Thread: Picayune and Home Run cigarettes.

Any of you old timers remember Picayune and Home Run cigarettes. I started smoking at an early age and Camels origional non filters was my brand. For a year or two i left Camels and started smoking Picayunes. They were very strong and finally went out of business. They were a popular cigarette in New Orleans and there was a picture of a cotton bowl on the pack and it said, "The Pride of New Orleans".

I recently ask a friend of mine who lived in New Orleans for many years if he remembered any Picayune smokers in the city. He did indeed and sent me a picture of an O scale model train boxcar with Picyune advertising on it. I found one on Ebay and bought it.

When I went to France i found the French cigarette Gauloises which werre very similar to the Picayunes.

When i was a young teenager several of us pooled our money and bought a pack of Home Run cigarettes. They were as strong as the Picayunes and the other guys gave me the rest of the pack.

For many years i carried my daily pack of Picayunes and lit them with a Scripto Vu Lighter that had a pair of dice inside the visible fluid tank.

Thought i was so cool ha!

Dwayne, when I was 15 years old I left home and ended up in New Orleans. Got a room on N.Rampart St. for $8.00 per week in a building that was 100 or more years old. Bathroom down the hall. It was over top of a bar and you could hear the juke box through the floor. I worked at D.H. Holmes department store, on the receiving dock for a time.(lied about my age) Also at the Jung Hotel, among other places.

I smoked all of those you mentioned. I remember smoking Home Run but I don't think I went back for a second pack. I smoked Picayune too, probably tried a couple of packs, but it was too strong for me. I was used to the Camel non filters and AFAIC that was the best cigarette there was. I gave 'em up in December of 2000, and glad of it. Still puffing away on the tobacco pipe, but I don't inhale like I did with the cigs. I have smoked many a pack of Gauloises,the short no filters in the blue pack. I loved them but between being much stronger than Camels, and costing way more, I only smoked a pack of those occasionally. Kind of like a special treat.

When I wasn't smoking 'tailor mades' I'd roll my own. I liked "Country Gentleman" because it was a real old time brand, in the little pouch with the drawstring. My favorite roll your own was called Target and I thought it was really close to Camels. Funny that back then you could buy a pack of cigarette papers for $0.15 or so. I remember OCB, or even Zig-Zags were cheap. Then in the late '60s when demand went up so did the price, and people weren't rolling Bull Durham. Anyway ....... fond memories. Thanks !

I remember both of those as well. The Home Runs had a drawing of a ball player on the pack. I remember both of them being strong and harsher than my regular smoke - Camels. I also smoked Philip Morris Commander non-filter too. I liked Players Navy Cut but they had a premium price. Last resort were Chesterfields - I smoked them but they gave me a headache. These were all long ago. Like Jimmy said .... fond memories of boyhood in New Jersey and elsewhere. Thanks!

Looks like we all went to the same tobacco schools together. I smoked camels, luckies, chesterfield, old gold, phillip morris, picayunes and home runs. The luckies, chesterfields and old golds made me cough. camels, phillip morris, picayunes and home runs were great.

Rolled my share of bull durham, country gentleman and old north state sack tobacco.

Thought of another brand. Wings. They were a "cheap" cigarette that sold for much less than the premium brands. I remember on the back of camels they stated do not look for coupons as the expensive cost of the tobacco in camels did not permit giving out coupons. Forget the exact wording but it was words to that effect.

All in all, Camels were the king of them all, yall.

Originally Posted by d. m. ellington

Looks like we all went to the same tobacco schools together. I smoked camels, luckies, chesterfield, old gold, phillip morris, picayunes and home runs. The luckies, chesterfields and old golds made me cough. camels, phillip morris, picayunes and home runs were great.

Rolled my share of bull durham, country gentleman and old north state sack tobacco.

North State is another one that I also remember. I smoked the Luckys, Chesterfields and the short Old Golds and Phillip Morris. I didn't like any of 'em. Luckys were too sweet. I also tried Pall Mall but found them harsh. I didn't seem to like long cigarettes.

Originally Posted by d. m. ellington

Thought of another brand. Wings. They were a "cheap" cigarette that sold for much less than the premium brands. I remember on the back of camels they stated do not look for coupons as the expensive cost of the tobacco in camels did not permit giving out coupons. Forget the exact wording but it was words to that effect.

All in all, Camels were the king of them all, yall.

Don't look for premiums, as the cost of the tobaccos blended in Camels prohibits the use of them ........ IIRC. Of course Chesterfields came with a coupon in the back of the pack under the cellophane. I don't remember the 'Wings.' Do you remember all of those puzzles old guys would ask you about the Camel pack when we were kids ? Can you find the girl in the Camel, or the lion ? How about the guy going to the bathroom ........ I said where is he ........ he's behind the tree ! ........ or some said he went up into the hotel ....... There was also an anagram that some guys said with C-A-M-E-L ........ but I can't repeat it here ....... against the rules and there may be 'mixed company'.

Jimmy - you are really bringing back some old memories. You have put a smile on my face.

Gone are the days that we all loved so............

Originally Posted by d. m. ellington

Jimmy - you are really bringing back some old memories. You have put a smile on my face.

Gone are the days that we all loved so............

I have an unopened pack of them somewhere, why I don't known.

Still smoke Luckys and Pell mall reds,only thing I remember from the old days is walking down the street with a handwritten note from my Dad and 50 Cents to get him a pack of chesterfields and a bag of Bull durham.