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La corona cigar11/25/2023 ![]() Many with those memories were at the opening of the exhibit on Sept. Memories of the plant and the work it provided remain vivid in and around Trenton and among those who retired elsewhere. In the 1980's, the company's factory in Trenton became Grand Court Villas, an apartment building. Today, cigars with the brand names La Corona and Henry Clay are among those produced in the Dominican Republic by Altadis U.S.A. There were Christmas parties, basketball games and, above all, a salary during the Depression, even though that salary was only 10 cents an hour.īy the 1960's, cigar making was becoming mechanized, and operations were moved to Pennsylvania. There was a showroom with a topographical map of Cuba on a long table.įor a time, workers wore uniforms, with bonnets and aprons. It was made of stucco, had nine-foot high windows, and an interior patio with a fountain and a pond. The new factory cost $500,000 to build and resembled a tropical hotel. But in 1933, after a strike by Cuban workers, the company moved the factory to Trenton, importing tobacco from Cuba. Henry Clay, which was a subsidiary of the American Tobacco Company, had a factory in Cuba at one time. ![]() The accompanying article noted that she sang in the languages of the workers' native countries. One photograph, published in The Trenton Times in August 1909, shows a singer, Helen Sabo, entertaining the workers. The show includes film footage and photographs as well as cigars, cigar boxes, cigar bands, gauges, humidors, a porcelain spittoon and other tobacco arcana. Most were women who emigrated from Hungary, Poland and Italy. At its height, the industry employed about 2,000 workers here. ''It's actually created by an artisan and takes a lot of skill and labor and love.''Īmong Trenton cigar companies were Coon Skin Cigars, in business in the 1890's, and Seidenburg and Company, which become the American Cigar Company, and closed in the 1940's. ''One of the big things I personally discovered, was that a cigar isn't just a thing you smoke,'' Ms. They interviewed many former factory workers and the children of those workers. ''The cigar industry was critical to keeping this town alive and moving during the Depression,'' said Brian Hill, director of the museum, who was a co-curator of the show with Stephanie Morgano, vice-president of the museum's board. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with the McCarter Theater Center, whose new play ''Anna in the Tropics,'' is set in a cigar factory in Florida, where workers were entertained by a ''lector'' who read aloud to them. The show, ''Churchills in Chambersburg: Trenton Cigar Making,'' takes its title from the section of town where Henry Clay had its factory from 1933 to 1967, as well as from the cigars named for the company's famous customer. The story of Trenton's cigar workers, especially those at Henry Clay, is the subject of an exhibition at the Trenton City Museum. When the singers got sick, production went down, according to contemporary newspaper accounts. Winston Churchill was a loyal customer.Īt the company's factory here, the employees who rolled the cigars were entertained by singers. Among the cigar factories in town was the Henry Clay and Bock Company, which made La Corona and other cigars out of Cuban tobacco. We paid 10 CUC each for entry, which was easily worth the money.FOR the first half of the 20th century, cigar manufacturing was an important industry in this city, right up there with ceramics and Roebling wire. A truly wonderful place and one well worth visiting. For anyone interested in seeing how these superb cigars are made or for those who enjoy smoking them, this is a must visit location in Havana. Once the staff learned that it was my special day they were keen to present me with some of their wares and I left with some very special cigars indeed made specifically for me. During the visit we were shown the entire process from leaf selection and batching to visiting the men and women at there work stations making the various sizes and types of cigar. During the day, learning my passion for cigars, he took us to La Corona cigar factory and knowing many of the staff we were treated to a truly VIP visit. Being a native of Havana he was a wealth of knowledge and possessed a warm passion for his home city. We had our own travel guide (Alex) who was superb. On the day we travelled to Havana in one of their many classic 50’s American cars (better than a bus and a great experience). My wife took me to Cuba for us to celebrate my 50th birthday (I’m a very lucky guy).
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