Stetson "Shady Oak"

[CaddyKid21]

I have my great grandfather's Stetson 3x beaver, a "Shady Oak", from Washer Bros. Ft. Worth. It says Shady Oak Farm-Fort Worth Texas, Where the West Begins. It is basically a Open Road with a different liner and sweatband(which is really nice!). I am curious if this is a rare hat or not. I did some research on The Shady Oak Farm, and it said that it belonged to Amon Carter, and was open to any celebrity or traveling business man.
So my question is, does anyone have any more info on these.
Pics will come shortly.

 

[suitedcboy]

Amon Carter was the publisher/owner of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper in the 20's through his death in the 70's. This was at a time when newspaper publishers in towns of size were wealthy, powerful, and influential men. He later commissioned the Peter Brothers to make the Shady Oak hats that were given to visiting dignitaries like JFK.
He was one who gave much back to the community and to this area and his imprint is still very much in evidence in this area. A great find.

 

[indycop]

http://www.petersbros.com/SHADY_OAKS/Default.htm

 

[CaddyKid21]

Thanks SuitedCBoy, and IndyCop for the info.
Indy, Ive seen that website before. They have some nice stuff.
Thanks,

CK21

 

[feltfan]

http://thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=16022&page=2

 

[tinmanzzz]

Peters Brothers

Here is a link to my Shady Oak made by Peter's Bros.
It is my 2nd Best Hat.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=27132

 

[jimmy the lid]

CaddyKid 21 -- I look forward to seeing photos of your grandfather's Shady Oak Open Road. Interesting that you have one in a 3X. What follows is a slightly edited version of something I have posted before, but it makes sense to include it here, as well. Hope this helps to give you some background on your grandfather's lid.

From information I have pieced together from a few different sources, it appears that the "Shady Oak" hats were the result of a design collaboration between Amon Carter, Tom Peters and Stetson. The actual lids, produced by Stetson, were Stetson Amon Carter/Shady Oak Open Roads. My own belief is that the original incarnation of the modern-day Open Road (as opposed to Stetson's earlier Open Road model, circa 1937) was the lid that Stetson first made specially for Amon Carter.

An excellent source of information on this topic is a book by Jerry Flemmons entitled Amon: The Texan who Played Cowboy for America. According to Flemmons, the hats passed out to dignitaries visiting Carter's Shady Oak Farm were originally supplied by Borsalino. These hats were rather large, wide-brimmed and high-crowned, as reflected in some early photos. After Mussolini declared war on Ethiopia (1935), Carter turned to Stetson to produce hats for him. Flemmons reports that "after months of design research," Stetson began producing the Shady Oak Open Road. [According to an October 1937 article in the New Yorker, it appears that, by late 1937, Carter was still passing out lids made by Borsalino -- so the introduction of the new version of the Stetson Open Road likely came sometime from 1938 on]. In a previous post here on the Lounge, Jimmy Pierce has noted that Tom Peters of Peters Brothers was involved in the design of the hat. According to the Peters Brothers web site, Tom Peters left Fort Worth for Philadelphia in 1921 in order to work for Stetson, where he learned his craft from Stetson's master hatters. Thus, it seems like a relationship existed between Tom Peters and Stetson that could well have served as a basis for collaboration. Jimmy Pierce also confirms that the hats resulting from Tom Peters' design efforts were produced by Stetson. According to Flemmons, Amon Carter "bought them through Washer Brothers, an old-line Fort Worth store, and later through Peters Brothers, a downtown hat shop." Flemmons estimates that, at the very least, Amon Carter gave away "many, many thousands" of Shady Oak hats. Apparently, Hat Life magazine proclaimed Carter the "world's greatest retail hat customer."

The Stetson Shady Oak Open Road contained a unique liner. The liner crown reads: "Shady Oak Farm, Ft. Worth, Texas, Where the West Begins." On the front part of the hat, the liner reads: "The Latch String Always Hangs Outside, Amon Carter." My own hunch is that, having initially produced the Shady Oak Open Road for Amon Carter, Stetson produced and distributed the Open Road more generally, without the Shady Oak liner.

According to Jimmy Pierce, Peters Brothers retained the rights to manufacture a Shady Oak hat, and Flemmons notes: "Peters Brothers Hatters in downtown Fort Worth, operated by a grandson, Joe, continues to manufacture its version of Stetson's Amon Carter Shady Oak Western hat."

I have posted these photos before, but I include them here as part of this discussion:

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Rick Blaine]

My recently acquired Shady Oak.

Taller crown (by .5") & wider brim (by 1/8") than my Stetson O.R.s. as well as a raw brim.
Somewhat stiffer than a dress hat, tho' nowhere as stiff as a Western. Vintage:unknown. [huh]

 

[RBH]

Nice Rick... is that a 2 ply ribbon instead of the 'normal' thin ribbon we are used to on a Open Road?

 

[Rick Blaine]

Nice Rick... is that a 2 ply ribbon instead of the 'normal' thin ribbon we are used to on a Open Road?

Quite right, pard'.

 

[epic610]

Now that, gentlemen...

is a hat!

 

[GentlemanFarmer]

Thanks

Thanks Jimmy for repeating the Shady Oak tutorial. It's always nice to review the material. Does the Shady Oak produced today have the liner that's seen in your example?

 

[Dinerman]

Mine- unfortunately, I can't find any of the exterior shots, other than to say that it's a short brimmed western with a raw edge, flat brim, cattlemans crease, and a missing ribbon.

 

[jimmy the lid]

Thanks Jimmy for repeating the Shady Oak tutorial. It's always nice to review the material. Does the Shady Oak produced today have the liner that's seen in your example?

GF -- let me answer that question in a roundabout way...

This is turning into a pretty neat thread with all of the various Shady Oak lids. Of the lids posted, mine is the only Stetson Shady Oak -- although it sounds like CaddyKid21 also has a 3X version of the Stetson Shady Oak lid. It will be interesting to see photos of that one. The comments I posted above specifically address the Stetson Shady Oak Open Road lid.

The other three lids posted here are not Stetsons, but appear to be Peters Brothers Shady Oak hats. Looks like Dinerman and Rick each have a 100X Shady Oak Bankers Special -- great lids gentlemen!!! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap There are distinct similarities between the imprints on the sweats of these lids. D-man -- does your Bankers Special resemble the photos Rick has posted? I am curious as to the "Hoods/Made in Switzerland" imprint on D-man's hat. Might this refer only to the sweat itself?

Tinmanzz has a nice Peters Brothers lid, as well. Looks like this one is a different model -- the Marlborough Forty.

So, to answer your question, GF -- Stetson Shady Oak Open Roads have not been in production for some time. My best guess is that the modern Peters Brothers Shady Oak lids do not use the same liners that were used in the Stetson Shady Oak Open Roads. Don't know that for a fact, but I'd be surprised if that wasn't the case.

Cheers,
JtL

 

[RBH]

-- Stetson Shady Oak Open Roads have not been in production for some time. My best guess is that the modern Peters Brothers Shady Oak lids do not use the same liners that were used in the Stetson Shady Oak Open Roads. Don't know that for a fact, but I'd be surprised if that wasn't the case.

Cheers,
JtL

Not only do they not use the same liner they do not even use the same type of ribbon.

 

[tinmanzzz]

GF -- let me answer that question in a roundabout way...

I am curious as to the "Hoods/Made in Switzerland" imprint on D-man's hat. Might this refer only to the sweat itself?
Tinmanzz has a nice Peters Brothers lid, as well. Looks like this one is a different model -- the Marlborough Forty.

So, to answer your question, GF -- Stetson Shady Oak Open Roads have not been in production for some time. My best guess is that the modern Peters Brothers Shady Oak lids do not use the same liners that were used in the Stetson Shady Oak Open Roads. Don't know that for a fact, but I'd be surprised if that wasn't the case.

Cheers,
JtL

Jimmy the Hoods/Made in Switzerland" refers to to the Felt Body. I talked to Peters Bros and it seems that in the 50's they were importing their body from Switzerland because they were still made with the Mercury process. :eusa_clap

 

[jimmy the lid]

Great info, Tinmanzz. Thanks!

Cheers,
JtL

 

[CaddyKid21]

Well, it isn't as rare as I thought but that's alright. Its nice to see pictures to compare my lid to others. Quite frankly mine is in rough shape, i had it streched slightly so the sweatband split at the seam, the liner is stained and the ribbon is coming off. It has turned pale because of that darn "scout light hat cleaner" tips anyone. I'm contemplating sending it to Optimo to have it refurbished to its former glory.

I will have pictures at some point, my camera is broken.. so its going to be a while unless i can find some old ones.

Jimmy, my Shady looks aesthetically identical to yours except for the sweatband, mine has no beaver symbol, just the stetson stamp, the "Shady Oak" and the Washer Bros symbol.

Thank you everyone for the information and your fine lids and knowledge. Much Appreciated

CDK21

 

[carter]

A Resistol With the Peters Bros. Shady Oaks liner was sold on ebay today.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=320339518622

 

[gtdean48]

A Resistol With the Peters Bros. Shady Oaks liner was sold on ebay today.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=320339518622

I really regret not following thru on that one!!1 :eusa_doh: