A big part of Garland’s history involves the manufacturing of hats and with three major hat makers headquartered here the city continues to be known by many as the Hat Capital of the World. The Garland Landmark Museum will unveil a new exhibit, “Garland Hats: Harry, William and John,” at the upcoming Garland Heritage Celebration April 14, 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. on the historic downtown square. Beginning April 21, the exhibit may be viewed at the Garland Landmark Museum at 393 North Sixth Street, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. every Saturday.
A very small sampling of the information included in the exhibit is below:
In the 1920s Harry Rolnick, son of the owners of a hat renovation shop, opened a hat-making shop with Nathan Florence. But after Rolnick met millionaire Ed Byer who bought out Florence’s share in the 1930s, the business concern began to flourish as Byer-Rolnick. The hat brand was known as Resistol as it had a patented interior leather headband that expanded, contained perspiration and “resisted” confining the head and provided maximum comfort.
The manufacturing plant on the current Marion Drive was built in 1939. It was then that William Cook, who would later open his own hat manufacturing company, moved to Garland as part of the Byer-Rolnick workforce. Cook served as head of quality control. John Milano, another future Garland hat maker joined the company in 1959 as director of retail operations.
Rolnick, a fashion industry icon, had homes in California, Dallas and London and often visited well-known celebrities including Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, Clark Gable, Henry Fonda, Fred Astaire and William Holden to promote the Resistol hat brand. Additionally, United States presidents, including Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush were known to wear Resistol cowboy hats.
Humphrey Bogart was featured on a print ad for the hat company. On the ad, phrases such as “the self-conforming hat” and “the hat with built-in comfort” were used. Tom Landry, the original coach of the Dallas Cowboys, who wore Byer-Rolnick hats, also participated in a “Hats make it happen” advertising campaign for the company.
More recently, legendary country artist George Strait appeared in Resistol hat advertisements and in 1987 the company launched the George Strait Collection.
The company’s hats have been featured in popular movies and even the 1980 American Olympic Team wore Resistol hats during the games’ opening ceremony.
In the late 1960s William Cook left Byer-Rolnick to start Master Hatters of Texas, also in Garland, and took in overflow work from Resistol Hats. Cook died in 1977 and his sons took over operations of Master Hatters of Texas. The company is located on Forest Lane.
Milano became president of Byer-Rolnick in 1973 and in 1982 left the company after signing a one-year non-compete contract. In 1983, he opened a manufacturing facility in Garland.
The Milano Hat Company and Master Hatters of Texas remain in operation as does HatCo, Inc. (originally Byer-Rolnick).
To be one of the first to view the impressive exhibit, come to the Garland Heritage Celebration April 14 on the square in downtown Garland. The event begins at 5 p.m.
Information provided by Garland Landmark Museum.