Hats In Paradise
If Cheaping Out Didn't Work For The Hat Guy, It Won't Work For Freemasonry Either
My posting has been a bit light this week, as has my commenting, because I’ve actually been hanging out in Paradise the past few days. Sitting on a beach for a family vacation.
We’ve done a bit of shopping in the small towns. Funny thing, I haven’t seen any Tilley Hats for sale here. That’s super odd, because in the past, wherever sea, sun, and money mingled, Tilley Hats seemed very widely available. They were the hat of adventure, and sold where those adventures happened.
Twenty-one years ago I bought my first Tilley Hat in Victoria B.C. I’ve been wearing it every day this past week. This hat has been through hell and back over those twenty-one years. It has been worn whenever the sun is out at home. It has been floating in salt water in the Puget Sound, in Hawaii, and off loads of beaches in Mexico. It has spent hours in chlorinated swimming pools, and survived plenty of time in the jungle.
Thing is, it is still in perfect condition. In fact, it seems to look even better with age.
It was made by a fellow named Alex Tilley.
Some years ago he retired and the company was sold. Then it was sold again.
Five years ago, I bought another Tilley Hat. This was after sale number one.
There were a few noticeable differences. From a practical perspective, the cotton duck material feels thinner. The tag in the hat claims it is the same weight, but feeling both hats shows a clear difference.
Another negative change is the addition of a little logo tag at the outside ‘back’ of the hat. Alas, this design hat is oval, there is no ‘front’ and no ‘back.’ That was a great selling point for the older hats, for as the old advertising materials pointed out, when the hat became soaked with sweat at the forehead while tramping through jungle or desert one could simply turn the hat around to have a dry forehead again. On the newer version, this little tag makes that impossible, unless one wants to look as if he is wearing his hat backwards.
Finally the care instructions, stampede string instructions, and ‘brag tags’ were no longer included with the hat. One could download them from the website I guess.
Clearly the hats made after the sale of the company were a step down from those made prior. But, still quite excellent.
Some of this was actually mentioned in the tags sewn into the hats.
The old hat tag says:
“Made of 10-Oz. Treated Cotton Duck”
The new hat tag says:
“Made of 10-Oz. Cotton Duck”
The old tag says:
“The best British brass hardware”
The new tag says:
“British brass hardware”
A year and a half ago, I found myself sitting in the hot summer sun, with the family in Eastern Washington. It was an unplanned side trip, so I was without a hat. (Us bald guys need hats.)
So I bought a new Tilley Hat.
It isn’t the same at all.
This newest Hat doesn’t even make claims about its quality. While the older Tilley tags explained in detail how the hats were made, the quality of the materials used, and the guarantee, the new hat simply declares itself to be an “Authentic Tilley” whatever that may mean.
The quality is very noticeably less than with the older hats.
One little example is the brass. The brass on my twenty-one year old hat now sports a wonderful patina that makes it look great. But that patina took many years to develop. My five year old hat hasn’t yet started to develop patina. The brass remains shiny and pure. That will of course change with more time in the salt water. But the year and a half old hat, a hat I’ve only worn a small handful of times has already developed quite a bit of patina. Clearly the brass is of a lower quality than it was prior. Along with everything else.
I don’t know if it is true or not, but while all three of my Tilley Hats have been made in Canada, I’ve read online that the brand spanking new ones are made in China. Quite a thing for a very expensive cotton hat.
Sorry that this discussion of hats has rambled on for so long, but it is why I think I’ve not seen any Tilley Hats for sale here in paradise these past days. They aren’t what they used to be, so no one gives a crap for them. If one wants a cheap cotton hat from China, those can be found anywhere for $15, no need to spend $100 more than that.
No one wants them anymore, so they aren’t available for sale like they were long ago.
I think that all of this ties in to Freemasonry as well.
Lots of Lodges (Including the Grand Lodge of Washington) started offering alternative routes to Proficiency instead of the Posting Lectures.
Lots of Lodges stopped adjusting their dues to meet inflation.
Lots of Lodges stopped maintaining and upgrading their buildings.
Lots of Lodges started accepting every man who petitioned, regardless of his suitability.
Lots of Lodges stopped performing small, local, intimate charity, opting instead to simply participate in our larger institutional charities.
Lots of Lodges stopped offering meaningful instruction about Freemasonry.
Lots of Lodges stopped doing anything but their bi-weekly or monthly Stated Meetings.
In far too many cases, Lodges fell in quality, just as Tilley Hats have fallen in quality.
The results are the same.
People don’t want to buy Tilley Hats anymore because they aren’t what they used to be. Lots of Lodges have hemorrhaged members, unable to retain them because those Lodges aren’t what they used to be.
Men will buy legendary quality. Men will join, and remain, in Lodges of legendary quality.
They don’t want junk.
If we hope to retain Masons, we can’t offer them junk. It is up to each of us to see that we don’t.
Speaking of Paradise, please don’t forget about our upcoming Masonic trip to Puerto Vallarta Mexico! Details:
Can we get a picture of your old one???
MW, a very good analogy that I couldn’t agree more with. Many years ago I realized that it was much easier to purchase something of quality than to have to continually replace something of lesser quality. If, in our Masonic experiences, we’re not “purchasing” a quality product, then we will be continually replacing it with something else. Quality products have a balance. They’re not just the shiniest, or fastest, or strongest but they’re have some of all these attributes. Like a Lodge, it’s important to have a balance of quality attributes. If it’s only a fraternal club, a brother will hear the minutes read only so many times before he leaves. A lodge can also provide amazing education but if there’s no fraternity, no warmth in the greeting and handshake, a brother will look for it in another place. I appreciate great fraternal friendships as I also appreciate a lodge that is working toward a great education experience. A quality lodge experience is easy to talk and share about with friends and family. A quality lodge experience is all of our responsibility. It takes all of us to make it happen. It starts with attending your lodge and participating.