Welcome to the “My Place” page
 My name is Scott
I run the Rope and Wire website.
My original idea for this page was to give those living in the country the opportunity to tell others about the things that made their farm or ranch so special.
Well, I’ve come to the conclusion that either no one likes to brag or no one lives on a farm or a ranch. Whatever the case, no one submitted an article so I felt it was high time to try something different.
So for now this will be literally “My Place.” I’ll use this page to post a western blog or short articles. They will either be mine, or possibly one from a contributing R&W community member.
The theme will remain Western but the content will change weekly, or there about.
If you click on any of the links to past blog's, you can return to this page by clicking on the My Place button across from my picture.
I hope you enjoy it but if not, might I suggest you “stroll the grounds.” Read a story or watch a movie.
Thanks for visiting.
Scott
Hats
It’s not the style that counts…or is it?
It’s been said that every hat makes a statement. Boy ain’t that the truth. If you should ever find yourself at your local high school or the local mall, take a look at the type of hats people are wearing. You’ll see all kinds of headgear from ball caps to bandanas and everything in between. There’s no denying it, a hat can definitely make a statement about the person wearing it, but even more than that, it can define a person or a culture.
History tells us that the first “Cowboys” were from the Southwest. The Mexican vaquero; they wore a big broad rimmed decorated hat called a sombrero. The American version of the cowboy hat didn’t come on the scene until 1865. Until then, men heading west wore whatever was handy. Mountain men for example, wore hats made from animal pelts. Others wore everything from sailor hats to top hats and derbies. In most cases, the type of hat a man wore was a clue to his past profession.
It wasn’t until around 1865 that Western hats started to become more standardized. We can thank a man by the name of John B. Stetson for that. He’s credited with fashioning the first “cowboy” hat, and to this day it has remained basically unchanged in its construction and design.
Cowboys took a liking to the hat and made it a regular part of their daily wear. Not only did it keep the sun off the face and rain off the back, it also defined the wearer as a cowboy, and as an added bonus, it came in quite handy for fanning a lazy campfire.
It’s been said that the hat was a perfect place to conceal money and important papers, hence the phrase “keeping something under ones hat” had a more literal meaning than one might think. As a kid growing up, my dad had a favorite phrase and I heard it a lot. “Use your head for something besides a hat rack.” Man I got tired of hearing that.
Now what that has to do with hats, I’m not quite sure. It just came to mind.
The cowboy hat was highly prized and believe it or not, it was a relatively expensive item. A good one could easily set a buckaroo back a month’s wages or more. Its no wonder a cowboy was willing to put his life at risk to retrieve a lost hat, and actually losing ones hat was a sad state of affairs.
I once had a great hat. I almost wore it out but unfortunately I didn’t quite get the chance. That hat and I went through many a hot summer day and cold winter rain together. I admit, I didn’t wear that hat everyday, but when I needed a good workin’ hat, I knew where to find it. It eventually came up missing. I looked high and low for that hat until my wife sheepishly admitted to me that she had thrown it out. “It was all dirty and sweat stained,” she told me. Man, it was like losing an old friend.
I have two hats now, but to tell you the truth, I still miss that ol’ hat.
|
