It's almost that time of the year!!! (Lexington, Bowling Green: sales, hotel)

[kentuckydad95]

It's almost that time of the year when tobacco will begin to be fired in barns all over Kentucky. There is nothing like waking up in the early morning hours, the Fall temperature around 50 or so and smelling that sweet tobacco firing smell in the air. There has to be someone else out there that loves that smell!!!

[kygman]

Yeah I do. And it was funny when I lived in the dorms, somebody's dad, after bringing them to campus, would say something about a barn on fire outside of town. One man said he stopped at a house to tell them and they laughed at him! When I explained what was going on he laughed too.

[Wing Feathers]

So where does a newcomer go to get in on the smell?

[kentuckydad95]

Originally Posted by Wing Feathers

So where does a newcomer go to get in on the smell?

Drive down most country roads in Kentucky and you will be sure to see at least one tobacco barn smoking. Roll down your windows and enjoy.

[Digger57]

Hmmm...kind of reminds me of my college frat house back in the '70s!


Dig~

[tomocox]

Originally Posted by Wing Feathers

So where does a newcomer go to get in on the smell?

Your best bet is found in the counties that border Tennessee west of Bowling Green. The farther west the more. The tobacco that is being "fired" typically with coke is called "dark fire cured" Kentucky also has "dark air cured" and burley.

[kygman]

I worked on the sale floor with air cured and dark fired. You stay around dark fired very long it's hard to get that smell out of your clothes! You can tell where they are getting ready to fire cure. The tobacco is being hung in the barns and the firewood and sawdust they burn to cure it is being stockpiled.
Another funny tale about tobacco. My mother used to work in the office of one of the loose leaf floors. A cousin came to visit from Texas and was given a tour of the sale floor. As a souvenir she took a hand of dark fired tobacco back to college with her and, as a joke, hung it on the bulletin board. That night some guys were in the lobby and one thought it would be a good idea to try to smoke some of it in a pipe...just like it was. He was sick as a dog for about 4 days.
But I have also seen a man get a few leaves of good dark fired, pull the stem out , twist it up, and cut off a piece and start chewing it. Said it's better after soaking in a bowl of Jack Daniel for a while. I think I'll pass!

[JefferyT]

I seem to recall that tobacco around Lexington was air cured, with those barns with big verticle doors or slats to let in the air?

Tobacco time was always a big deal. I recall people coud make some money by working on bringing in the tobacco crop. Farmers would pull up on High Street in Lex and pick up people for day labor to work the harvest. When I was in college I had a roommate and his brother who cut a few days of school to help their dad bring in the crop (they where part-time tobacco farmers out in rural KY).

[kentuckydad95]

I drove down route 893 (State Line Road) in Calloway County and some some cooking yesterday and fields being cleared as well. It's a fun road to drive down. One side has houses in Kentucky and their neighbors across the street live in Tennessee. It would upset me to know my neighbor across the street didn't have to pay income tax to the state...lol

[kygman]

Jeffery, in the 20s and 30s Mayfield was no.1 in tobacco sales worldwide. My parents said there were always good concerts in the off season on the sale floors. Mayfield was right on the way between St. Louis and either Nashville or Memphis. With no interstates, the Hall Hotel downtown hosted several of the big bands. My parents remember going to see, and dance to, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and quite a few more.