Question[s] about a Stetson[s]

[gman41]

Thanks all who responded, it was truly helpful.

 

[Who?]

As I have stated before, a hat which cannot be worn in any weather (short of a hurricane or worse) does not strike me as a useful hat.

From this I conclude that I don’t own any real city hats.

 

[jlee562]

Well, yes, dress weight hats are dress weight. To be fair, the OR was offered as "the Stockman's dress hat," which to me implies the existence of a separate work hat.



And there is also apparently a modern 20x OR.

 

[dkstott]

Well, yes, dress weight hats are dress weight. To be fair, the OR was offered as "the Stockman's dress hat," which to me implies the existence of a separate work hat.



And there is also apparently a modern 20x OR.

Perhaps a " Sunday go to meeting" hat as opposed to the everyday hat. Ha ha

 

[deadlyhandsome]

To me it’s like saying a vehicle that can’t tow an 18,000 pound stock trailer isn’t a useful vehicle. Or footwear that can’t be used with crampons aren’t useful shoes. I dress differently, including headwear, based on activities, weather, and whatever wild hare I have that day. When it’s storming out I’m not wearing my shell cordovan cap toe dress shoes or a pre-war Borsalino fedora. They are both useful parts of my wardrobe but they are not utilitarian fit-any-circumstances items. Just my take on this.

 

[belfastboy]

As I have stated before, a hat which cannot be worn in any weather (short of a hurricane or worse) does not strike me as a useful hat.

From this I conclude that I don’t own any real city hats.

That is why I have so many hats.....horses for courses.

 

[Ingramite]

The men who work the ranch wear cowboy hats.

The man who owns the ranch wears an Open Road.

My dad had some hard and fast rules that I later heard myself passing on to my sons:

Never spend more than a day's wages on your hat.

Never more than a weeks wages on your boots.

This will keep you from getting ahead of your raising.

Hats and boots were and still are a way of life for us. I have several Open Roads but usually wear a broader brim for protection from the sun.

I'll admit that I took pleasure from watching my son's careers advance as their family grew. Visits would fill the hat tree with nice Stetsons and Resistols.

I remember my dad telling me what a jury expected to see when a Texas lawman took the stand.

He went to great length in the details of crossing his legs so his left ankle rested on top of his right knee, his cuff riding up to show his polished boot. Then his Stetson was hung on the toe of that left boot. Just dangling there. He said that at that point he had the jury in the palm of his hand.

A broad grin would cross his face when he asked me if I knew the next thing you would hear? The cell door slamming and another outlaw put away...and you could hear that from right there in the witness stand.

Growing up in Texas.

 

[belfastboy]

The men who work the ranch wear cowboy hats.

The man who owns the ranch wears an Open Road.

My dad had some hard and fast rules that I later heard myself passing on to my sons:

Never spend more than a day's wages on your hat.

Never more than a weeks wages on your boots.

This will keep you from getting ahead of your raising.

Hats and boots were and still are a way of life for us. I have several Open Roads but usually wear a broader brim for protection from the sun.

I'll admit that I took pleasure from watching my son's careers advance as their family grew. Visits would fill the hat tree with nice Stetsons and Resistols.

I remember my dad telling me what a jury expected to see when a Texas lawman took the stand.

He went to great length in the details of crossing his legs so his left ankle rested on top of his right knee, his cuff riding up to show his polished boot. Then his Stetson was hung on the toe of that left boot. Just dangling there. He said that at that point he had the jury in the palm of his hand.

A broad grin would cross his face when he asked me if I knew the next thing you would hear? The cell door slamming and another outlaw put away...and you could hear that from right there in the witness stand.

Growing up in Texas.

We love the Texas hill country. Spent almost a month there in the spring of 2019. My wife insisted we leave though as she was pretty sure the Texas weather was trying to kill her.......thunder/lightning that lasted all night til almost dawn, tornadoes and finally baseball size hail so we hightailed it back into the safety of New Mexico.

 

[Ingramite]

We love the Texas hill country. Spent almost a month there in the spring of 2019. My wife insisted we leave though as she was pretty sure the Texas weather was trying to kill her.......thunder/lightning that lasted all night til almost dawn, tornadoes and finally baseball size hail so we hightailed it back into the safety of New Mexico.

What doesn't bite you will poke and sting. If I'm not wearing boots it's house slippers but never outside.

Spiders as big as your hand, scorpions, rattlesnakes, fire ants, copperheads centipedes. Mesquite trees with 3" thorns, cactus in about a dozen varieties including horse cripplers, not for the faint of heart.

You have to work harder than an ugly stripper just to keep in one piece around here. It takes all the gear.

I'm retired now but on my last gig we had some home office visitors from up yonder.
Of course, being from headquarters, they knew better. To the extent of making some disparaging comments about our "outlandish attire" projecting an unprofessional image and "being quaint".

They waited till the heat of the day to request a walking tour of the facility. When they declined the gimme ball caps I offered, I knew it wasn't going to be pretty.

The next morning one guy had a story of his evening in the ER for what he called "exposure". All it was? Sunburn and red bug bites up to his waist. The other three guys were ate up with red bugs and fire ants.

At one point during the tour I directed the group under a shade tree with an innocent comment of how even a cow doesn't stand out in the sun. I'm sure they remembered that the next morning too.

They did like the food though. We put on a great spread. Hard to not like mesquite grilled steaks.

 

[RBH]

The men who work the ranch wear cowboy hats.

The man who owns the ranch wears an Open Road.

My dad had some hard and fast rules that I later heard myself passing on to my sons:


Growing up in Texas.

You are so correct...

Ranch owner........

Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Halbert of Sonora, Texas at the Brown County fourth annual Polled Hereford sale.
1940


Ranch workers........

Matador Ranch, Texas in 1940
Photo by Hansel Mieth for Life Magazine

 

[belfastboy]

What doesn't bite you will poke and sting. If I'm not wearing boots it's house slippers but never outside.

Spiders as big as your hand, scorpions, rattlesnakes, fire ants, copperheads centipedes. Mesquite trees with 3" thorns, cactus in about a dozen varieties including horse cripplers, not for the faint of heart.

You have to work harder than an ugly stripper just to keep in one piece around here. It takes all the gear.

I'm retired now but on my last gig we had some home office visitors from up yonder.
Of course, being from headquarters, they knew better. To the extent of making some disparaging comments about our "outlandish attire" projecting an unprofessional image and "being quaint".

They waited till the heat of the day to request a walking tour of the facility. When they declined the gimme ball caps I offered, I knew it wasn't going to be pretty.

The next morning one guy had a story of his evening in the ER for what he called "exposure". All it was? Sunburn and red bug bites up to his waist. The other three guys were ate up with red bugs and fire ants.

At one point during the tour I directed the group under a shade tree with an innocent comment of how even a cow doesn't stand out in the sun. I'm sure they remembered that the next morning too.

They did like the food though. We put on a great spread. Hard to not like mesquite grilled steaks.

I worked for a multinational manufacturer of oil patch products. The head office is in Houston and I travelled there a fair bit. My colleagues that took transfers to the head office ALL said it was the worst climate they had ever experienced. A non work friend (Canadian) moved to Houston with her then husband. The first week in her new home she found a rattle snake on her front porch one morning. Hearing her screams the neighbour ran over with his .357 and shot the snake. My friend could not decide what freaked her out more.....the snake or the fact her neighbour was packing! I live in a much more gentile locale.

 

[Ingramite]

I worked for a multinational manufacturer of oil patch products. The head office is in Houston and I travelled there a fair bit. My colleagues that took transfers to the head office ALL said it was the worst climate they had ever experienced. A non work friend (Canadian) moved to Houston with her then husband. The first week in her new home she found a rattle snake on her front porch one morning. Hearing her screams the neighbour ran over with his .357 and shot the snake. My friend could not decide what freaked her out more.....the snake or the fact her neighbour was packing! I live in a much more gentile locale.

We were setting up our patio for a cookout this summer when our house cat brought us a small rattlesnake that he had killed out in the yard. I guess that was his second score this season. I'd hate for that little guy to take a bite.

Down around the Houston area you're getting into bayou country and you can add alligators and cotton mouths to the list of stuff to worry about. Both are aggressive under the right conditions. Humidity too. Like sticking your head in the dishwasher.


I've enjoyed this thread about Stetsons and hope I've not derailed it too much with my story telling.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

The man who owns the ranch wears an Open Road.

El jefe.

 

[glider]

Not at all, enjoyed that Texas wind. We love the hill country also, but Austin is the most expensive real estate in Texas, Fredricksburg isn't a lot better.

 

[belfastboy]

Not at all, enjoyed that Texas wind. We love the hill country also, but Austin is the most expensive real estate in Texas, Fredricksburg isn't a lot better.

We were seated at a bar in Butte Montana just prior to Covid. A young couple a few seats down when presented with the bill called the server back and advised her that she must have made a mistake as they had two rounds of beer not just the one. The server replied that they were indeed charged for the two rounds. The young couple responded that in Austin, their home town, they would have paid more than that for just the one round.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

We were seated at a bar in Butte Montana just prior to Covid. A young couple a few seats down when presented with the bill called the server back and advised her that she must have made a mistake as they had two rounds of beer not just the one. The server replied that they were indeed charged for the two rounds. The young couple responded that in Austin, their home town, they would have paid more than that for just the one round.

And that’s a big part of why I’m leaving California as soon as I retire.

 

[glider]

A friend of mine grew up and lived his life in the bay area. When he retired, he moved to Idaho, paid cash for a beautiful 4-bedroom 2500 sq ft home. He is very happy there.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

A friend of mine grew up and lived his life in the bay area. When he retired, he moved to Idaho, paid cash for a beautiful 4-bedroom 2500 sq ft home. He is very happy there.

Idaho is too cold for my wife, but I’m wanting to follow a similar path into retirement. Three years to go!

 

[Frunobulax]

Idaho is too cold for my wife, but I’m wanting to follow a similar path into retirement. Three years to go!

Yeah, but...famous potatoes!