Derek Pollard and Lec Hobbs
We here at The Laurel are suckers for sentimental stories that end with a happy reunion.
For Highlander Lec Hobbs, the reunion came decades after he lost both of his grandfathers at 17.
What remained of them – what he carried forward – were two hats: his mom’s father’s Panama, worn faithfully to church, and his dad’s father’s straw cowboy hat, the one that saw long days in the yard and summers under the sun.
Lec kept them through moves, seasons, and the slow wear of time, even as they grew squished, softened, and misshapen.
“I’ve kept them all these years,” he says. “They got smashed over time. They are both a lot of hat.”
For a long while, he assumed they were beyond saving – too sentimental to throw away, too battered to wear again.
Then, at the Bear Shadow Music Festival, Lec wandered past a booth run by The Highlands Hatter and struck up a conversation with Derek Pollard. When he mentioned the two heirlooms, Derek didn’t hesitate: Bring them in. We can help.
It took a couple more years – life being life – before Lec remembered to pack the hats for a trip up the mountain. But when he finally carried them into the shop, Derek saw not old hats, but legacy.
They looked a little like roadkill – the kind you swerve around on the way to Franklin. Derek didn’t flinch. He picked them up like heirlooms instead of survivors.
Hat restoration, Derek explains, is a craft built on patience and respect for what time has left behind.
“Over time, we’ve developed our own restoration techniques that allow us to revive hats while preserving their original character whenever possible,” he says. “Every restoration is approached individually, as no two hats wear or age the same. Our goal is never to erase a hat’s history, but to restore its structure, shape, and appearance so it can be enjoyed for years to come.”
Restoration is a service The Highlands Hatter consistently offers, though many clients do not initially realize it is available. Custom hats are the shop’s primary focus, but restoring a beloved piece of headwear carries its own reward.
“Restoring a cherished piece of headwear is especially rewarding because of the sentimental value these hats often carry,” Derek says. “Giving a beloved hat a second life is one of the most gratifying aspects of what we do.”
Derek cleaned Lec’s hats, steamed them, and reshaped them, coaxing each brim and crease back into dignity.
“I figured I would never wear them,” Lec says. “But now I can see getting them out on fun occasions.”
On the Plateau, where memory is often the most cherished inheritance, two grandfathers’ hats have found their second life – carried forward, brim first, into whatever Lec encounters.
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