Would a man be buried with his Stetson 100?

[PabloElFlamenco]

My wife is an avid reader (in the French language) and sometimes I ask her about what she's reading, to which she sometimes comments. So, this morning, she told me how she'd just read about a grandfather who'd passed away in a retirement home and they moved him back to, I believe, Seligman AZ, to be buried on the family ranch, and "he was buried with his $100 Stetson hat" ("avec son Stetson à cent dollars")

The book is "Half Broke Horses" by Jeannette Walls, portraying a ...poor... family during the first half of the 20th century.

For one thing, it appears remarkable that an evidently very poor person would have a $100 hat. (I -emphatically- do not state that it would not be true; everyone wants something he or she particularly values once in a lifetime, a car, a suit, a hat...)
And then he gets buried with that hat.

Was it a usual thing to bury men together with their hat?

I will tell my wife that I do not wish to be buried with a hat. I'd rather see them go on to new homes...

Paul

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

I have read of people getting buried in their cars. Let alone hats.

 

[johnnycanuck]

I have read a fair amount of westerns and the Cowboys usually had a rough first few seasons being they had to buy all their own equipment. Saddles and such. The hat being one of the items that cost anywhere from one month to a season’s worth of wages depending the quality and let’s face it, what was available. So for a poor guy to own a $100 Stetson was not unusual, it was his one and only hat he probably had most of his life. Yes he was buried with it. No one would touch another man’s hat let alone wear it.
A good book to read that shows that a little is Monty Walsh by Jack Schaefer.
My two cents worth.
Johnny

 

[suitedcboy]

The old belief was that you wanted to look your best for "judgement". In the days when hats were integral part of "wearing your best" you'd want your hat with you.
My maternal grandfather died just before I was born. My mom always commented on my affection for wearing a hat as me taking after my grandfather. She said they buried him with his best hat because he would have wanted it with him.

You know for many of us here, death will have to be postponed while we decide which hat we want to take with us.

 

[zetwal]

You know for many of us here, death will have to be postponed while we decide which hat we want to take with us.

:drum:

 

[johnnycanuck]

:eeek:Only one hat?

 

[Rick Blaine]

See sig

↓

 

[HatsEnough]

:eeek:Only one hat?

Yeah... wait a minute... ya mean we can't take all our hats with us?

 

[monbla256]

When my father died 18 years ago, we buried him with his newst OR clasped in his hands. As far as I know it's still with him. I'll probably wan't to have the same done for me with one of my Akubra's.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Hat and a sandwich for me, ( I may get hungry on the way)....lol!

 

[zetwal]

When my father died 18 years ago, we buried him with his newst OR clasped in his hands. As far as I know it's still with him.

I am reminded of the story of the Stetson found on the USS Maine. From Wikipedia,

The durability and water-resistance of the original Stetson obtained additional publicity in 1912, when the battleship USS Maine was raised from Havana harbor, where it had sunk in 1898. A Stetson hat was found in the wreck, which had been submerged in seawater for 14 years. The hat had been exposed to ooze, mud, and plant growth. However, the hat was cleaned off, and appeared to be undamaged.

 

[HatsEnough]

That is a quote from the book by Jeffrey B.Snyder, Stetson Hats and the John B. Stetson Company (1997), by the way Zetwal.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

That is a quote from the book by Jeffrey B.Snyder, Stetson Hats and the John B. Stetson Company (1997), by the way Zetwal.

You must read a lot and have gathered some very interesting facts, that is what I get from reading most of your posts. I think you should get on a game show and win some money! I would with all that talent, sir!

 

[PabloElFlamenco]

Thank you very much for your views, insights, traditions and ... songs.
I must give it thought, which hat, some day...mañana maybe...
Pablo

 

[HatsEnough]

You must read a lot and have gathered some very interesting facts, that is what I get from reading most of your posts. I think you should get on a game show and win some money! I would with all that talent, sir!

I am sure all that useless knowledge would just go away as soon as I got before a crowd with the time clock running!
LOL