Every hat a story: Moses Lake man’s collection spans decades

MOSES LAKE — Every hat on the wall in Mike Cobb’s Moses Lake shed, about 140 of them, is a reminder of a person or a place. So are the 150 or so hats in storage.

“Every hat here tells a story,” Cobb said. “Usually someone that I’m working with, whether they’re behind the counter in Moses Lake or they’re out in the field. They’re people that I’ve done business with.”

Cobb said one day, about 44 years ago, he just decided to collect hats because he found it interesting.

The orange hat is a reminder of a company, first the father and son and then the son, who specialized in irrigation equipment. There’s a hat from the Canadian hay company that’s no longer in business. The company’s owners would come down to Moses Lake and take advantage of the favorable exchange rate to do some of their Christmas shopping. There’s a hat from the farm chemical business from Quincy that’s closed.

“People I’ve done business with for 50 years,” he said.

The veterinarian where he buys the minerals he feeds his cattle gave him a hat. So did the company that sold him the tarps for his hay crops. So did administrators of the financial institution that provides operating capital.

There’s a hat celebrating the 100th anniversary of a farm equipment company.

“Really good people to work with,” he said of the farm equipment company. “I can safely say all the hats that I have up here are from people I really enjoy working with.”

The hats are a record of his farm business, the jobs he’s had, his family’s activities and travels. And a whole row of them are a record of his involvement in the Moses Lake Roundup.

Some hats were from other sources.

“I got into the cattle business in 1977. I bought minerals for my cows from this fellow, and he gave me a hat. And that would’ve been, probably, the first one,” Cobb said.

“And the one rule that I put on myself when I decided I’d start collecting hats (is) I’d never buy one. It’s that way on all of these with the exception of the NFR (National Finals Rodeo) hats. The NFR hats I had to buy,” he added.

A hat was a form of advertising for the business, back in the day.

“It used to be that (a hat) was what businesses gave out,” he said. “I’d go in and buy a piece of equipment and they gave you a hat.”

At least one of his suppliers still does that.

“We go in there to buy bulls and they just hand me a box (of hats),” he said.

The hats bring back memories of good business and personal relationships.

“They’re just people that we’ve worked with for so long, and just enjoy them,” he said. “And hopefully they’ve enjoyed us as well.”

The hats themselves have changed over time – the old hats have a flat brim, as opposed to a more shaped brim on newer hats.

He picked up hats at the National High School Finals Rodeos when his sons participated in the 1990s. The NFR hats are a testament to regular attendance at the rodeo by Cobb and his wife Janene.

“They’re the second-best rodeo I’ve ever been to,” he said.

The best rodeo – of course – is the Moses Lake Roundup. He’s a longtime volunteer and has been involved in putting on the Roundup for many years.

Cobb has a hat from every year the rodeo has provided a hat. They are reminders of the people who have helped design the hats and the people who work the rodeo and demolition derby every year.

As collections go, Cobb said he doesn’t think his hats are worth much, at least in terms of money.

“The value I put on them is friendship,” he said.

“I can honestly say, these hats have been given to me by friends. Friends that aren’t here with us any more, businesses that aren’t here with us any more,” Cobb said. “You know, it has been a lot of fun.”

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.