THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 9, 1996 TAG: 9603090434
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
If Freeman Godfrey had a choice, there would be no tobacco chewers or smokers. But since that's not an option - and he sometimes chomps on the brown stuff himself - he'd rather make the habit less offensive.
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 three Navy exchanges. 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 in a Jeep in the El Paso, Texas, desert, when he got ready to spit and realized that he had nothing to do it in. (With the wind, spitting out the Jeep was not an option.)
So he spat on the Jeep floor.
At that point, Freeman began 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 members, 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.''
In rare instances, the big mistake occurs. That's when someone spits in a soda can, and another guy (or gal) mistaking it for his own, drinks it and gags. This is gross, but it happens.
``I had one soldier who told me his wife left him after that,'' Freeman said. ``I told him that there must have been something else, too.''
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. NEXCOM plans to test the product at its stores at Norfolk Naval Base, Oceana Naval Air Station and Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, said Kristine Sturkie, a NEXCOM spokeswoman.
Officially, the Navy isn't too keen on tobacco. Its policy clearly bans smoking in the workplace, though it's still allowed in other places, like assigned family and bachelor quarters or designated areas on ships.
As for tobacco chewing in the Navy, there's ``no dipping on duty, on watch, during briefings or meetings,'' said Lt. Ron Hill, a spokesman for the Atlantic Fleet.
Essentially, Navy personnel shouldn't chew tobacco while working or where ``proper decorum would say you shouldn't,'' Hill said. They must also use enclosed containers or cups with lids.
Those are the rules.
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. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]
L. TODD SPENCER
The Virginian-Pilot
Jar-Barco wallet-size spittoons fold in half. Inside are disposable
bags with absorbent linings.
Grayland and Freeman Godfrey say their product should cost less than
$10.
by CNB