An interesting sidelight on the tobacco hauling business is found in the probable origin of the word “stogie.” The story of the origin of this word is that one George Black operated a small tobacco shop and cigar store in Washington, Pa. As the story goes Black wanted to make a good cheap cigar. He may have thought up the idea of the stogie himself or, as has been suggested, he probably got the idea from the teamsters who used to pull twists of tobacco from their cargos and make their own smokes. At any rate, Black did develop a long slender cigar-type smoke selling for three for a cent. The teamsters who were heavy customers christened these “Conestogas” after their wagons and the new cigar soon became known as “Stogas,” for short and later as simply “stogies.”

 

Whether it was hauling tobacco or machinery or household goods or cutlery, the teamsters played an important part in the early expansion of the Continent. And today as truckers roll over U.S. 40 with their fast cargoes of interstate freight they can know that they are following in a colorful tradition of hardy men who wielded whip and rein with skill and daring in helping to build a nation.