The "A Tour Of Bollman Hat Company - Part I" Story

The Bollman Hat Company in Adamstown, Pennsylvania

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in the second floor lobby of the Bollman Hat Factory with my brother Steve waiting for the second tour of the morning to start.  Back at the beginning of the summer I read a story titled "Under Cover" in the local newspaper which told of the Bollman Hat Company giving away more than 350 hats to create awareness about the dangers of sun damage and skin cancer.  Picture in the paper showed Bollman President and CEO, Don Rongione, handing out hats to citizens of Lancaster, Pennsylvania who had waited in line for the wide-brimmed hats which give maximum protection from the sun's rays.  About half a year before this story hit the newspaper,  another story in the paper told of the extraordinary crowdfunding campaign launched by Bollman to raise enough money to bring the Kangol "504" headware machinery back from China so the hat could be made in America.  

Old aerial photograph showing the Bollman Hat Company.

Really got my interest so when I heard that the factory was giving tours in late November, I decided to visit and see exactly how they make the hats at Bollman.  Told my brother about my visit and he said he'd also enjoy taking the tour with me.  Shortly Mr. Rongione stepped into the lobby with his wide-brimmed grey hat sitting on his head and greeted the dozen or so people who had gathered for the tour.  Extremely personable guy who you can tell just loves what he does for a living.  He thanked us for the interest in his company and told us that every piece of clothing he had on today was made in America.  

Mr. Don Rongione, President and CEO of Bollman.

This included everything from the hat to his underwear.  Tour started by showing a variety of framed photos that gave the history of the company.  George Bollman and Isaac Sowers, both of Adamstown, formed a partnership in 1868 for the purpose of manufacturing hats and thus began the Bollman Hat Company.  The original building, which at one time was a distillery, sat across the street from where we are now standing.  Seven years later Mr. Bollman bought 22 acres of land at the present site for $2,200.  A two and a half story building was built and the hat company expanded their operation.  That year 60 employees produced 60 men's hats daily.  On March 18, 1878, fire destroyed the new building and its contents.  A building was quickly rented to continue operations while a new one was constructed.  In 1896 colored and lady's hats were added to the offerings of the company and the following year Mr. Bollman's son George Jr. joined the business.  The following year George Sr. died and his son purchased the business from his mother in 1900.  Hosiery was added to the collection five years later when the Blue Cross Knitting Mills in Adamstown was purchased to add employment year round.  In 1931 a carbonizing plant to scour and carbonize wool was built on loation so the hats could be completed from the shearing of the sheep to the finished product.   Then in 1956 the Merrimac Hat Company was purchased to allow for the production of fur felt hats.  In 1974 the Bollman family sold the Company to it's management team and five years later purchased the Adamstown Hat Company and were able to create a new straw hat operation.  

This collection of Bollman hats were worn by athletes
who participated in the Olympics.

At the same time a factory retail store opened in Willow Street, a town about 30 miles to the south of Adams- town.  In 1981 60,000 square feet of manufacturing capability was added to the main store in Adamstown.  Eventually, in 1985, ownership of the company was expanded to not only family, but to all qualified employees by establishing an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.  There is much more to the expansion of the company, but I would like to take you along with Steve and me as we tour the oldest hat manufacturer in the United States.  I hope my photos will give you a basic understanding of how a top quality piece of headgear is made from sheep to head.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The raw product that is used in the wool hats.l  The will comes right from the sheep to the factory where it is cleaned and prepared for hat making.

This worker is shaping the wool into the shape of a hat.  A tremendous amount of wool is needed for each hat.

This worker is pressing the previous shape into the more recognizable hat.

This worker is working on dying the wool for black hats.

The many color choices you have for a Bollman hat. 

Washing the excess dye from the hat shape.

This is a form that will help shape the hat.

More shaping will yield a more recognizable hat shape. 

The heating unit will take out any excess moisture from all previous steps.

The finishing procedures begin with a light sanding of the shape of the hat.

This worker is examining all the hats to make sure there are no imperfections.

Some of the many forms that can be used to shape the hat.

This worker is shaping top hats using a form.

Here you can see another form and the resulting hats. 

This worker is using steam to finish shaping.

Another light abrasive rubbing will finish the hat.

This worker is sewing in the headband.

Another worker is ironing the brim after sewing.

One of the final steps is adding exterior banding and decorations.

LDub disguised as Dick Tracy wearing a Bollman hat after the tour is complete.

The "I Could Have Been A Saffron Millionaire!" Story

Mosemann Spanish saffron on sale at the grocery store.

It was an ordinary day.  Going through the check-out line at our local grocery store and there at the end of the line, as Carol and I entered, was a yellow piece of cardboard with packets of Pure Spanish Saffron attached to it.  She said to me, "Remember when I made chicken potpie and added some saffron to it for flavoring?  You told me I ruined it!"  For those who have never tried it or used it in cooking, saffron has a very subtle flavor and aroma and gives a golden hue to that which it is added.  For me, living in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, home of the Pennsylvania Dutch Mennonites, saffron is a centuries-old tradition.  It's use is well-known for chicken potpies, egg-noodle chicken soup, bread stuffing and even salted chicken hearts.  

The crocus flower that produces saffron.

Saffron is actually the dried red stigma (the part of the flower's pistil where pollen germinates) of the autumn-flowering Crocus sativus and is still grown in Lancaster County by Justin Hulshizer who is neither Pennsylvania Dutch or a farmer.  He grows it mainly for his family, but when the weather yields a bumper crop, neighbors and other Lancasterians share in the crop.  Prior to the Revolutionary War, saffron traded on the Philadelphia commodity exchange at a price equal to gold. When I worked as a cashier for my local Acme Supermarket, I remember the packets of saffron that we kept under the cash register due to its cost.  

Showing the red stigmas on the edge of the plate.

Always hated the odor when a bag would break open.  The price today as we entered the check-out line was $2.19 for 3 grams!!  You better believe you would use this spice sparingly if you use it. Justin can still remember when his grandmother moved from her family home to a nursing home and insisted that he take her saffron corms and start a crop of his own.  The corm resembles a tulip bulb that reproduces by spawning smaller, daughter corms that can be detached and replanted.  The corms are unearthed and divided in July and by mid-October send up shoots that bloom purple-lilac flowers.  Each flower yields three stigmas or threads which must be harvested in the early morning before the sun wilts the blooms.  The saffron threads are then dried in a convection toaster for two minutes which activates the oils and enhances the aroma.  

Mosemann saffron sold on market.

Justin has seven beds of flowers which yields 10 to 15 grams of saffron each year.  Yes, you read that right!!  10 to 15 grams per season which is about 5 of the bags that were on the board at the grocery store.  Labor intensive?  You've got to be kidding! What a pain it must be to grow saffron.  How can anyone make a living if they are a saffron farmer?  Perhaps that's why Justin is one of the few people in Pennsylvania that still grow the stuff.  I was recently at Lancaster's Central Market and saw containers of saffron packaged by Mosemann from New Holland, PA and found out that Mosemann sells saffron procured from a broker and not raised in New Holland.  If I had known what I now know, I would have scooped up all that stuff that spilled from those bags in the Acme and put it in a safe deposit box.  I might have become a Saffron millionaire by now! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.   

The "Labor Day Report" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Labor Day 2016 and I am once again reminded of the time when I was a member of a union which helped me obtain wages that were more than double what my friends who were working were making.  For almost four years, during high school and college, I worked part-time at the Acme Supermarket, first running a cash register then "graduating" to stocking shelves and working in the produce section of the store.  That was when running a cash register required math skills that, my guess is, most students in high school today don't possess.  Still remember that when someone bought a can of Campbell's soup, that was 3 for $.49, I rang up $.17.  Didn't have to look it up on my phone.  I knew math inside and out as did all the people who ran cash registers at the store.  Well, throughout those years I had to pay union dues once a month. When I stopped working at the grocery store I was making $2.19 an hour while some of my friends were getting paid $1.00 an hour pumping gas.  I did have to pay $15.00 a month for having my union negotiate that wage for me, but I was making more as a part-time worker than many who were working full-time at other jobs.  Unions are bashed constantly for being corrupt, and I guess that may be true from time to time, but I was able to pay for my college tuition and books, car expenses and insurance and still have some left over to take my girlfriend to the movies because of my union.  Yesterday I wrote a story about Armstrong Cork Company and the fantastic benefits that the employees received which included having a shop committee that would communicate with management for wages.  More than likely that was the start of unions as we know them in Lancaster, PA.  Today we celebrate all workers, both union and non-union and the economic achievements of the American workers.  Labor Day constitutes a yearly nation tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country.  

More than 100 years after our first Labor Day celebra- tion, there is still doubt as to who was responsible for the holiday.  Some say it was Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor while others say it was Matthew Maguire, a machinist, who was the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J. who proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York.  It was Peter McGuire who joined with his friend Samuel Gompers to found the American Federation of Labor (AFL) which were responsible for the adoption of the eight-hour workday.  But wait, it was Matthew Maguire who led strikes intended to force the plight of manufacturing workers and their long hours into the public eye. He is said to be the father of Labor Day.  It was said that Maguire held some political beliefs that were considered fairly radical for the day as did Gompers so Gompers friend Peter McGuire was assigned the credit for the creation of Labor Day based on Canada's labour festival held in Toronto.  

1st Labor Day Parade in New York City.

The first Labor Day was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882 in New York City when 10,000 disgruntled workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square, thus holding the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history. In 1884 the holiday was moved to the first Monday in September.  Soon other areas of the country were also celebrating the holiday.  Then, the Sunday before Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.  The first state to pass a law naming Labor Day a holiday was Oregon in 1887. Others quickly follow and today all states honor our workers on the first Monday in September. Today Canada also celebrates Labour Day on the same date that we do while European Countries have various other days to celebrate. So, today we will celebrate all our workers and their dedication to making the USA the greatest nation on earth.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.