Martinsburg W.Va. Churchill Society Featured in Paper

[TommyBB]

Our buddies Shadow and SmokinAFuente's favorite smoking venue makes the local paper in a nice article.

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By TIFFANY ARNOLD
May 3, 2009
tiffanya@herald-mail.com

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -Previously, if Bob Palmer wanted to smoke a cigar in the comfort of his home during the winter, he had to set up a kerosene heater in the garage.

His wife doesn't like the smell, says Palmer, 50, of Martinsburg.

Now, all he has to do is grab a key and head to the Churchill Society, a private cigar smoking club where members have 24-7 access to rooms filled with leather chairs, original paintings and handmade wooden lockers to store cigars.

"The club is more than just an ability to smoke a cigar," says Palmer, 50, as he puffs on a cigar at King Street Coffee & Tobacco Emporium, the Churchill Society's downstairs neighbor. "There's a camaraderie there. It's a social event, beyond just the smoking."

On Thursday, the Churchill Society will open its doors to the public. The private club will host a free, cigar-tasting workshop led by Jose Blanco, a master blender for Dominican Republic-based La Aurora cigar factory.

Charter member Ed Trout says the event will be like a wine tasting. "But for cigars," says Trout, who owns King Street Coffee & Tobacco Emporium in downtown Martinsburg.

The idea is to give cigar lovers a deeper appreciation for the cigars they smoke and introduce the club to the public.

"With cigarettes, it seems like you're always on the go - rush, rush, rush," Trout says. "With a cigar or pipe, it's a very relaxing type of thing, to just sit down and take 20 to 30 minutes of your day and relax with it."

For a monthly fee, members of the Churchill Society get a key to the club, which they can access whenever they want. They have to get permission and pay extra to bring a guest.

The club is now 35 members strong, says charter member Bill Orlando.

Orlando, 57, of Martinsburg, led The Herald-Mail on a quick tour of the club, taking the reporter first to the sitting room. The bedroom-size quarter had dark, hardwood floors, chocolate brown leather chairs and original paintings - mostly of female subjects - created by a local artist.

"We'll eventually get XM radio, a little music in here," Orlando says.