Written by Connie Trussel of Elko for “As I remember Scott County History”, 1908
Susan Hartz of Shakopee, 1908. Photo from the SCHS collections.
Many fond memories are associated with wearing hats, although a few of the memories are bitter. Most families in Scott County were hard working and frugal. A new hat for Easter was not a frivolity or extravagance but a necessity. Women often exhibited unique and clever ways to fabricate a “new” hat. One example is the mother who dyed her daughter’s last year’s hat with black stove polish, which produced a lovely, shiny finish. The daughter still remembers feeling quite elegant at church that Sunday. Fortunately it didn’t rain.
Another hat story that still get s a chuckle is the pre-Easter shopping trip by four local women to Fairbault to buy new Easter hats. Three of them quickly decided on new creations that suited their tastes and their pocket books. The fourth lady was quite undecided. She tried hat after hat form the shelf, always coming back to one that lay near the mirror. Finally satisfied that it was the most becoming, she announced her decision. Only then did one of her companions speak up and tell her that it belonged to her, and was her old hat which she had taken off and laid down.
Shakopee women in hats. Seen in the back row from left to right are: H. E. (Lena) Strunk, Gertrude Weiland, Anna Dieken, and Anna Berens. Seen in the front row from left to right are: Hulda Weiland and Isabel Strunk. Photo from the SCHS collections.
I’m sure this incident happened many times, but it’s still with chagrin that it is remembered. After hours of trying hats to find just the right one, a lady walked proudly into church on Sunday morning. To her horror, she noticed that someone else had bought exactly the same hat! Needless to say, that hat was never worn again.
A cruel remark, possibly even made jokingly, prompted one lady to immediately go home and burn her new hat. She wasn’t going to take a chance on that ever happening again.
Lois H. Kahle of Belle Plaine, 1884. Photo from the SCHS collections
One of the funniest hat stories is about a man and his new hat. Years ago, before the advent of the feed and seed advertising caps, men wore hats too- morning, afternoon and evenings. One Saturday night, as was their custom, a young couple decided to spend the evening at the local bar. Above the bar was the dance hall. After a few
Meeting of the Shakopee Goodfellows, 1884. Photo from the SCHS Collections.
minutes in the dance hall, the man deserted his wife, to engage in conversation with his cronies at the bar. The young wife had come to dance, so when a good-looking young man approached the group of young ladies, inquiring which ones were married. She didn’t object when her friends all answered “I am but she isn’t”. The handsome stranger, while making conversation between dances, informed her that he was wearing a brand new and very expensive hat. They were dancing again, he still with his hat on, when the young lady’s husband returned. The husband, feeling a surge of jealousy, strolled over to the couple, grabbed the man’s hat, stamped on it a few times, and placed it back on the startled man’s head. Not sure what to do next, the couple kept on dancing. Where upon the angry husband again took the hat and promptly threw it in the stove. At that point, the stranger decided enough was enough. He hurried out of the dance hall and wasn’t seen in town again.
Young people walk through downtown Shakopee, 1900. Photo from the SCHS collections.