Tehama - The Magazine

26 TEHAMA - THE MAGAZINE, October 2014 If you grew up in Tehama County, country living is a way of life. Back when I was in high school, I was immersed in all things FFA and what we considered "cowboy." I didn't work on a ranch and neither did most of the people I hung out with. For us, our clothes were more about identifying with the country styles and had very little to do with functionality. When I was asked to write about cowboy hats, I had an idea of the basics, but I was surprised to learn much more than I ever imagined about the heritage, the form and the function of this symbolic piece of western wear. I sat down with two people to discuss cowboy hats and I was amazed at what I learned. According to Heidi Root, you can tell where a cowboy is from based on his hat. The shape of a hat gives clues to where a cowboy is located. The function of the hat is determined by the climate and the surroundings that the cowboy lives in. Men and women who hail from Nevada and Southern Oregon are given away by their flat brim hats. These cowboys prefer the term Buckaroo over cowboy, and their brims are flat to provide as much protection as possible from the sun and high temps in their climates. Whereas, Texas and Oklahoma cowboys tend to have rolled brims because they ride through the brush, a working cowboy in our area will most likely have a slightly rolled brim to maximize sun protection and the front of the brim will be slightly bent down to allow the rain to run off. Showman tend to have the front of their brim square to allow for maximum visibility when competing. The primary use of a cowboy hat is to protect it's owner from the elements and anything aside from that use is secondary. Though you will see showman, pageant queens and other people wearing hats, most all elements of the style of a cowboy hat are based on the working cowboy, rodeo cowboy or someone who uses their hat as a tool of their trade. Cowboy Hats 101 By Faydra Rector

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