Cigar-Making Industry Once Thrived in Bloomington

Source from:  By Bill Kemp Archivist/Librarian 08/14/2007

"I have made it a rule never to smoke more than one cigar at a time," Mark Twain once said. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, before the rise of mass-produced cigarettes, cigars were the smoke of choice. The smoking, selling and manufacturing of cigars were an integral part of the fabric of most cities, and Bloomington was no exception. In the mid-1870s, to cite one example, there were 15 cigar makers in the city, with most located downtown. Early cigar makers rolled cigars by hand, a method known as totalmente a mano, Spanish for "totally by hand." Later on, the larger manufacturers - and even some smaller shops- began using cigar molds, which sped up the production process. George A. Tryner and Horace C. Richardson ran one of the more successful cigar factories in Bloomington. By 1883, the firm occupied the entire three-story structure at 116 S. Main St., complete with a basement and rear warehouse. At its busiest, this factory employed about 40 men. Distinctive brands, names In 1880, Tryner and Richardson began selling a brand that recognized the Knights Templar, the Christian and Masonic order. In 1882, they sold more than 500,000 of these "DeMolay" cigars, shipping them as far west as Denver. Much like today, old Bloomington cigar brands had colorful names. For instances, other Tryner and Richardson brands included "The Steer," "La Matilde," "Blue Monday," "Diploma," and the "Litta," named for Marie Litta, a renowned Bloomington opera singer. Most Bloomington cigars sold for 5 cents, but the finer offerings, such as the "DeMolay," made from a blend of the "choicest Havana tobaccos," cost 10 cents (a little more than $2.00 adjusted for inflation). The cigar-making trade had strong ties to the labor movement. Samuel Gompers, the organizing force behind the American Federation of Labor, was a cigar maker from New York's lower east side. The cigar trade, though, eventually fell on hard times. In December 1924, the Pantagraph lamented the decline of the industry, reduced to less than 10 manufacturers, employing "but a handful of men." The article noted that during World War I, soldiers started smoking "cigarets," and they kept up the habit after returning from Europe. "One thing is for sure," the Pantagraph noted, "unless smokers do a better job of patronizing home trade, the rolling of these smokes is doomed to become a lost art as far as Bloomington is concerned." The end of the era Early January 1942 marked the retirement of 84-year-old Chris Mandler, one of last old-time cigar makers in Bloomington. When business was still brisk, he could turn out 1,500 to 2,000 handmade cigars a week. After 55 years in the cigar trade, Mandler was ready for retirement, especially with the steady decline in demand. A Pantagraph reporter wanted to know what he planned to do with the 15,000 hand-rolled cigars he still had in stock. "Oh, I still have some private trade," he said, "but what I don't sell, I can smoke myself." In the summer of 1952, Dan Strain, the very last of the city's cigar makers, pulled up stakes and moved to the warmer climes of Miami. Learning the trade in the Ohio River community of Vevay, Ind., Strain arrived in Bloomington in 1896. He enjoyed success in the cigar business, eventually employing 30 to 35 men at his shop above 109 E. Washington St. His brands included "Sweet Rose Bud," "Strain After Dinner," and "Old 101." The collections of the McLean County Museum of History include a Strain cigar box fashioned from varnished oak. This box, which held his "Butter-Nut" brand, features a lovely gold-embossed paper label on the inside lid. Before leaving for Florida, Strain fondly recalled the heyday of the cigar, when no self-respecting Bloomington saloonkeeper would let a cigarette smoker patronize his establishment. Enditem