Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Hat, Top |
Catalog Number |
2004.040.01 |
Description |
Silk top hat from Rogers Beet and Co. in New York. Hat was autographed in the 1930s by Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, and Eddie Cantor. |
Provenance |
Belonged to Fred Kramer |
Used By |
Fred Kramer |
Date |
c. 1930 |
Material |
Silk |
People |
Kramer, Fred |
Subjects |
"Things that Matter" Organizations & Clubs Clothing & Accessories |
Search Terms |
La Crosse Plugs "Things that Matter" |
Relation |
Show Related Records... |
Notes |
Featured in Things that Matter "Nothing says "special occasion" like a silk top hat, particularly one from the fashionable New York firm Rogers, Peet & Co. La Crosse resident and businessman Fred Kramer wore this hat as a member of the "La Crosse Plugs," a men’s social organization committed to boosting La Crosse’s business interests. The club had been around as early as the 1870s, but it had gone dormant by the early 20th century. Several businessmen and public servants rebooted it in 1932, including Kramer. When in action, the Plugs dressed with excessive formality — top hats, coattails and canes. The uniform was meant to grab attention, show respect to visitors, and give an impression of general prosperity. The Plugs’ self-professed purpose was to "boost the city," but members made it clear in its founding documents that the group’s members also planned to include "rip-roaring-snorting comedy" and "fun-making" on occasion. The uniform did both at once. Circumstantial evidence suggests Kramer and his top hat made the trip to Rochester, Minn., on Aug. 8, 1934, to meet President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and make him a member of the Plugs, too. The Plugs set out in the morning, in full "black and white uniform," on a special train with a couple hundred of their friends, including the drum and bugle corps of American Legion Post 52. They marched in a parade, greeted the president with appropriate elegance and showed up in the background of the newsreels. In the words of the Chicago Tribune, the Plugs generally "evoked admiration" from those assembled. They even succeeded in making the president a member through the efforts of Wisconsin Gov. A.G. Schmedeman. Not bad for a small-town booster club." This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune. Title: Top Hats and Plugs Author: Caroline Morris Publish Date: August 22, 2015 |