MJL
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 150
- Location
- Homestead, Florida USA
Well, we are headed back to Florida after digging petrified wood in Arizona and fossils along the Nevada/ Utah border. We stepped in to the Stetson factory outlet store in St Joseph, Missouri on 15 July 2023. A few years back I was able to buy Stetson Temple and Stratoliners for $75 or less. These were old stock that were just fine in my eyes. Well, this year there were some hats marked promotional, no obvious model numbers and each one had unique, observable flaws. If I had to guess I would suggest these appear to be apprentice made hats. There were some similar promotional open road hats but with the same difficulties. I looked hard at an open road but the crease in the brim and weird burgundy like color had me walking out without it. I was in and out sans hats in less than half an hour. To consol me we decided to take lunch at Arthur Bryant's but the damned line was out the door. Instead, I randomly selected Hi-Lo burgers in Independence for lunch and was very happy to have done so. This is the second year in a row when I've picked zero hat bargains up from HATCO. Oh, and I thought that I'd mention that the St Jo store used to have a walk in warehouse area where the real bargains were located. This year that warehouse area was walled off and inaccessible to the public. I continue to worry about the future of the St Jo facility. From a massive factory complex to a increasingly small retail outlet.