My object is a felt cowboy hat that my dad gave me. The hat was bought by my great uncle when he was first moving to Texas from Nebraska. The hat has now been worn by a member of my family for over 35 years. The felt hat was invented in 1865 in Pennsylvania to protect ranchers from harsh elements like sunlight and storms. The felt style of hat is meant to keep your head warm in the colder months. Learning about my family's tradition in owning this hat can teach someone that me and my family enjoy attending rodeos, building saddles, and selling saddles. This is a very important object in my family’s history as it was one of the first purchases my uncle made after moving to Texas from Nebraska. My great uncle on my grandmother’s side of the family moved from Nebraska to, where we now live, Texas. On his trip he decided to make a purchase that forever changed the history of my family. He bought a cowboy hat thinking that it would make him fit in because he was now living in Texas. He later pursued the career of saddle building which was possibly influenced by him buying that cowboy hat. My great uncle started a new tradition in our family that my dad ended up carrying on until now I have started to pursue the tradition.

– Jack Jeys

Relationship:  unknown unknown