo, Doctor of Tobacciana.  Thomas S. O'Brien, Stentorian. John H. Nelson, Herald. 
David Karrow, Liaison to the Industry.  Denise Lubaway, Liaison to the Public.  Andrew Hernandez, Excursionista.  Mark Warden, Apologist.
Augustus V. M. Higginson II, Gadfly.