The Good Old Days: Kid smoking at 20 months - cigars, pipes, etc. - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Seinatra · 07-03-2005, 12:51 AM

http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/jun05/336310.asp

Search for smoker was no pipe dream
Posted: June 25, 2005
Jim Stingl

The front page of the old Wisconsin News on July 14, 1933, is dominated by three large photos showing Hubert Albert smoking his little brains out.

It was newsworthy because he was 5 years old at the time. The accompanying article says the Milwaukee boy started puffing at the age of 20 months - cigarettes, cigars, pipes, you name it. "He's not 6 years old yet, but he knows how to smoke - anything," the headline says.

Sally Wasinack thinks that headline today would be a bit different, "something involving social services and an arrest, perhaps."

Sally and her husband, Tim, recently found this old newspaper and others under the floorboards and inside the walls while remodeling their 100-year-old house in Hustisford.

Progress on the renovation stopped as they began reading articles, including the one about two Milwaukee men divorcing their wives for refusing to cook for them. They studied the photos, too, and loved the one showing Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig very much alive at a charity event.

But it was the spread on young Hubert that grabbed hold of Sally's curiosity and wouldn't let go.

She decided to track him down, which would inevitably lead to the moment where she'd have to say something like, "You don't know me, and I'm not crazy, but I was just noticing your picture in the paper 72 years ago. How did your life turn out, and would you mind telling me if you still have both lungs?"

Sally was dumbfounded by a comment Hubert's mother made to the reporter: "He wanted to smoke, so we let him. We thought he'd get sick when he first smoked, but he fooled us. He'd rather smoke than eat candy or ice cream."

The boy spoke of trying to quit because he wanted to be a baseball player or a boxer when he grew up and make a lot of money so he could buy new shoes for himself and a better house for Mom.

Sally contacted me about her find and asked for help locating Hubert all these years later. An Internet people-finding site showed there is a Hubert Albert living in Lac du Flambeau in northern Wisconsin. It said he was born in 1927, so that matched up.

Sally wrote him a letter and explained her interest. "Do we have the correct Hubert Albert? Please let us know. We are really curious to find out what happened to that spunky little boy in the article."

A few days later, she received a call from Hubert's wife, Donna. Yes, she had the right guy, and he was delighted she found him.

"It was a shocker," Hubert said when I called to ask about this unexpected blast from his smoky past. They opened the letter from Sally and saw the copy of the article she had enclosed. "That's funny," he said. "That looks like me."

Hubert, who never much liked that name, said everyone calls him Hutch. He was too young to remember it now, but he was smoking when other tots were teething.

His uncles would come over to his house on N. 12th St., and he began finishing their cigarettes once they burned down close to the butt. "In those days, no one worried about cancer," he said.

Word got around, and pretty soon everyone was offering him cigarettes. By about age 9, he was rolling his own. He received a pipe as a gift from a doctor the family knew. He still has it.

He kicked the habit around age 10 but took it up again when he joined the Merchant Marines at age 16. He smoked on and off throughout his life and even now enjoys packing his pipe a few times a day.

And the baseball and boxing dream? It didn't quite work out. He played a little baseball in the Army over in Japan, and he hung up the boxing gloves after taking a nasty beating in his third fight. But he became a pretty decent bowler.

He bought plenty of new shoes over the years, but not the house for Mom.

Hutch ran two bars in Milwaukee in the 1950s, the Hideaway and the Retreat. He wanted to call the Retreat the Tender Trap, but the city said the name was too racy and wouldn't give him a license. He later worked in construction and retired from the printing business when he was 62 and built a house on a lake up north.

"I had a good life. I didn't make no money, but I had a good life," he said.

He has two new knees and a patched-up back, and he survived two aneurysms. "Otherwise, I'm healthy as a pig," he said.

He and Donna married in 1961. That was several years after her picture ran in the newspaper, which may be under your floorboards right now. She was at the Eagles Club, where she recalls there was a convention of bald men. The photo shows her kissing one of them on his smooth head.

So there's the update on Hubert "Hutch" Albert, boy smoker. If you're a child reading this, put the cigarettes down because your results may vary.

As for Sally, her inquisitive itch has been scratched.

"This makes all the plaster I ate in the process of finding these papers bearable."

Smoker for Life

Hubert Albert, 5, enjoys a smoke back in 1933. He quit at age 10, but started again at 16.

AllIWantIsYourClutch · 07-03-2005, 01:02 AM

That is so cool. Not the smoking thing, but the whole finding the newspaper and finding the guy thing. That's awesome.

Seinatra · 07-03-2005, 07:18 AM

I would have predicted he wouldn't have made it to 60. Can you imagine a story like this today? His parents would be in jail. The funniest thing was it said a doctor gave him a pipe!!!! A doctor?? LOL.

Kay Scarpetta · 07-03-2005, 07:37 AM

Wow... wow. I was still outside playing in the mud at 10, not trying to kick a nicotine addiction

Courtnee · 07-03-2005, 11:04 AM

LOL, this is awesome.

The Modfather · 07-03-2005, 01:24 PM

Haha, the picture looks like its taken from a 50's sitcom.

Superstar · 07-03-2005, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kay Scarpetta

Wow... wow. I was still outside playing in the mud at 10, not trying to kick a nicotine addiction

TheHappyBurgerMeister · 07-03-2005, 04:34 PM

reminds me of the episode of leave it to beaver where Larry and Beaver smoke that pipe together!

rusyd · 07-03-2005, 07:18 PM

That's an interesing article Seinatra.

Penny Lane · 07-03-2005, 08:17 PM

My grandpa who was born in 1904 in Montana started smoking at age 9. He died at age 72 suffering painfully from emphysema. Smoking is BAD BAD BAD!
I quit at age 40 after 20 years of smoking and have never looked back or smoked a cigarette since! Smoking is evil!

07-03-2005, 12:51 AM	#1
Seinatra Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 29, 2004 Location: Gran Chaco Posts: 1,840	The Good Old Days: Kid smoking at 20 months - cigars, pipes, etc. http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/jun05/336310.asp Search for smoker was no pipe dream Posted: June 25, 2005 Jim Stingl The front page of the old Wisconsin News on July 14, 1933, is dominated by three large photos showing Hubert Albert smoking his little brains out. It was newsworthy because he was 5 years old at the time. The accompanying article says the Milwaukee boy started puffing at the age of 20 months - cigarettes, cigars, pipes, you name it. "He's not 6 years old yet, but he knows how to smoke - anything," the headline says. Sally Wasinack thinks that headline today would be a bit different, "something involving social services and an arrest, perhaps." Sally and her husband, Tim, recently found this old newspaper and others under the floorboards and inside the walls while remodeling their 100-year-old house in Hustisford. Progress on the renovation stopped as they began reading articles, including the one about two Milwaukee men divorcing their wives for refusing to cook for them. They studied the photos, too, and loved the one showing Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig very much alive at a charity event. But it was the spread on young Hubert that grabbed hold of Sally's curiosity and wouldn't let go. She decided to track him down, which would inevitably lead to the moment where she'd have to say something like, "You don't know me, and I'm not crazy, but I was just noticing your picture in the paper 72 years ago. How did your life turn out, and would you mind telling me if you still have both lungs?" Sally was dumbfounded by a comment Hubert's mother made to the reporter: "He wanted to smoke, so we let him. We thought he'd get sick when he first smoked, but he fooled us. He'd rather smoke than eat candy or ice cream." The boy spoke of trying to quit because he wanted to be a baseball player or a boxer when he grew up and make a lot of money so he could buy new shoes for himself and a better house for Mom. Sally contacted me about her find and asked for help locating Hubert all these years later. An Internet people-finding site showed there is a Hubert Albert living in Lac du Flambeau in northern Wisconsin. It said he was born in 1927, so that matched up. Sally wrote him a letter and explained her interest. "Do we have the correct Hubert Albert? Please let us know. We are really curious to find out what happened to that spunky little boy in the article." A few days later, she received a call from Hubert's wife, Donna. Yes, she had the right guy, and he was delighted she found him. "It was a shocker," Hubert said when I called to ask about this unexpected blast from his smoky past. They opened the letter from Sally and saw the copy of the article she had enclosed. "That's funny," he said. "That looks like me." Hubert, who never much liked that name, said everyone calls him Hutch. He was too young to remember it now, but he was smoking when other tots were teething. His uncles would come over to his house on N. 12th St., and he began finishing their cigarettes once they burned down close to the butt. "In those days, no one worried about cancer," he said. Word got around, and pretty soon everyone was offering him cigarettes. By about age 9, he was rolling his own. He received a pipe as a gift from a doctor the family knew. He still has it. He kicked the habit around age 10 but took it up again when he joined the Merchant Marines at age 16. He smoked on and off throughout his life and even now enjoys packing his pipe a few times a day. And the baseball and boxing dream? It didn't quite work out. He played a little baseball in the Army over in Japan, and he hung up the boxing gloves after taking a nasty beating in his third fight. But he became a pretty decent bowler. He bought plenty of new shoes over the years, but not the house for Mom. Hutch ran two bars in Milwaukee in the 1950s, the Hideaway and the Retreat. He wanted to call the Retreat the Tender Trap, but the city said the name was too racy and wouldn't give him a license. He later worked in construction and retired from the printing business when he was 62 and built a house on a lake up north. "I had a good life. I didn't make no money, but I had a good life," he said. He has two new knees and a patched-up back, and he survived two aneurysms. "Otherwise, I'm healthy as a pig," he said. He and Donna married in 1961. That was several years after her picture ran in the newspaper, which may be under your floorboards right now. She was at the Eagles Club, where she recalls there was a convention of bald men. The photo shows her kissing one of them on his smooth head. So there's the update on Hubert "Hutch" Albert, boy smoker. If you're a child reading this, put the cigarettes down because your results may vary. As for Sally, her inquisitive itch has been scratched. "This makes all the plaster I ate in the process of finding these papers bearable." Smoker for Life Hubert Albert, 5, enjoys a smoke back in 1933. He quit at age 10, but started again at 16. Attached Images

07-03-2005, 07:37 AM	#4
Kay Scarpetta Defy Gravity 8.26.05 Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 04, 2001 Location: La Vie Boheme Posts: 28,013	Wow... wow. I was still outside playing in the mud at 10, not trying to kick a nicotine addiction
	__________________ The people who think they know everything about Broadway make me laugh. They've never seen a Broadway play in their life. "oh mi godddd RENT's a mooovie! lyke 525600 minuuuuuuutes!" No. To be a Broadway Freak, you must live, eat, sleep, study, devout, think, obsess, dream, believe Broadway. You must know original & revival casts, soundtracks, performance runs, dates, theatres, numbers, how many Tony Awards A Chorus Line won. You must be Broadway. That's right bitches. I AM Broadway.

07-03-2005, 11:04 AM	#5
Courtnee MAN VS SAMMICH. Forum Star Join Date: Mar 23, 2005 Location: Louisiana Posts: 16,413	LOL, this is awesome.
	__________________ Whether I'm the rose of sheer perfection A freckle on the nose of life's complexion The Cinderella or the shine apple of its eye I gotta fly once, I gotta try once, Only can die once, right, sir? Ooh, life is juicy, juicy and you see, I gotta have my bite, sir. Get ready for me love, 'cause I'm a "comer" I simply gotta march, my heart's a drummer Don't bring around the cloud to rain on my parade

07-03-2005, 04:34 PM	#8
TheHappyBurgerMeister Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 23, 2002 Location: Wisconsin, USA Posts: 2,209	reminds me of the episode of leave it to beaver where Larry and Beaver smoke that pipe together!
	__________________ Kristina Thinkin' 'Bout Something Official Music Video Shout it Out- Hanson's 5th studio album in stores June 8th!

07-03-2005, 08:17 PM	#10
Penny Lane Butter Pie Forum Icon Join Date: Jul 03, 2001 Location: Beneath the blue suburban skies Posts: 51,263	My grandpa who was born in 1904 in Montana started smoking at age 9. He died at age 72 suffering painfully from emphysema. Smoking is BAD BAD BAD! I quit at age 40 after 20 years of smoking and have never looked back or smoked a cigarette since! Smoking is evil!
	__________________ Vulgarity is no substitute for wit- Lady Violet Crawley

07-03-2005, 01:02 AM	#2
AllIWantIsYourClutch peaceout. Forum Icon Join Date: Aug 02, 2001 Location: Illinois. Posts: 53,424	That is so cool. Not the smoking thing, but the whole finding the newspaper and finding the guy thing. That's awesome.

07-03-2005, 07:18 AM	#3
Seinatra Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 29, 2004 Location: Gran Chaco Posts: 1,840	I would have predicted he wouldn't have made it to 60. Can you imagine a story like this today? His parents would be in jail. The funniest thing was it said a doctor gave him a pipe!!!! A doctor?? LOL.

07-03-2005, 01:24 PM	#6
The Modfather It Sure Does Moderator Forum Celebrity Join Date: Jul 12, 2003 Location: canada Posts: 21,149	Haha, the picture looks like its taken from a 50's sitcom.

07-03-2005, 07:18 PM	#9
rusyd Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Mar 30, 2004 Posts: 13,505	That's an interesing article Seinatra.