This was a fascinating read for me. In AR we have a requirement that hats have a “full brim” but there’s no particular shape or style that is “correct” to most men. Many masters, such as my own, wear a “cowboy hat” and I know that is often seen in TX as well.
That said, I’m a weirdo and have a small collection of fedoras, trilbys, leather top hat, and even have a bowler for good measure. I enjoy the selection when I’m asked to confer degrees.
I'm with you Brother. I love hats, and I've got a good collection of them. As WM, when I wore a hat it was a Fedora. As GM I tried a traditional 'cowboy hat,' but I just don't look good wearing a hat with the traditional Cattleman's shape. Plus Mrs. Bailey hates it. That led me to a very wide brimmed western hat that shares some fedora styling, in Silver Belly. As for trillbys, I have one, but can't wear it. The thin brim makes me look like an even bigger fat ass than I am!
I found this Effanem hat because I was talking with a Brother about deer hunting when I was a child. That was before our State started requiring Blaze Orange, so I remembered myself, and everyone else wearing one of the Effanems, in Red.
I remembered that these red hats used to be available really inexpensively in just about every hardware and sporting goods store there was. Now they aren't seen anywhere. So, I went on a search for them on a lark.
That's when I discovered that they are made in black as well. I'd never seen one in any color other than red, but the black could be a superb WM's hat, so cheap, it's almost free, and virtually indestructible.
Oct 9, 2023·edited Oct 9, 2023Liked by Cameron M. Bailey
I think the traditional hat worn within our jurisdiction is simply a hat that is best suited to be worn with a tuxedo or less informally a dark suit. While there is nothing in the rules against it, wearing a baseball cap isn’t the best choice.
And you don’t have to break the bank to get a formal style hat. I have what is called a coachman’s hat, which is basically a short version of a top hat. It’s made from felt, not beaver, but still looks like it fits in with a tuxedo. For my tux I went with a tailcoat, so I am almost going full tops and tails.
The coachman I bought was around eighty bucks I think. (EDIT price was $50 dollars from Amazon).
How I got my tux is an interesting story. I went to men’s wearhouse looking for a tux to buy. Looking at their selection, it was terrible. The business model is rentals, not folks buying tuxes. I didn’t want to just rent, but talking to the salesman, he suggested just renting the suit, then when it came time to return it, just claim I lost it, and pay the fee. He assured me that it wouldn’t be a lot of money, less than $800 total. I was expecting to spend a lot more than that, so I thought this was a great plan. We looked through the catalog, and found a suit that was close to what I wanted, but it didn’t have tails, which I really was looking for. But I decided that was the closest I was going to get for the look I wanted. I got all measured up, and the suit was ordered to be custom made for me and delivered in three weeks, just in time for the degree I was conferring.
When the suit came, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the salesman was able to get the jacket with tails made. It fit wonderfully. So, I conferred the degree the next day with my new tux and coachman’s hat. When I went back to “return” it, I instead paid the lost fee. Altogether I spent less than $600 dollars for the jacket, vest and pants that was tailor made for me.
And wearing anything other than a top or coachmans hat wouldn’t fit the old Victorian look I wanted. And I didn’t break the bank achieving it.
I think I'm with you that a ball cap isn't the best choice for a WM standing in the East. I wouldn't object to it when/if I saw it done, but I don't think it is for the best.
That said, I'm not really keen on any man wearing a ball cap. I think it was Fran Lebowitz who I once heard remark something along the lines of 'I see way too many men running around wearing little boy's hats. To look good, men should wear men's hats.'
But, of course, even though I think her point has merit, I find myself wearing a ball cap all the time anyway. They are just so damn convenient.
All of this is of some importance to me because my skin is no darn good. I burn far too easily, and far in excess of what happens to normal, non-mutant people. My grandfather spent the last twenty or so years of his life having big chunks of skin cut off his head, so I hope to avoid that fate by always wearing a hat in the sun.
My own personal pet peeve is wearing hats at the dinner table. Drives me nuts, probably because we were taught in the military to take it off while inside, or when eating. The only time you didn't have to take it off was while under arms. And ancient customs dating back to the dawn of time, men took off their hats when eating. Now, that is the norm, not the exception. Grown men, old men, obviously old retired military men think nothing of having that damn baseball cap on while at a restaurant. Just a week ago at our monthly LOA breakfast I had to remind a man to take off his hat while dining.
For a lot of people, they would say, it's a stupid etiquette rule, who cares if they wear a hat or not. To me, it's a symbol of the decay of our societies' manners and morals. Stupid? Probably. But I was raised to open doors for women, and to say sir, ma'am, thank you, etc. Not a lot of that going on anymore, and look where we're at as a civilization today.
You will get no disagreement from me. One should remove one's hat while at a restaurant. I think a bar or club can be a different case but for a real meal, sitting down at a real table, the hat should come off.
But, I don't think that all of this is the fault of poorly behaved men.
It is also the fault of restaurants in the U.S.
As you know, I spend a lot of time in Mexico. When you enter most any restaurant in Mexico, wearing a hat, they bring a little stand over to your table to hang your hat on. Restaurants in the U.S. should, in my view, make some provision, somewhere, for a man to hang his hat. I can't imagine, for example, setting a light colored felt hat down on a booth seat in a restaurant. The least that could be done is a few hooks on the wall in an out of the way corner.
Worst to me though is men refusing to remove their ball caps at a funeral. Not long ago I was at a funeral, one of the deceased family members sat through the whole darn thing, ball cap perched on his head.
Now of course all these hat etiquette rules are quite different for women.
Interesting topic and one that I've been involved in...for better or worse. My heritage is almost exclusively Scots, and I wanted to honor that heritage during my year(s) in the East. At times I wore my tux and tails, with a top hat (I found one that not only fit but was in quite good shape), but I was installed in and usually wore my formal kilt attire with a glengarry hat. There were a number of stern looks and a couple "you can't wear that". I would try and explain that the glengarry was the preferred choice of hats worn with the formal kilt attire and a top hat would look pretty silly. It took a few instances of me actually showing PGM's and RWM's in Scotland wearing the glengarry to get a few of the more.......concerned...Brothers to let the matter lie.
Sorry for the meandering.....back to the original discussion.....
While I was searching for a decent top hat in our locker I came across some that were in pretty desperate shape......silk that had been eaten away, frayed brims, sagging liners etc. All were over 100 years old. Maybe we sell them on eBay (there is someone who collects these....believe me) or donate them to nearby High School drama departments?
But to haul these threadbare toppers out and wear them.......yeegads I shudder to think what a newly minted EA would think seeing a beaten old topper on the conferring Master!
I was also told by more than a few masons what color and type of hat I had to wear. Again, such folks "think" they know the rules when in fact they don't. There is nothing in the Washington Masonic Code that talks about what style and color hat a WM must wear.
This extends to a number of things that should be more considered "the way we do things here" or traditions rather than a law. When dealing with real candles for the lesser lights, I've been told by more than one brother that they need to be lit in a certain order. What poppycock. Or what size and emblems must be on a brother's apron is also another favorite topic brought up by misinformed men.
It would be best if the brothers spent the extra time reading the WMC and comprehending what it says instead of just repeating what they have been told from just as clueless brothers.
Recently I skipped a part of our Opening/Closing ritual that I see universally performed in our Jurisdiction. It wasn't some poor ritual work in that case, I skipped it on purpose.
After the meeting a Brother came up to me and mentioned that I forgot to do part of the ritual.
I assured him that I did not.
He insisted I did, and told me what the specific little bit of it was.
I asked him to show me where those specific words existed anywhere in our ritual.
They don't of course. But everyone has been saying them for so long now, that it is somehow universally believed that they are indeed a part of our Standard Work.
I know the part you're referring to, and yeah I don't have an issue with skipping parts of the ritual that's not in the book. My own thoughts, however, about the adjacent optional part. I love that part of the ritual. My lodge has made it a habit to skip it, and I really miss it. So much so that if I take over that seat, it's a part that is getting placed right back in.
You have it right. I skipped the Pledge of Allegiance. It isn't anywhere in our ritual, but in our Jurisdiction it is seemingly universal. I imagine its use became the norm in the 1950's around the same time we added the words "under God" to it, and "In God We Trust" to our coins. I presume for the same reason as well.
As for the optional, flag ceremony, I'm with you. I like it quite a lot. When in the East, I almost always do it, but sometimes I don't. I would skip it if my Lodge had a visitor from a foreign land. Ultimately, I am a strong believer in the universality of Freemasonry, and I think if we were to have a visitor from another nation, that universality is important to stress.
But, I also think it is important, to at least once in a while, remember:
-What is required by our Ritual
-What is optional within our Ritual
-What is simple tradition within our Ritual
And I think the only way we can stress those three distinctions is by occasionally skipping that which is optional, and that which is simple Lodge tradition, to highlight that which is what we refer to as Ancient Craft Masonry.
I too have a glengarry that I think is awesome. Alas though, Mrs. Bailey has made it quite clear that if I ever wear it outside of the house she will murder me in my sleep. She's actually quite fickle about hats!
I have worn some unusual hats during my own times in the East, perhaps most unusual, a vintage Stetson straw boater that I found in perfect condition at an antique store. No Brother ever complained about my choice in hats, but I did hear a complaint or two that I didn't wear the hat enough. (Lodge rooms in Western Washington aren't usually air conditioned and get hot as heck in the summer, so I find myself often ditching the hat lest I die of heat stroke.) For some really odd reason, Mrs. Bailey loves the boater.
I fear that all the old top hats at my Lodge are in the desperate condition you mention some of your Lodges are. It isn't good.
My home Lodge does have an interesting tradition. The founder of the Lodge wore a top hat in his year in the East, and the Lodge still has it. (He was also the founder of the city up the road.) It's preserved well in a glass case. Once a year, it comes out, and the WM tries to wear it when he is placed into the Oriental Chair. Alas though, the founder was a really tiny man. It is quite a balancing act keeping that tiny hat perched upon ones head.
Yeah, we have definitely grown in size since our Lodges were founded! It's the same with my Lodge's old Degree Costumes. We have very few Masons who fit well into them.
From a more esoteric perspective, the hat represents the crown chakra; seen by those few persons who can see 'quras' around people. Sure enough, several decades ago, someone invented an apparatus to detect your aura and add it to a Polaroid picture. They toured the country at psychic fairs.
I've seen my hat, and have never misplaced it. Even when I got older ...
Great article! I looked for a hat for over a year, tried on what felt like hundreds until I found a Stetson that both looked good and fit great. Sadly, after such a long a diligent search, I was only able to wear it for half of my year in the East due to Covid.
That's quite interesting, I wonder how that tradition started in the US? Now that you mention it, all of the documentaries I've seen concerning freemasonry in the UK never once did I see a hat indoors.
It is funny how our "traditions" come to be viewed as things somehow almost sacred, even though it seems that most of them are just things that sort of got made up somewhere along the way.
I'm with W. Glenn, that's darn interesting. We are so into WM hats here one would think that the tradition has existed in all places and all ages since time immemorial!
I have a large hat size – 7 ¾ , and very few of the available Lodge hats in the Lodges fit. Almost all are too small, and most of them are WAY too small. So for my second term in the East, I wore a “coon-skin” hat that I bought at my college when I was a student back in the mid 1990’s. Sure enough, I got some static, not from the old-timers, but from a couple of staunch traditionalists. Of course, they brought up the top hat, and I told I’d rather wear a Halloween costume hat in the East than try to wear a top hat that’s way too small, as it also makes a mockery of the Worshipful Master’s position. The following meeting, I explained why I chose to wear that particular “Coon-skin” hat: 1. It was the hat I bought at my college, whose mascot was “Blazer Bill,” a Trailblazer. 2. Tenino Lodge was on the Oregon Trail, and their annual festival is the Oregon Trail Days, where surprise! Surprise! Tons of people are wearing these kinds of hats. And 3. Which to me is very important, the hat Fits my Head.
Problem is, from time to time I ascend the East, either to confer degrees, close Lodge as a courtesy, or to install officers. And the Coon-skin is in the Tenino building. Also, that hat’s reasoning doesn’t work for other Lodges, and other occasions. Therefore, I wind up doing Worshipful Master-like duties with no hat on, and someone calls out for me to put on a hat, which I do, and everyone laughs because it’s way too small, and the person discreetly quiets down. I don’t get calls to put a hat on anymore.
There is someone who owns a Jaxon top hat, and it fit very well, and looked good. I was offered to use it by its owner, but it’s quite used by now, and is clearly the property of the owner. I appreciated the offer, but I declined. But honesty, between my head size, and the types of hats that work with the “Team uniform” or tuxedo, my options are quite limited. Stocking caps are the only hats that really fit me, but obviously don’t work with a Tux!
7 5/8 is I think as large as the Effanem hats are made. Just a touch small for you, but, soaking one and wearing it until dry would certainly conform it to your noggin. But yeah, given that most Lodge hats are really small to begin with, and that you need quite a large size, that certainly makes things almost impossible.
The coon-skin seems perfect for Tenino, as you stated.
I'm a hat guy, and it was important to me that I buy the "right" hat when I bought my tuxedo. So, I looked at what was supposed to be worn with different styles of formal wear and ended up with a Homburg as that is what is proper to be worn with casual formal (tuxedo). My wife, however, had other ideas for my year in the East, if I am elected later this year, and she bought me a Walrus. It looks like I'll need to upgrade my coat and vest for next year so that the Walrus fits the coat style.
Both of these hats cost less than $100 each and are comparable to my XXX rated cowboy hats - although the Walrus doesn't have a liner.
This was a fascinating read for me. In AR we have a requirement that hats have a “full brim” but there’s no particular shape or style that is “correct” to most men. Many masters, such as my own, wear a “cowboy hat” and I know that is often seen in TX as well.
That said, I’m a weirdo and have a small collection of fedoras, trilbys, leather top hat, and even have a bowler for good measure. I enjoy the selection when I’m asked to confer degrees.
I'm with you Brother. I love hats, and I've got a good collection of them. As WM, when I wore a hat it was a Fedora. As GM I tried a traditional 'cowboy hat,' but I just don't look good wearing a hat with the traditional Cattleman's shape. Plus Mrs. Bailey hates it. That led me to a very wide brimmed western hat that shares some fedora styling, in Silver Belly. As for trillbys, I have one, but can't wear it. The thin brim makes me look like an even bigger fat ass than I am!
I found this Effanem hat because I was talking with a Brother about deer hunting when I was a child. That was before our State started requiring Blaze Orange, so I remembered myself, and everyone else wearing one of the Effanems, in Red.
I remembered that these red hats used to be available really inexpensively in just about every hardware and sporting goods store there was. Now they aren't seen anywhere. So, I went on a search for them on a lark.
That's when I discovered that they are made in black as well. I'd never seen one in any color other than red, but the black could be a superb WM's hat, so cheap, it's almost free, and virtually indestructible.
I think the traditional hat worn within our jurisdiction is simply a hat that is best suited to be worn with a tuxedo or less informally a dark suit. While there is nothing in the rules against it, wearing a baseball cap isn’t the best choice.
And you don’t have to break the bank to get a formal style hat. I have what is called a coachman’s hat, which is basically a short version of a top hat. It’s made from felt, not beaver, but still looks like it fits in with a tuxedo. For my tux I went with a tailcoat, so I am almost going full tops and tails.
The coachman I bought was around eighty bucks I think. (EDIT price was $50 dollars from Amazon).
How I got my tux is an interesting story. I went to men’s wearhouse looking for a tux to buy. Looking at their selection, it was terrible. The business model is rentals, not folks buying tuxes. I didn’t want to just rent, but talking to the salesman, he suggested just renting the suit, then when it came time to return it, just claim I lost it, and pay the fee. He assured me that it wouldn’t be a lot of money, less than $800 total. I was expecting to spend a lot more than that, so I thought this was a great plan. We looked through the catalog, and found a suit that was close to what I wanted, but it didn’t have tails, which I really was looking for. But I decided that was the closest I was going to get for the look I wanted. I got all measured up, and the suit was ordered to be custom made for me and delivered in three weeks, just in time for the degree I was conferring.
When the suit came, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the salesman was able to get the jacket with tails made. It fit wonderfully. So, I conferred the degree the next day with my new tux and coachman’s hat. When I went back to “return” it, I instead paid the lost fee. Altogether I spent less than $600 dollars for the jacket, vest and pants that was tailor made for me.
And wearing anything other than a top or coachmans hat wouldn’t fit the old Victorian look I wanted. And I didn’t break the bank achieving it.
I think I'm with you that a ball cap isn't the best choice for a WM standing in the East. I wouldn't object to it when/if I saw it done, but I don't think it is for the best.
That said, I'm not really keen on any man wearing a ball cap. I think it was Fran Lebowitz who I once heard remark something along the lines of 'I see way too many men running around wearing little boy's hats. To look good, men should wear men's hats.'
But, of course, even though I think her point has merit, I find myself wearing a ball cap all the time anyway. They are just so damn convenient.
All of this is of some importance to me because my skin is no darn good. I burn far too easily, and far in excess of what happens to normal, non-mutant people. My grandfather spent the last twenty or so years of his life having big chunks of skin cut off his head, so I hope to avoid that fate by always wearing a hat in the sun.
My own personal pet peeve is wearing hats at the dinner table. Drives me nuts, probably because we were taught in the military to take it off while inside, or when eating. The only time you didn't have to take it off was while under arms. And ancient customs dating back to the dawn of time, men took off their hats when eating. Now, that is the norm, not the exception. Grown men, old men, obviously old retired military men think nothing of having that damn baseball cap on while at a restaurant. Just a week ago at our monthly LOA breakfast I had to remind a man to take off his hat while dining.
For a lot of people, they would say, it's a stupid etiquette rule, who cares if they wear a hat or not. To me, it's a symbol of the decay of our societies' manners and morals. Stupid? Probably. But I was raised to open doors for women, and to say sir, ma'am, thank you, etc. Not a lot of that going on anymore, and look where we're at as a civilization today.
/rant mode off
You will get no disagreement from me. One should remove one's hat while at a restaurant. I think a bar or club can be a different case but for a real meal, sitting down at a real table, the hat should come off.
But, I don't think that all of this is the fault of poorly behaved men.
It is also the fault of restaurants in the U.S.
As you know, I spend a lot of time in Mexico. When you enter most any restaurant in Mexico, wearing a hat, they bring a little stand over to your table to hang your hat on. Restaurants in the U.S. should, in my view, make some provision, somewhere, for a man to hang his hat. I can't imagine, for example, setting a light colored felt hat down on a booth seat in a restaurant. The least that could be done is a few hooks on the wall in an out of the way corner.
Worst to me though is men refusing to remove their ball caps at a funeral. Not long ago I was at a funeral, one of the deceased family members sat through the whole darn thing, ball cap perched on his head.
Now of course all these hat etiquette rules are quite different for women.
Interesting topic and one that I've been involved in...for better or worse. My heritage is almost exclusively Scots, and I wanted to honor that heritage during my year(s) in the East. At times I wore my tux and tails, with a top hat (I found one that not only fit but was in quite good shape), but I was installed in and usually wore my formal kilt attire with a glengarry hat. There were a number of stern looks and a couple "you can't wear that". I would try and explain that the glengarry was the preferred choice of hats worn with the formal kilt attire and a top hat would look pretty silly. It took a few instances of me actually showing PGM's and RWM's in Scotland wearing the glengarry to get a few of the more.......concerned...Brothers to let the matter lie.
Sorry for the meandering.....back to the original discussion.....
While I was searching for a decent top hat in our locker I came across some that were in pretty desperate shape......silk that had been eaten away, frayed brims, sagging liners etc. All were over 100 years old. Maybe we sell them on eBay (there is someone who collects these....believe me) or donate them to nearby High School drama departments?
But to haul these threadbare toppers out and wear them.......yeegads I shudder to think what a newly minted EA would think seeing a beaten old topper on the conferring Master!
I was also told by more than a few masons what color and type of hat I had to wear. Again, such folks "think" they know the rules when in fact they don't. There is nothing in the Washington Masonic Code that talks about what style and color hat a WM must wear.
This extends to a number of things that should be more considered "the way we do things here" or traditions rather than a law. When dealing with real candles for the lesser lights, I've been told by more than one brother that they need to be lit in a certain order. What poppycock. Or what size and emblems must be on a brother's apron is also another favorite topic brought up by misinformed men.
It would be best if the brothers spent the extra time reading the WMC and comprehending what it says instead of just repeating what they have been told from just as clueless brothers.
Recently I skipped a part of our Opening/Closing ritual that I see universally performed in our Jurisdiction. It wasn't some poor ritual work in that case, I skipped it on purpose.
After the meeting a Brother came up to me and mentioned that I forgot to do part of the ritual.
I assured him that I did not.
He insisted I did, and told me what the specific little bit of it was.
I asked him to show me where those specific words existed anywhere in our ritual.
They don't of course. But everyone has been saying them for so long now, that it is somehow universally believed that they are indeed a part of our Standard Work.
I know the part you're referring to, and yeah I don't have an issue with skipping parts of the ritual that's not in the book. My own thoughts, however, about the adjacent optional part. I love that part of the ritual. My lodge has made it a habit to skip it, and I really miss it. So much so that if I take over that seat, it's a part that is getting placed right back in.
You have it right. I skipped the Pledge of Allegiance. It isn't anywhere in our ritual, but in our Jurisdiction it is seemingly universal. I imagine its use became the norm in the 1950's around the same time we added the words "under God" to it, and "In God We Trust" to our coins. I presume for the same reason as well.
As for the optional, flag ceremony, I'm with you. I like it quite a lot. When in the East, I almost always do it, but sometimes I don't. I would skip it if my Lodge had a visitor from a foreign land. Ultimately, I am a strong believer in the universality of Freemasonry, and I think if we were to have a visitor from another nation, that universality is important to stress.
But, I also think it is important, to at least once in a while, remember:
-What is required by our Ritual
-What is optional within our Ritual
-What is simple tradition within our Ritual
And I think the only way we can stress those three distinctions is by occasionally skipping that which is optional, and that which is simple Lodge tradition, to highlight that which is what we refer to as Ancient Craft Masonry.
I too have a glengarry that I think is awesome. Alas though, Mrs. Bailey has made it quite clear that if I ever wear it outside of the house she will murder me in my sleep. She's actually quite fickle about hats!
I have worn some unusual hats during my own times in the East, perhaps most unusual, a vintage Stetson straw boater that I found in perfect condition at an antique store. No Brother ever complained about my choice in hats, but I did hear a complaint or two that I didn't wear the hat enough. (Lodge rooms in Western Washington aren't usually air conditioned and get hot as heck in the summer, so I find myself often ditching the hat lest I die of heat stroke.) For some really odd reason, Mrs. Bailey loves the boater.
I fear that all the old top hats at my Lodge are in the desperate condition you mention some of your Lodges are. It isn't good.
My home Lodge does have an interesting tradition. The founder of the Lodge wore a top hat in his year in the East, and the Lodge still has it. (He was also the founder of the city up the road.) It's preserved well in a glass case. Once a year, it comes out, and the WM tries to wear it when he is placed into the Oriental Chair. Alas though, the founder was a really tiny man. It is quite a balancing act keeping that tiny hat perched upon ones head.
MWB, I swear half the toppers I found in Wa4's locker were 6 5/8 or SMALLER!
Yeah, we have definitely grown in size since our Lodges were founded! It's the same with my Lodge's old Degree Costumes. We have very few Masons who fit well into them.
From a more esoteric perspective, the hat represents the crown chakra; seen by those few persons who can see 'quras' around people. Sure enough, several decades ago, someone invented an apparatus to detect your aura and add it to a Polaroid picture. They toured the country at psychic fairs.
I've seen my hat, and have never misplaced it. Even when I got older ...
I remember the aura photos being quite popular decades ago. I presume that they are still done?
I think I have had more than enough time in the East. Four times is plenty. Good read though.
Thank you. I'm glad that you liked it.
For the WNY Lodge of Research, I choose to wear an approximation of a mediaeval scholars hat my wife bought me at the Ren Faire.
Awesome, and fitting for the Lodge!
Great article! I looked for a hat for over a year, tried on what felt like hundreds until I found a Stetson that both looked good and fit great. Sadly, after such a long a diligent search, I was only able to wear it for half of my year in the East due to Covid.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Like you, my search for a hat for my GM year was long. It was finally solved when Bro. Roy made me a hat.
Being in the UK we don't wear hats as master
That's quite interesting, I wonder how that tradition started in the US? Now that you mention it, all of the documentaries I've seen concerning freemasonry in the UK never once did I see a hat indoors.
It is funny how our "traditions" come to be viewed as things somehow almost sacred, even though it seems that most of them are just things that sort of got made up somewhere along the way.
I'm with W. Glenn, that's darn interesting. We are so into WM hats here one would think that the tradition has existed in all places and all ages since time immemorial!
I have a large hat size – 7 ¾ , and very few of the available Lodge hats in the Lodges fit. Almost all are too small, and most of them are WAY too small. So for my second term in the East, I wore a “coon-skin” hat that I bought at my college when I was a student back in the mid 1990’s. Sure enough, I got some static, not from the old-timers, but from a couple of staunch traditionalists. Of course, they brought up the top hat, and I told I’d rather wear a Halloween costume hat in the East than try to wear a top hat that’s way too small, as it also makes a mockery of the Worshipful Master’s position. The following meeting, I explained why I chose to wear that particular “Coon-skin” hat: 1. It was the hat I bought at my college, whose mascot was “Blazer Bill,” a Trailblazer. 2. Tenino Lodge was on the Oregon Trail, and their annual festival is the Oregon Trail Days, where surprise! Surprise! Tons of people are wearing these kinds of hats. And 3. Which to me is very important, the hat Fits my Head.
Problem is, from time to time I ascend the East, either to confer degrees, close Lodge as a courtesy, or to install officers. And the Coon-skin is in the Tenino building. Also, that hat’s reasoning doesn’t work for other Lodges, and other occasions. Therefore, I wind up doing Worshipful Master-like duties with no hat on, and someone calls out for me to put on a hat, which I do, and everyone laughs because it’s way too small, and the person discreetly quiets down. I don’t get calls to put a hat on anymore.
There is someone who owns a Jaxon top hat, and it fit very well, and looked good. I was offered to use it by its owner, but it’s quite used by now, and is clearly the property of the owner. I appreciated the offer, but I declined. But honesty, between my head size, and the types of hats that work with the “Team uniform” or tuxedo, my options are quite limited. Stocking caps are the only hats that really fit me, but obviously don’t work with a Tux!
7 5/8 is I think as large as the Effanem hats are made. Just a touch small for you, but, soaking one and wearing it until dry would certainly conform it to your noggin. But yeah, given that most Lodge hats are really small to begin with, and that you need quite a large size, that certainly makes things almost impossible.
The coon-skin seems perfect for Tenino, as you stated.
I'm a hat guy, and it was important to me that I buy the "right" hat when I bought my tuxedo. So, I looked at what was supposed to be worn with different styles of formal wear and ended up with a Homburg as that is what is proper to be worn with casual formal (tuxedo). My wife, however, had other ideas for my year in the East, if I am elected later this year, and she bought me a Walrus. It looks like I'll need to upgrade my coat and vest for next year so that the Walrus fits the coat style.
Both of these hats cost less than $100 each and are comparable to my XXX rated cowboy hats - although the Walrus doesn't have a liner.