| |
| |
|
|
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
|
|
|
WHEREAS, The cowboy hat has long been associated with |
|
|
residents of the Lone Star State, and for many years, the city of |
|
|
Garland has been home to the leading manufacturers of this |
|
|
emblematic Texan headgear; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, John B. Stetson first invented the hat that came to |
|
|
be known as the "Boss of the Plains" in 1865, and in 1927, a Michigan |
|
|
investor named E. R. Byer and a hatmaker named Harry Rolnick |
|
|
founded the Byer-Rolnick company in Dallas to manufacture the brand |
|
|
of cowboy hat called Resistol, for its ability to resist all |
|
|
weathers; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Thanks to a growing demand, Byer-Rolnick opened a |
|
|
larger factory in Garland in 1938, where Resistol hats have been |
|
|
made ever since; Stetsons are now made in Garland as well, along |
|
|
with the western fashion hats made by the Charlie 1 Horse Hat |
|
|
Company; all three companies are part of Hatco, which is |
|
|
headquartered in Garland and employs nearly 400 people; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The concentration of hat-making talent in Garland |
|
|
has led to the formation of several other companies; Master Hatters |
|
|
of Texas was founded in 1968 by a former Byer-Rolnick employee, |
|
|
William Cook, and the Milano Hat Company, founded by John Milano in |
|
|
1983, opened a new facility in 2006; Dallas Hats has been making |
|
|
palm leaf and raffia cowboy hats in the city since 1989; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Garland is also home to the Dallas County |
|
|
Manufacturing Association and the Garland Chamber of Commerce, and |
|
|
their essential contributions to the community's |
|
|
manufacturing-minded environment make the city an ideal location |
|
|
for businesses of all sorts; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The production of cowboy hats contributes not only |
|
|
to the Texas economy, but to the rich cultural history of our state, |
|
|
and the city of Garland may indeed take great pride in its central |
|
|
role in the design and manufacture of this iconic Texas product; |
|
|
now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
|
hereby designate Garland as the Cowboy Hat Capital of Texas. |