OLD HAT FROM AN AUCTION

[PAmike]

I bought a box lot at an auction a few months ago that had an old hat in it that I thought resembled a conductor's hat or something like that. I was looking closely at it today and realized the initials are made of silver pieces and design on the front was made of Gold pieces. Here are a few pics of it, hopefully someone here can help identify it and tell me more about it.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Diving for Pleasure and Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[Bigcypresshunter]

The first thing that popped into my head was "School Cadet," which led me to ...

The hats on the cadets below are quite similar. Even the emblems (especially when zoomed,) look similar. The photo is from the late 1800s. I'm not entirely sure about the initials, and suspect that's going to be the toughest part to identify. Actually, I'm not even sure about the hat design itself just yet, but I would say this is a "possible." I'm finding a lot of Cadet Badges, Emblems, and Patches as well. Perhaps the right one will turn up. Presently I'm focusing on School/Town names that start with the letter "D." PAmike said ... "It is definitely DSC." Maybe the SC stands for "School Cadet."



SODABOB

I think SODABOTTLEBOB has got it!!

PAmike take a close up pic of the PA state emblem button and Bob may be able to pin down a date because there are different variations. Dont forget to use the Macro setting. There is not enough pixels to blow it up. Does the button look like this?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Minelab PRO-FIND 35 Waterproof Pinpointer Metal Detector for Experts with Tone ID & Adjustable Sensitivity - Grab it through Amazon!

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Thanks BigCy ~

But the only thing I've "got" is a headache from spending the last hour and a half trying to find the site where I found the cadet hat I posted earlier. I didn't save it and started looking elsewhere for something that might help identify the initials. Well, I didn't find anything specific to DCS worth reporting, but I was able to relocate the hat link I post now in case anyone wants to take a closer look at it. Also, I'm not the first one to suggest "Cadet," but I will have to admit it looks pretty darn close. But how long this style was used, I'm not sure. Maybe, like you said, if we can get a "macro" closeup of the buttom, someone may be able to "pin" a date on it. And I guess everyone already noticed that PAmike's hat appears to be missing the "brow? strap."

I'll keep searching for some connection for the initials, but I honestly hope someone else beats me to it, as I am currently blurry-eyed from my last search. Good Luck!

SBB

http://www.proxibid.com/asp/LotDetail.asp?ahid=2500&aid=22568&lid=6251136#topoflot

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

It is definitely DSC and I have googled it and all I get is some german newspaper company.

Can you show a better pic of the initials and the name inside? Those old English letters can be confusing. Do you have a Macro lens? (flower icon)

Also missing a button.

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

I wish I had more to report, but hopefully this tid-bit will help ...

After criss-crossing the internet trying to connect a Military School Cadet Cap with the letter combination of DSC, the most frequent combination to come up for me was ...

D______? Service Corp

I guess I get a grade of "D-minus" on this report ... but hey, that's better than an "F."



SBB

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

And to be fair to those of us who are former band members ...

 

[PAmike]

looks like I need a better camera, I have been using the macro setting.

I know Old English very well. I am a tattoo artist so I have to pay close attention to detail when tattooing them. It is definitely D and S buy the last letter could possibly be a T but I would have to say it is a C because of the features on the top and left sides of the letter.

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

I was thinking ...

If the item was bought at an auction in or near Reynoldsville PA. as I believe it was, and that it was "in a box of stuff," suggest to me that that little hat may very likely have been in the area a long time. It was probably from a local estate. That kind of stuff was very personal to people, and familes held on to such things. Which leads me to suspect it's origins may not be far from Reynoldsville. We already know from the brass button that it is from Pennsylvania, and most likely military school related. And from what I have read, most families didn't send their sons too far from home.Thus, someplace near western Pennsylvania. But to truly figure out which school it came from, we need to be certain what the actual letters are. Otherwise, too many letter variations will multiply fast and drive you crazy. I think a closeup was already suggested. That would be great! In the meantime, I'm looking close to the nest on this one.

Thanks.

SBB

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

By now most of us have probably discovered that not just Military Cadets wore this style of hat during the late 1800s, (which it appears to have come from). Railroad personel, Policeman, Fireman, etc, also adorned this type of cap. However, as you will notice in the examples below, most of these type of hats were quite specific in their designation. Especially the railroad ones. 99% of the railroad caps I've looked at have "Conductor," "Brakeman," etc. on them. The same is true for the others. Which brings me back to the Cadet theory. And after taking a closer look in this area, I've discovered that most of the military schools were not necessairly named after the town they were located in. For Example ... "Carson Long Military Academy" is in Bloomfield, Pennsylvania.

My point is, the letters DSC are more than likely the name of the school itself, rather than the name of the town where the school was located. I like "vayank54's" suggestion earlier of "Davis School Cadet," (Although I just found out this is an example, and not an actual school in Pennsylvania - but still a good suggestion anyway). Which brings us full-circle to where we started in the first place ... the "letters!"

Personally, I love word/letter puzzles/mysteries. Although, I can't seem to solve most of them irregardless of the fact that I wear a large hat (size 7 1/2). The problem is, I have a small brain!

Just "fishing" for answers.

SBB

 

[vayank54]

I was thinking about this hat then realized that it may not have come from a military school but from a private school. In the late 1800's and early 1900's private schools were more common than they are now. One that was near where I live in 1906 one had 14 students. There is a Catholic school near me Called Linton Hall Academy. I don't know about now but years ago they boys wore cadet like uniforms. Also like someone said the school wasn't necessarily named after the town it was near.

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Here's a link to what appears to be every private school in the state of Pennsylvania. I have only scratched the surface on this one as there are 108 pages. The "Ds" start on page 21. And even though I have looked through the "Ds," check them out again, as I think I need some help here. There are just too many names for one person to filter through. I cannot say at present how old most of them are, but I do know that I have already found several that were founded in the 1800s.

I am still searching under the assumption that the letter sequence is ... DSC ...

But it might help for those who manuver through this list to try other variations of letters as well. Who knows? Maybe something will pop up that we didn't think of. I sure hope that hat is from a private school - because if it ain't, then this extensive list isn't worth the paper it isn't printed on. But if it is from a private school, it should be listed here. (Unless it's closed now ?) Good luck ... and we'll see ya in about a week!

Bob

http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/pennsylvania/schools/private/

 

[Bramblefind]

Here is my speculation/guess-

I think the letters are for Dickinson Seminary (Cadets?). This was a school in Williamsport, PA. It was founded in 1848 as a preperatory school for Dickinson College. It is now part of Lycoming College.

They had Cadets.

(see link to the PA archives for pic)

I'm not sure what grade classes began there but I did find a pic of a 4th grade class in the PA archives:

http://www.accesspadr.org/cdm4/resu...D1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOROOT=/lyc-1&CISOBOX1=4th

The reason I looked here is b/c I decided to search for the name "D L Chambers" in the PA Census. I found a Desmond L. Chambers living in Williamsport in 1900 - he was born in 1898. By 1910 his father had died and his family moved to Olympia, Wash. He died in 1951. Here is his obit from the Williamsport paper:

I realize I made some leaps in reaching this conclusion but thought it should be considered.

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Bramblefind ~

Nice research. Have you thought about sending an e-mail inquiry to Lycoming College to see if the name D. L. Chambers is in their archive records for Dickinson Seminary? It might be worth a shot. Surely they have a research department for that sort of stuff. Who knows? They might even have a photo of him wearing the cap. Wouldn't that be something?

SODABOB

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Bramblefind ~

In the link you provided there is a search box. I entered D. L. Chambers and pages upon pages came up. But I'm not sure if this means the name I entered is buried somewhere among the pages or what. But if the name isn't there, why didn't it just say ... "name not found?" I'm going back for another peek, but there is so much to look at I'm not sure I can cover it all.

SBB

P.S. I tried to add another link from that site that dealt specifically with the name Chambers, (there were lots of them). But the link address was so long that it elongated this page, and I don't want to mess it up any more than I already have. But there may be something there amongst all the genealogy stuff that could help, if only someone can figure out how to easily navigate through it all.

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Regarding the letters ... D S C

The following are from BigCy's alphabet.

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

And just for the record, here's the "T" that came into question ...

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Who was the wise guy that said this was a Cadet Hat?

Answer: Myself for sure, and maybe a couple of others.

As I alluded to earlier, we know this type of hat was fairly common around the turn of the century, and was worn by a variety of people from cadets to band members.

I also discoverd the style is referred to as a "Bell Crown" hat/cap.

The image below is of a 1923 Band cap.
Notice the similarity of the "ribbing" and embrodery on the upper brow area.

I am not trying to confuse anyone, but rather suggesting we look in a wide variety of other areas. Especially when you consider the fact that no one has yet found a single Pennsylvania school that fits the letters D S C. But there may very well be Town Bands, Police Departments, Fire Departments, Telegraph Offices, etc. that do work with the letters. I guess this is a case of thinking outside of the box. Or, if you prefer, just another dumb guess.

P.S. Despite the logo with the image, they claimed this was an original, vintage cap.
Also, not all of the band caps I've seen have a "B" on the end for "Band."

BOTTLE"CAP"BOB

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

I either have way too much time on my hands, or else I'm losing it!

What the heck is a D.S.C. car?

I was just surfing the internet and found this photo without any text or details.

It appears European as the driver is on the right side. (Unless it's a reverse negative).



SBB

 

[PAmike]

just doing some local research I found this.

1896-1920S, THE STREET CAR ERA

Although DuBois is known for its railroad period, at one time a resident could also travel by street car.

The DuBois Traction Street Railroad Co. was organized in 1896. By that time the planned streets had been cut to sufficient width to lay ties and rails from the East Side to Rumbarger Cemetery on S. Main St.

The line eventually expanded to Dixon Ave. and beyond the city limits on S. Brady St. to Sykesville and Big Run where passengers could transfer to the Punxsutawney line. The line also extended to Falls Creek just beyond Edgemont Park and to the Pennsylvania Railroad passenger line at the corner of Liberty Boulevard and DuBois Ave. A spur line extended to the DuBois Fair Grounds.

The rise of the automobile in the 1920s signaled the end of the street car system in DuBois.





I was actually looking for a band or school that would have fit with DSC but found nothing. Here is a link to the page I found it on. http://home.wrkcs.net/history/

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Dumb me ... I gather you're suggesting that D. S. C. might stand for ...

Du Bois Street Car



I like it ... "a lot." Good job!

Now I'm off to the races on another adventure!

SBB

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

PAmike ~ Thanks again ...

I'm not sure we are on the right "track" here, but it's fun anyway.

The photo speaks for itself, (sort of).

SBB