I took the family up to the 30th year of the Ohio Tobacco Festival over the weekend in Ripley , Ohio on the banks of the Ohio River. Though the attendance has really fallen off since I went with my Dad as a boy, it was a good time with a lot of tobacco history. Everything from a car show, tobacco stripping contest, tobacco spitting contest, tobacco worm races, arm wrestling bouts, and cold beer/ carnival food, haha! If anyone passes through Southwest Ohio, their tobacco museum is open year round and it is a nice old town with a deeper history than just tobacco. Below is a quote about the importance of the Burley grown in SouthWest Ohio region. (Higginsport is a town just west of Ripley) " One of the highest priced tobaccos, “white burley,” was identified and developed in the mid-19th century on a farm in Higginsport, Ohio. According to information at the Ohio Tobacco Museum in Ripley, the cream-colored stalk and pale green leaves looked diseased so the first plants were pulled up and destroyed. But the next year when more of the unusually colored tobacco plants appeared from the same seed batch, about 1,000 mature plants were cultivated and taken to market where the new burley tobacco quickly won acclaim for its flavor and aroma In 1988, Ohio had 11,107 farms in 23 counties growing tobacco quotas, but last year there were only 7,964 farms in nine counties growing their quotas. "

Did you buy any tobacco? Sounds like I really need to get down there one day.

I live about 7 miles from the “original” Ripley, near Alfreton, Derbyshire. The only thing that happens there though is riots every weekend, when the local chavs are pissed up lol. I’d love there to be something like that in the UK, actually celebrating tobacco rather than demonising it at every opportunity. Stefan

Cool pictures! Thanks for telling us about the festival. I’m already thinking of attending next year!

I didn’t buy any tobacco. They did have a mobile trailer owned by Camel. People were lined up to go in, getting their age verified, and when they came out the other side, they had Camel ‘snus’ and cigs. Poor lost sheep… Roderick, where was your Toque Bus that you take to all these carnivals? Could have used a representative down there, buddy!

Bart, I think you in particular will appreciate this. We have been talking about getting a VW camper or beetle van converted to a Toque show van. Come to think of it VW’s are German may be a Morris Minor van or woody would be more English.

NICE, Roderick! I think that would attract the type of people you want instead of the RJ Reynold mobile. Possibly, I could ship an El Camino to you to get the ball rolling until you find the vehicle you want.

I think it should be like the weinermobile the oscar weinermobile. Except it could be shaped like a toque bullet. That would get peoples attention.

Man I wish I knew about that. I just got my driver’s license all straightened out and it wouldn’t have been to bad of a drive from Detroit.