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Cool Things Found at the Tavern: Hatboxes in a Dance Hall


Hatboxes

What is it about hatboxes? I think many women are drawn to them in an unfamiliar way. I say unfamiliar because they are not a modern thing.  My generation and the generation before me didn't wear hats, at least certainly not the kind that would come in a hatbox.  Yet, for some reason we find them artistic enough that you will often find them used in modern home decor.  Without consciously knowing it, we think of them of them as an art piece.

Because of how they look, they will stand out even in a room full of stuff.  And that is exactly what happened when we discovered them stored in what was at one time, the dance hall.

Dance Hall/Storage Space Discoveries

Back when my great grandfather started Mautz's Tavern, the large open space on the second floor, directly above the bar was used as a dance hall.  I don't know exactly what year it stopped being that. I only know that in my lifetime, that space was only ever used as storage.

On an early visit up to that space with a few other females other than myself, it was then that my friend noticed them almost instantly. "Oooh, hat boxes"!  We all stopped what we were rummaging through and immediately took notice.  OMG, we had to see what was in them.  It was like gold was struck.

These hats weren't of royal family material, by any means. Honestly, most of them didn't even look very good on me and that's coming from someone that can usually pull off hats, but because they were inside hatboxes that appeared old, or should I say vintage, we were in awe.  What a find. "We need to bring hats back".  "Yeah, why don't women wear these anymore. We totally need to bring these back".  We were all in agreement of these sentiments.

Months later, those hats inside those hatboxes are still sitting in my basement.  Not a single one has been worn outside my house, despite our mutual concession that they should make a comeback.  I will likely have to create a reason to ever wear them - a party, a fundraising event, something along those lines.  But I don't care, they are just so cool and I'm currently not in any hurry to get rid of them.

Fine Women's Wear

I tried to do some further research online on the stores that were labeled on these boxes but so far haven't found much.  Most were from The Model Women's Wear and one was from Englebert's Fine Feminine Apparel, both of which were stores in Beaver Dam, WI.  I found other shirt boxes from The Model which has further peaked my curiosity about the store since a fair amount of shopping seemed to be done there. Must find out more!

Would like to know the era these hats were from. With my extremely limited hat fashion knowledge, I'll take a stab at it and say 1950s?



Comments

  1. Praying GrandmotherNovember 10, 2019 at 8:58 PM

    I don't think I was ever upstairs in the tavern. Or if I was, I don't remember. I only remember the main tavern. My sister, Barbara Flesch was at Mary Ann's funeral and afterward she was with the group who got to go in and see the tavern. She took several pictures and I have copies of them. I have such incredible memories of that iconic place!!

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