Burns rancher Bob Vestring featured in Texas newspaper
A well-known Burns rancher "made the news" this week in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
Mr. and Mrs. Jack Summerville of Marion have settled in for the winter months at their home in Mercedes, Texas. Folks who live in the Valley refer to the likes of them as "Winter Texans."
When Jack opened his Valley Morning Star Oct. 17, he was pleasantly surprised to see an Associated Press story which featured "Hatman Jack" of Wichita and Bob Vestring of Burns. Prior to retirement Summerville was a police captain on the Wichita force.
The story headline is "Pricy Headwear" and explains that as good quality beaver and rabbit furs become more scare, the price of felt hats goes higher and higher.
Beaver pelts now bring more than $20 each and rabbit goes for nearly $5 each.
The best fur comes from the under body of the beaver, where it grows thick to protect the animal from cold weather.
Hatman Jack Kellogg crafts headgear worn by most of the Western celebrities. He said beaver fur is best during a cold year. And some of the larger hat companies are accused of putting more rabbit fur into the mix to produce felt.
The feel of a $350 hat doesn't compare to a $550 model, which is not only stronger but lighter.
Cowboy connoisseurs often lament the fact that felt hats of today don't compare to those their fathers wore.
The story told how Bob Vestring, 85, Burns cattleman and vast rancher, walked into a hat shop at Wichita in the early 1970s and ran his hand over a hat soft as a mink and supple. "I looked at this fine felt hat," Vestring said, "real thin, the best money can buy. And the owner said to me, 'When the hats here are gone, there won't be anymore.'"
Vestring purchased eight of them on the spot, two for each of his three sons and two for himself.
In 30 years, Vestring said, he's never found a hat that comes close in quality. And to this day, when he wears one of the fine hats, people — especially Texans — take note.
— Condensed from AP story by Rukmini Callimachi
