THE HAT PLATTERS
A Poem
by Austin Mitchell
My mother was a hat platter
My grandmother was a dressmaker
But my grandmother could also make hats
My father too could make hats
My mother never learned to sew
She was a very good hat maker
Only a few women could sew
Most were hat makers
All the adults were workers
The men made bags and mats
While the women made hats
There were no idlers
Those men who weren’t farmers
Were tailors, barbers or shoemakers
Some were butchers, masons or carpenters
Others were shopkeepers
Or simply day workers
Only a few women weren’t hat makers
But they were higglers or shopkeepers
A few women and men were also teachers
But in my community there were no idlers