Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1904-07-01
ALeAF FROM The PAST.
When q New Straw Hat Was q Novel
and Treasured Possession.


When 4 New Straw Hat was q Novel
and Treasured Possession.
In the early part Of the last century
there were fewer factories in this
country than now, and many things
were made by hand which to-day are
the work Of machinery. This was es-
pecially true Of the braid for straw
hats. Rye straw was commonly used,
although wheat was also in demand.
But the rye straw had longer stems
and was more easily handled
In driving along country roads, in
Massachusetts particularly, late in the
summer one would see great bundles
OF the straw hanging on the fences to
dry. When the sun and wind had
done their share Of the work, it was
placed in casks where sulphur was
burning until it was bleached to a
pale yellow. Then it was split into
narrow widths suitable for braiding.
The daughters of farmers did not
have many pennies of their own in
those days, and all were eager to earn
money by braiding straw. Every little
while men would pass through the
villages, calling from house to house
and buying the straw braid They
paid two cents a yard for It
District school, was in session only
six months Of the year-the rest Of
the time the children helped their
mothers with the housework. When
that was done they took up their
braids for amusement and occupation.
So much day every girl expected
to do as her daily "stint" She would
carry it down by the brook or up in
the apple tree when the summer days
were long; or during the stormy hours
Of winter she would go with it to the
old attic, where the swing hung from
the cobwebbed rafters. But all the
time her fingers must work busily, lest
the men should call for the braids and
find them unfinished.
The factories where the straw was
sewed were in the large towns. Tho
simplest hats were Of the braids
alone. More elaborate ones had q
fancy cord, also Of plated straw,
sewed on the edge Of the braid. This
cord was made by the old ladies.
Grandmothers and great-aunts whose
eyes were too dim to sew would take
their balls Of straw with them on
neighborhood calls. While they chat
ted together, their hands would be
weaving the yellow strands in and out.
fashioning the dainty cord
The price paid for the cord was
only half a cent yard, but this was
better than nothing to those danes Of
a bygone generation.
A poor country girl would begin to
think Of her hat from the time of
seed-sowing. All summer she would
watch the billowy grain. When it was
gathered and only the empty stalks
were left, she would tie them into bum
dies and hang them in some sheltered
nook to dry. Bleaching, splitting and
bra1ding-these she did herself.
When the braids were finished and
sent to the factory, how impatiently
she waited! Perhaps grandma con-
tributed some of the cord she had
made last winter, that the new hat
might be more beautiful. At last the
hat came home, and then what uyings
ON there were before the old gilt
framed mirror in the parlor! How low
ingly it's owner handled It as she
placed it this way or that ON her curly
head. Oh, a new straw hat was In
deed thing well worth having IN
those days Of the long ago.-St Mich