Cigar shops light up lives of soldiers in haze of war
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Tom Reed
Dan Hardin spent one of his most peaceful nights in Iraq — July 4, 2005 — on a remote hilltop, swapping stories with fellow soldiers and smoking stogies donated by central Ohio residents.
"I was in Iraq for 11 months," said Hardin, a 24-year-old former Army major, "and that was one of the few times we were really able to let our guard down and enjoy ourselves for a couple of hours."
His story helps explain why a cardboard container marked "Support Our Troops" has become the most popular cigar box in a Powell smoke shop.
During the past three years, Timba Cigar & Wine Co. customers and employees have donated about 3,500 cigars, worth more than $14,000, to U.S. troops in Iraq. At least two other Columbus-area shops have sent boxes to soldiers. "It must be hard to get some of the finer things over there," said Mick Ratliff, owner of Barclay Pipe & Tobacco shops on the Northwest Side and in Upper Arlington.
"We’ve gotten notes of appreciation."
Soldiers are grateful for all packages they receive from stateside, said Hardin, who works as an assistant brewmaster in Asheville, N.C.
Cigars stand out, he said, because of the rare moments they symbolize: tranquil times in a soldier’s otherwisechaotic daily life.
"We get snacks and toiletries, and that stuff is all great," the Cleveland native said. "But if you had time to smoke a cigar, it meant you were able to relax a bit."
Timba owner Thom Barber traced the idea to a 2004 conversation with Command Sgt. Maj. John Siegel, who was visiting family in Powell: Siegel told Barber how much members of his unit like stogies.
Barber began sending boxes to Siegel in Iraq. (He rarely ships cigars outside Ohio — except to Baghdad.)
The large, tattered box at the front counter has an attached note to explain the charitable cause.
Mike Hardin, a Powell businessman and the father of Dan, is among the customers who have donated.
"Our regulars have been contributing all along," Barber said. "A guy will hand me a $20 bill and say, ‘Pick out some good ones.’ "
Every few months, another package is mailed to Iraq.
The cigars have gone to two Army divisions and a civilian unit that trains Iraqi police.
The store absorbs the $11 shipping charge, Barber said, and sells cigars at wholesale for customers to give.
Members of the 1 st Brigade, 5 th Infantry Division — including Hardin — sent the store a picture of themselves smoking their cigars outside Mosul, Iraq.
The photo is among items of appreciation, including medals and certificates, that Barber displays.
"The Soldiers of Task Force Pacesetter enjoy your wares at the end of a long combat control," Army Maj. Joel D. Hamilton wrote by e-mail. "We will often go up on the roof of our command posts and enjoy the cooler temperatures and a fine Timba cigar."
Cigars become a "social lubricant," said Brent Dayton, who owns Original Smokers Haven, a Columbus shop that occasionally donates boxes. Units bond during downtime, Hardin said. "I remember sitting on that hill," he said, "smoking cigars and talking to guys about what they wanted to do when they got home."
http://www.dispatch.com/features-story.php...0211-H1-03.html 
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