Part of it is that I never saw my personal hero and the man that showed me what being a man was all about (that would be my Grandpa) out without one on. Part of it may be that I spent all those years in the military and became accustomed to wearing one everywhere. Part of it may just be I am bald but I really do not think that plays much of a role in my preferences.
You see I am a hat guy. I like hats and I wear something on my head anytime I am out of doors. A non-hat wearing friend asked me about the allure of hats once and I told him, “A good hat provides you shade in the heat, cover in the rain, something to play with while you think and anyway, if you don’t have on a hat what do you take off when you talk to a lady?” I do very much like hats.
Over the years my hats have been in numerous styles, various types and made of several different materials. As a child of the ‘50’s and a son of the Blue Ridge you know I had to have a coon skin cap. We could not afford the “store bought” variety so Grandpa made a trade with one of his coon hunting buddies. Not only did I have a coon skin Davy Crocket cap I had a REAL one. My life was utterly complete and has mostly trended downhill ever since.
My next run of hats were what we used to call “Gimme Caps” that was because people used to actually GIVE them to you to advertise everything from Feed and Seed to Firearms. Try as I might though I never became much of a “cap guy”. Even though my main head gear in the army was a fatigue and then a BDU cap I just could not get into the fascination with caps. As I said I am a hat guy.
My Uncle Charles came for a stay and he had a disreputable old Fedora I believe was probably from the late forties. It had about a two inch brim, was made of some kind of heavy felt and had a satin lining. As I said he had this hat. When he left I had it. This hat became my constant companion with the exception I was not allowed to wear to school or church. I could have done a quick about face while wearing and ended up facing south while my hat faced north. It was a tad large on me.
My next hat was an Australian Bush Hat, military issue given to me by my Air Force father after his first trip to Viet Nam. This hat made a thumbing trip with me to Florida, took a Box Car ride with me to Aiken, S.C. and accompanied me to my room to serve what was supposed to be a life sentence of restriction. Luckily the governor, my mother, gave me and the hat a pardon shortly after.
My first actual cowboy hat was a hand me down Stetson straw. I did love that hat and it started my ongoing love with the products of John B. Stetson but I still had a ways to go. Next, down in Central Texas I found the hat that lasted me for years.
It was a Mexican made leather cowboy hat. The brim was bendable, the hat shaped to the head. It did me proud for years of wear but I then had to upgrade to a Stetson. If you are a hat man you will, sooner or later, end up with the product of Mr. John B. Stetson.
My first Stetson was a Silver Belly white 4X Beaver Felt that started out looking like this:
After a few years it looked more like this:
A good hat, a Stetson hat, takes on a character of its own. This is a combination of time, weather and your own handling and use of the hat. From the time I bought the hat you see above until the present I have had a Stetson.
Yes, I have had other hats. Light felt fedoras or Australians mainly used for day to day and work wear but Stetson became and still is my “hat”. When I needed another I found myself in Missouri and, being a fan of Harry Truman’s anyway, I had to go with the Open Road Stetson.
Yes, I have had other hats. Light felt fedoras or Australians mainly used for day to day and work wear but Stetson became and still is my “hat”. When I needed another I found myself in Missouri and, being a fan of Harry Truman’s anyway, I had to go with the Open Road Stetson.
If you do not remember Truman’s hat or Lyndon Johnson’s hat or haven’t had the pleasure of attending church or other functions with those true old time ranchers here is a picture:
That is what mine looked like knew, after a little more than a year of wear:
Yep, I’d say she’s getting there. A hat is a statement about who you are and what you like, it is a garment, functional against weather, it can be a reminder of the milestones in your life; of who you thought you were and who you want to be.
A hat is a friend, a Stetson hat is a friend for life. That is why I like it.
http://www.stetsonhat.com/
