Summer is here! Would you buy a used Deputy from this man?

[Pilgrim]

With the advent of 80 degree days in Northern Colorado, I broke out my western straw this AM.

It has long been said that you can tell where someone comes from by the way their western hat is shaped. This one came from Weslaco Texas, where you can throw a rock and it will land in Mexico. It's very typical of a Texas hat - tall crown, cattleman's bash (can't see it well because of the angle), almost flat brim. That Texas sun is fierce, y'know.

After the recent discussions, I checked inside the hat and the sweatband is stamped:Boots N'Jeans - Weslaco, Texas. A sticker behind the sweatband says: Style 601F, The American Hat Company Inc. So this is another product of American Hat. I bought it about 11-12 years ago.

It's not a great photo, but I snapped it with my phone camera in the parking lot on my way in this AM. Thought I looked a lot like a deputy or sheriff. lol

 

[Uncle Vern]

Nice hat, Pilgrim. Looks familiar--I used to live in Harlingen, c. 1980. I worked around the valley in a country band playing Weslaco, Harlingen, Brownsville, all the places you know. I like those American Hat Co. styles, and you look good in this model.
I've been hunting around for one of those narrow brim palm or straw hats that the vaqueros used to wear back in the old days, some of them made by Pigale. They pop up here in Austin, but they're all to small for me. They don't make those hats for fat-headed gabachos like me. Here's an Austin version of the law--

 

[Pilgrim]

Uncle Vern, you look very Texan in that hat - and that's a good thing!

Yup - cattleman's bash, broad brim with just a tweak at the edges - Texas for sure.

I used the thread title above because I thought the photo looked a lot like a Texas Sheriff or Deputy...and I was a reserve deputy in Washington for a number of years. It's a comfortable feeling for me.

OK, 'fess up. Who else wears western hats when they're not wearing fedoras??

 

[mysterygal]

good photo! did a pretty good job of taking a 'self portrait' of yourself! I tried that once...didn't come out quite as well as yours did.
You look pretty darn serious there, would definetely scare me to get in trouble by you!

 

[Pilgrim]

That's just coz I can't concentrate on getting my phizz centered in the little mirror on the back of the phone and smile at the same time.

Yep. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

 

[Uncle Vern]

It seems like a lot of those Texas lawman hats, especially the felt fur types, have a medium crown and a 3.5-inch brim. In the old days, they wore them with only a center dent and the sides unblocked. Recently, I ran across a bid proposal on the internet put out by the Harris County Sheriff's Dept. for hats, and those were the specs, and they all have the same block, much like your straw. The Stetson Sonora used to be one of those models. Once you get out past Van Horn and Fort Stockton you start seeing the law, especially small town sheriffs. The DPS seem to all wear the 3.5-inch brims. Where did you do your sheriffing? We were having a laugh the other day about the Brokeback Mountain actors and their Hollywood hats. A buddy from Lubbock pointed out that all those old lawmen usually wear a half-pissed-off, distracted frown on their faces, and look as leathery as an old saddle. it's rough work, and Hollywood hasn't yet ever cast a West Texan sheriff properly.
I have a huge Gus-Tom Mix style hat, about 30 years old, but in new condition. It's fairly outlandish, but a lot of fun to wear. I've seen old photos of those hats in use by a few lawmen, back around the early 20th century. I'll post a photo if you want to see it.
Are there any vintage hats for sale in the valley? I'd guess you'd have pretty good pickin's down there in the flea markets and antique malls.

 

[RBH]

Progreso

My wife and I go to Weslaco every January. Here is a photo of me in Progreso last year. This year I wore my AdventurerBilt.

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/4403/rbh618em.jpg" border="0" width="51" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

this year

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/853/mexc3pc.jpg" border="0" width="350" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

 

[Solid Citizen]

Who are you who ho, who ho?

Say Pilgrim would you be:

1 A LAWMAN? :rage:

2.The MAN?

3. Or FOSTER GRANT?

SC lol

 

[Pilgrim]

Solid Citizen asketh:

Say Pilgrim would you be:

1 A LAWMAN? :rage:

....Naah, but I was a Reserve Deputy for 7 years in eastern Washington State, in a rural county big enough that even as a reserve, you might be the only deputy within 30-40 miles with no backup closer than half an hour away. Good reason to think twice before acting once. If you got into trouble, you just might have to get yerself out.

2.The MAN?

....I probably am to the students I teach, and to my kids. Otherwise I'm an academic administrator, a Ph.D. with a bit more varied background than many in academic circles. I am a lapsed professional broadcaster, I do my own car work, home repairs, work with electronics, play electric bass, and have sundry other interests.

3. Or FOSTER GRANT?

....I gave up that gig. Those are Revo sunglasses I decided to try because the Ray-Ban Aviators I'd worn for 20 years were so darn big and I wanted a change. I think next pair, I'll be going back to the small Ray-Ban Aviators, not the big ones. Incidentally, those are prescription; if you look hard enough, Ray-Ban does make prescription frames for the aviators. The difference is that the prescription frames are wider and will hold lenses better.

...OH, and I checked the sweatband and the hat I'm wearing is a "Bangora" model by the American Hat Co.

 

[ledsled]

E. WA

One time I did a loop from Portland, OR up through Wenachee (however you spell it), down through Yakima, Pendleton, Baker City, over to Boise and then through central OR (John Day) back to Portland. It's BEAUTIFUL out there! I remember reading that the population of Baker county was 1 person per square mile. I can appreciate your thinking twice before placing yourself into a situation without a backup!