Country Lifestyles
The Hat Lady – Got a dirty hat? See Mrs. Stanley Rater
By Judy Wade
“We Love Dirty Hats” is the motto of Huskey Hats at 1225 E. Scott in Wichita Falls. Mrs. Stanley Rater can take your dirty old felt hat and return it within three to six weeks looking brand new, complete with new liner, sweat band, ribbon hat band, and creased just the way you like it.
“It is a long, multi-step process and lots of hard work all done by hand,” Rater said. It begins with stripping the liner, sweat band and hat band followed by a thorough thirty-minute bath in naptha in a huge 1941 hat-washing machine to remove the oil and grease followed by a hand scrubbing in tide to get rid of the dirt.
Afterward, the hat is dried overnight before many other steps are taken to get it resized, including applying a sizing to help the hat keep its shape, applying a thin oil to black hats to enhance the color, buffing to make it smooth and re-creasing.
One of those steps is a “smear” applied to the cleaned hat to cover worn places and spots still visible. “No one else has the formula for the smear. We are the only ones who use it. It can be used on white, silverbelly and tan hats,” she continued.
Eddie Huskey, once the hat man at the Cow Lot, was encouraged and backed by Gayle Bourland to open a hat cleaning shop. At that time, dirty hats were sent to Houston to be cleaned, taking about six months. Huskey opened his shop in the location where it remains today and invented the “smear” that has been handed down to Rater.
In January 1974 Johnny “Preach” Rater and wife Stanley were approached about becoming partners with the next owner. They agreed and Preach continued to work at a glass factory during the day and learned to clean hats at night. “Preach knew machinery and learned to clean the hats. I knew nothing,” she laughed.
To read more pick up a copy of the June 2017 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
By: Martha Crump
Most cattle producers can tell you quite a lot about balancing cattle diets for energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals based on the specific needs for their herd and type of operation.
A key factor, and one that is often overlooked, is that how your animals perform is also directly affected by their water intake.
Now many of you may already be thinking “well of course water is necessary, anybody knows that!”
In many years, as September marches into October, we are beginning to experience some return of rainfall. But as many of us know, that is not always the case. Often we are still experiencing hot and dry weather, and water supplies are dwindling.
When we find ourselves experiencing those types of fall conditions, it is critical to not only understand the daily water requirements for cattle, but also the impact that the quality of water can have on herd health and development.
To read more, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Annette Bridges
A friend and I were recently talking about our husbands. She made a comment that I felt also perfectly described me and my hubby.
“He slows me and I hurry him. I’m sure that is why we do well together,” she said.
“Precisely!” I thought. Why?
Because when two different worlds collide, it can be magical.
No matter what those two different worlds are- a man and a woman with very different personalities, beliefs, or backgrounds, two partners with contrasting passions, strengths, or talents, or when a country boy marries a city girl.
To read more, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
Watauga, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth, is known for its rich history as a railroad stop, but over the course of the last year, one teen girl has put it on the map for agriculture as well. Emma Harvey has lived in Tarrant County her entire life. Despite being highly involved in her local 4-H chapter, she still felt there was more she could do. In the spring of 2023, she stepped up to the plate to take over the title of Tarrant County Teen Miss Agriculture USA.
“It all started when I put in an application for the teen title here in Tarrant County,” explained Harvey.
The Miss Agriculture USA program is a national non-profit, age-inclusive pageant program that offers both competition and non-competition titles to women dedicated to the promotion of agriculture.
Read more in the October issue of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available online and in print. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive NTFR in your inbox each week.
Photo by Hannah Claxton.
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