Cigar, Anyone? Belleville Man Grows Gigantic Tobacco Plants in His Backyard

Source from:  News-Democrat 08/27/2009

Al Brierly watched his father and grandfather toil on their Kentucky tobacco farms, so he wanted nothing to do with the family business after being discharged from the Army in the early '50s. Nearly 60 years later, the Belleville retiree is giddy with excitement about four tobacco plants growing in his backyard. "He sits out here (at a patio table) and drinks his coffee and admires his tobacco plant every morning," said Elaine Brierly, his wife of 52 years. "That's my competition. He doesn't sit with me in the kitchen anymore." Elaine was referring to one plant in particular that towers above the rest. It's more than 10 feet tall with platter-size green leaves and dainty pink and white flowers shooting from the top. "Everybody who sees it wants a seed," said Al, 83, a retired machine-shop foreman with International Lighting Manufacturing Co. "It's got a beautiful bloom on it." Tobacco cultivation originated in the tropics, but today it's grown in subtropical and temperate regions. Most tobacco in the United States is grown in North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and South Carolina.Al got reacquainted with tobacco last May, when he and Elaine traveled to Kentucky to visit family. His nephew's son, Charles Sparks, gave him five small plants. "I just wanted to see if it would grow," said Al, who gave one plant to a neighbor and put the rest in his flower garden, under the watchful eye of a Madonna statue. Japanese beetles have nipped at the leaves, but the tobacco seems to be doing well in its new environment. "The hummingbirds love (the tall plant)," Al said. "They're out here sucking nectar out of the blossoms every morning." The Brierlys live in Chenot Place. They have three grown daughters and five grandchildren. Family ties to tobacco date back to 1870, when Al's grandparents, Robert and Rebecca Brierly, married and began farming near Carlisle, Ky. "When they took up housekeeping, they carried all their belongings in a wash tub, and they had a shotgun and a dog," Al said. "And when (Robert) died in the middle 1930s, he willed each of his seven children a 100-acre farm. He did very good for not having anything when he started." Al's parents, Arthur and Bessie Brierly, continued the family tradition. He remembers his father making cigars by rolling leaves full of shredded tobacco around wires that were pulled out to create air passages. "It's pretty strong stuff," Al said. "It'll make you sick if you're not careful." Arthur sold his farm in the early 1950s. His children wanted to pursue other employment. "(Tobacco farming) is hard work, really hard work," Al said. "It's not that I'm lazy, but there are easier ways to make a living." Al smoked a pipe until 1991, when he suffered a heart attack. Now he enjoys a cigar about once a month. Al can't wait to make cigars with his own tobacco after harvesting it at the end of September. He'll hang leaves to dry under an awning, then wait for a good rain to make them damp and pliable. "That (plant) is his pride and joy," his wife said. Enditem