Storm clouds of the End Times

My Dorfman-Pacific straw hat, with the Stetson pheasant feathered band, is about to die. The toyo straw is breaking down, and will soon be unwearable.

This has been a great hat, a true 'signature' hat for me, rivaling my Kierkegaard ball cap. Anticipating the inevitable, I have been searching for a replacement for a few years, but with no luck. The combination of pinched crown, a soft and fairly open weave that breathes easily (plus vent holes), and a broad shade-producing brim with thin band, appears to be a rarity.

The search will now intensify. It must.

Major Morris

Today's featured ball cap sports the logo of the extinct Morris Motors, founded and based in Oxford, England. Many only know Morris Motors from the sports car division, Morris Garage, commonly known by the initials M.G. The shield depicts an ox crossing the Isis River (known as the Thames River further down stream), the river ford being the reason for the town's establishment during Saxon times. 

When I was growing up, my older brother (by almost a decade) owned two Morris Minor convertibles; a powder blue 1949, and a pale yellow 1958. The car I learned to drive in was that 1949 (as well as a 1959 Ford Ranch Wagon with a 352 c.i. V8, and no 'power' anything except the big V8). The Morris' were delightfully British vehicles, made outside of Oxford, England. The Minor was designed by the brilliant and innovative Sir Alec Issigonis. It was a car that had many advantages over it's similarly-sized Germanic competition, the Volkswagen Type I... and several crippling disadvantages.

There was a rare model of the Morris Minor that I've always wanted, the Morris Minor Traveller. It was the 'wagon' version, with real wood framing on the outside of the wagon box, and 'barn doors' in the rear.

Morris went on to produce the Mini Minor (again designed by Alec Issigonis), an even smaller car that revolutionized small car engineering, being the first transverse-engined, front-wheel-drive car, a design that is now almost universal, even for today's 'full-sized' cars. There was also a Mini Traveller, with the same wood-framed, barn-doored design of the larger Morris Traveller.

Morris became part of BMC, and then part of British Leyland, then part of Austin Rover, and finally the marque was split off and purchased by a Chinese company. BMW purchased Rover/Land Rover (and the former Morris plant in Oxford), and inherited a preliminary modern Mini design from Austin Rover, modified it using some designs they had done for a small FWD car, and re-launched the company as MINI. After several years, BMW created an all-new MINI, this time 100% BMW engineered. With the relaunch, a successor to the Traveller was created. having failed to buy the rights to the Traveller name, BMW called the slightly longer MINI the 'Clubman'.

I recently bought a MINI Cooper S Clubman, in part to fulfill my old longing for a Morris Minor Traveller. Still made in Oxfordshire, and to me... still a Morris at heart, even if it was designed by BMW in Munich, and not by Sir Alec in Oxford.

And there you have it.

Gimmie shelter.

I support an Audio Enthusiast's internet forum. They cover my scalp.

Pie fixes everything.

It all comes back home.

Carrot top Pop

$1.00 at the H.E.B. Plus. Low cost entry into the cult of the whiny orange... sans logo.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
 

UPDATE: I gave this cap to a WWII vet from south-central Texas, trapped in Oklahoma, as a 'stealth' way to support the whiny orange.

Middle-aged Bimbo.

While packing my curio cabinet, I found this old Mrs. Baird's Bread paper hat. The plant employees wore these, as did cafe and cafeteria cooks. I got this one either on a tour of the Mrs. Baird's Bakery on Mockingbird Lane in Dallas, or possibly at the State Fair of Texas. That plant is being bull-dozed as I pack, and Mrs. Baird's is now owned by Panificación Bimbo, S.A. de Mexico. 

Even though we are both out of business now (Mrs. Baird and myself), I was surprised to discover the hat was adjustable to fit my 7-5/8th head. Maybe I can still be adjustable too.

I am a man of constant sorrow.

Whatapopshat.

Watsonburger was a small group of hamburger stands that started as Watson's Drive-In in Denison, Texas in the 1950s. It was right next door to the majestic (now demolished and gone) Denison High School. The family 'borrowed' some ideas from "Whataburger" (for which they got in some legal troubles later, IIRC), and opened several new hamburger restaurants as Watsonburgers, mainly along Highway 75 in north Texas and southern Oklahoma. Most are gone now, but a few remain.

I dined at the one in Sherman, Texas yesterday (Original Burger and fresh-made onion rings), and bought this hat. A good meal and a nice cap make a great lunch combo.

The criminal under my hat.

Ce n'est pas un casque légal de bicyclette.

Plantation Hat

Lunch at Williams' Tavern (c. 1832), Washington, Arkansas. Home of the Bowie Knife (not the tavern, but the blacksmith down by the giant magnolia tree). Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller began the effort to turn Washington into sort of a "Williamsburg of the Ozarks". Interesting place... a whole town designated as a state park and historic site.

Why Pop has hats.

Out of necessity.

Well, not entirely true. I've been dedicated to hat-wearing as long as I can remember, but it is no longer an option (or fashion accessory).

- Posted from my iPhone

Paschal Pop!

My new Ecuadorian hat ("Panama"), with Havana crease, debuting as my Easter bonnet. I purchased this direct from Ecuador early last winter, and it has been biding its time, waiting for spring. Spring has sprung, and so has my new chapeau.

I like it very much, and am now willing to move up to a higher grade weave.

Go fish.

This is my unstructured baseball cap from Cabelas, sans any sort of logo. It's yellow-gold in color to help Mrs. Pop locate me in a crowd.

I have affixed a small green button on the front that says simply, "fish". No one has asked.

Something wicker this way came.

Continued next Spring.

A reel cowboy and Moore.

Friday was the kick-off of the Texas State Fair ("Our state fair is a great state fair!"). City Hall sent out a memo saying Western wear "was approved" for the day. Dallas.

I walked over to Main Street at lunch to watch the Texas Sate Fair Opening Parade. I participated in this parade a few times in the late '60s and early '70s, as a member of the Preston Trail Ride. We rode horses and wagons from Preston in Grayson County (a historic crossing of the Red River between The Republic of Texas and Indian Territory USA) down the old Preston Trail (pretty much Highway 289 and Preston Road today) to open up the State Fair every year.

On my stroll, I was wearing this J.B. Stetson 5X "Cattleman", my El Paso made (meaning, "real") Tony Lama kangaroo skin rodeo heel boots, a tooled belt with a handmade Pearl Beer buckle, and a starched Oxford cloth western Shirt from Cavender's.

Making my way to the parade, a father pointed me out to his daughter, saying, "Look! A real cowboy!" Well, no and yes. I've done it, but I don't anymore, and haven't in a long time (almost 40 years). But I paid my dues and earned the look.

Behind me is a slanted building designed by I.M. Pei, and a Henry Moore sculpture often used as a public urinal in the past by Dallas' homeless. Who says "art" serves no purpose?

The Texas Two-Stetson.

What's old is new again. See for yourself.

Step up, son.

Some may recall my late, lamented John B. Stetson straw hat. It lives on as my yard-work hat, but it is not presentable for public viewing. I've been looking for a Western style replacement hat, but without luck (in my price range). But...

I made a barbecue expedition to Garland yesterday to try out a little drive-up called "Meshack's" (borrowing its name from a long closed South Dallas BBQ joint of some fame). It was worth the trip, and stands in my book right now as a top three BBQ spot in DFW. It's on Avenue B. Check it out.

Being out in the "Land of Gar" is a rarity for me, so I decided to make the most of the trip and swing by the Resistol Hat Factory and check out their outlet store. There it was, a Stetson 10X "Rancher" straw with side vents, in one of the two sizes that fit my cranium (a 7-5/8th).

I wore it to church this morning, and someone commented (looking at my sneakers), "Where're yer boots?" to which I replied, "It's a hat, not a costume."

Second chance.

I got this Ecuadorian straw hat several years ago from Orvis. One could call it a Panama if one felt so inclined... I don't.

The sub-fino straw was woven in Ecuador, and then made into a hat here in the USA. It's a "one size fits all" hat, and I have blamed that design (it's the elastic sweatband) for the odd transition between the brim and the crown. The proportions are off, or the crown is too high, or something. I've just never felt comfortable with it, eve though I like the general shape.

Any way, it's hung unused in my office. My old favorite straw died this spring (I think it's decomposing), so I set out to find a new straw hat for the summer (no pun intended). I'm giving this one another try after buying and returning a similar hat from Woolrich that was advertised as a "Panama-style" hat. The hat was from China, and instead of straw, it was made from woven paper. Back it went.

Financial constraints prevent me from ordering a Havana-style Panama hat, so this hat (much like the previous post) is getting a second chance.

Not a Panama.

This is a toquilla straw hat from Ecuador, commonly called a Panama hat because of their popularity there as an export item during the years the Panama Canal was dug. The name stuck. So, it really is a "Panama" hat, but Panama hats aren't from Panama, but Ecuador instead.

I've had this hat for a few years, but never really liked it's "roll-up" style. This year, in need of a new, cool straw hat, I formed the crease in the front of the crown (it had been just a plain barrel). I like it much better now. But I really want one like my cousin Harry Truman wore.

Summer Helmet

A Made'n Murhica pith helmet. The manufacturer's name is the unfortunate "Dorfman-Pacific". I say unfortunate, because I get looks like I'm wearing a "Dorkman-Specific" hat when I don this. But it's incredibly cool (ventilated), and I wear it when I am riding the Arched Bicycle of Canterbury (seen in the background). Helmets are required in Dallas.