ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 14, 1996 TAG: 9603140042
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NORFOLK
SOURCE: STEPHANIE STOUGHTON LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
So Godfrey and his younger brother, Grayland, invented Jar Bacco, a wallet-size spittoon that might help ease the unseemly tobacco spit that streams into soda cans, bottles, paper cups and trash cans across the nation.
The spittoon folds in half and seals with Velcro. Inside, there's a disposable plastic zip bag with an absorbent lining, which can be continually replaced.
When smokeless tobacco users feel like spitting a brown stream, they need only to unfold and open the spittoon ``like they're looking at a mirror or a picture,'' Grayland Godfrey said.
``This product will allow discreetness,'' he said.
Currently, the product is not available to the general public, but it soon will be offered at some Navy exchanges and the Godfreys also hope to interest several retail chains in Jar Bacco, which they say will probably retail for less than $10.
Jar Bacco is Freeman Godfrey's 1985 brainchild. The former Army captain was driving a jeep across the El Paso, Texas, desert, when he got ready to spit and realized that he had nothing to spit in. (With the desert wind, spitting out of the jeep was not an option.)
So he spat on the jeep floor.
It got him thinking of creating a comfortable, portable spittoon for the nation's smokeless tobacco users. After all, he thought, there are ashtrays for smokers, but nothing for dippers.
As a consequence, tobacco chewers will use anything - much to the disgust of many of their family, friends and co-workers.
``Some people use the trash can, and the contractors cleaning up have to deal with their nasty tobacco spit,'' said Freeman, 36. ``Some people are so unprofessional that they have it sitting on their desks.''
Or there are big mistakes, such as someone spits in a soda can, and another guy (or gal) mistaking it for his own, drinks it and gags. It's gross, but it happens.
``I had one soldier who told me his wife left him after that,'' Freeman said.
Freeman called Grayland about the idea of creating a portable, convenient spittoon. Grayland, a 33-year-old engineering student at Old Dominion University, started with a ``primitive, hard'' design. The two brothers ended with the softer, more comfortable Jar Bacco, which now comes in leather and other materials.
The brothers then formed G-6 Inc., named for the six Godfrey brothers who were raised in Norfolk, and applied for a patent.
Their first buyer was the Navy Exchange Service Command, the agency that operates retail stores on military bases. It plans to test the product at its stores in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, said Kristine Sturkie, an agency spokeswoman.
Officially, the Navy isn't too keen on tobacco.
There's ``no dipping on duty, on watch, during briefings or meetings,'' said Lt. Ron Hill, a spokesman for the Atlantic Fleet.
Navy personnel must also use enclosed containers or cups with lids.
So, for Navy dippers, Jar Bacco will help hide the mess, containing it so it won't spill, Freeman said. It also can be conveniently slipped inside a pocket.
But even if the Godfreys can convince sailors to spit into Jar Bacco pouches, they're not so sure about converting one group of dippers: baseball players.
``Outside, some people just like to spit,'' Grayland said.
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. Grayland (left) and Freeman Godfrey of Norfolkby CNBinvented the Jar Bacco spittoons that fold in half to fit in a
pocket. 2. The photo above shows the disposable bags with absorbent
liners that fit inside the Jar Bacco. For now, it's not available to
the general public, but will soon be sold at exchanges on Navy
bases. color.