HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018 Issue 2 - Felt, Feathers, and Fancy, Renton's Millinery TradeOn the Battlefront
& the Homefront
upcoming exhibit.
Board Report:
Board retreat and
strategic planning.
Collections Report
by Sarah Samson,
Curator.
Museum Report
by Elizabeth P.
Stewart, Director.
The first women to arrive in Renton came with their heads
covered. Whether kerchief, straw hat, or fancy hat, women
understood in the 1870s that a respectable woman covered
her hair, even in the newly settling West. Though they were on the
frontier with their husbands or sons, these women quickly sought
to bring fashion to their new city, and elegant hats were one of
those important markers of civilization. Millinery—the art of
hat-making and hat decoration—both made the West livable and
provided jobs for women, and reminded them that they were not
so far from the homes they had left behind.
As early as 1909, when Renton was shifting from a
predominantly male city to a more family-oriented place, the
city had at least three millinery shops: one operated by Minnie
Cope; another by Margaret J. (or sometimes G.) Stafford; and
a third by Mrs. Leonard W. Cook.1 Harriet Cook operated the
Renton Millinery Parlor at Fourth and Williams; her husband was
a mine laborer.2 Fifty-one-year-old Minnie Cope and her twenty-
nine-year-old daughter May S. Morrison were both living apart
from their husbands in Renton in 1910. They lived above Cope’s
Notions on Burnett Avenue, with May working as a hat trimmer
Also In This Issue...
RENTON HISTORICALSOCIETY & MUSEUM
Summer
June 2018
Volume 49
Number 2
Continued on page 5
2 4 83
QUARTERLY
FELT, FEATHERS & FANCY
Renton's Millinery Trade
by Elizabeth P. Stewart
2 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM
L ike thousands of cities and towns across the U.S. Renton fully mobilized to
support the war effort, sending its young men off to foreign battlefields. But
war mobilization also involved mothers and nurses and farmers and draft
board workers, too. This exhibit explores the experiences of these men and women
confronting international war for the first time. For people who had never thought
of themselves as part of a global community, WWI crystallized and clarified their
beliefs about citizenship and its duties, national identity, and patriotism in ways that
changed Renton forever.
From
MAY
28
to
NOVEMBER
11
RENTON CIVIC HONORED
WITH CUSTER AWARD
Every year the Renton
Historical Society gives the
George and Annie Lewis
Custer Award for Heritage
Stewardship to a group or
individual in the community
that has demonstrated some
special achievement in the
documentation, preservation,
or education about Renton
history. This year’s award-
winner is the Renton Civic
Theatre. Artistic Director
Bil Huls and the Board of
Directors have put special
attention into preserving this
Art Deco theater building,
with beautiful results. Their
MUSEUM WINS AKCHO
AWARD FOR 75 OBJECTS
In April Renton History
Museum was awarded the
Youth Award by AKCHO
for our exhibit A History of
Renton in 75 Objects. This
exhibit, curated and installed
by UW Museology students
Blair Martin, Marina
Mayne, Steffi Terasaki,
and Molly Winslow with
the help of Curator Sarah
Samson, used unique
artifacts and photos from
the Museum's collection to
help the visitor visualize
150-plus years of Renton's
history. The Renton History
Museum strives to work
newly redecorated lobby
includes a mini-exhibit
on the building’s history.
Next up: new seating for
theatergoers—check their
web site to see how you
can help. Congratulations,
Renton Civic, for setting a
preservation example!
with students each and
every year, giving them the
opportunity to showcase
their skills while gaining
real-world job experience.
By all metrics, A History of
Renton in 75 Objects was
a successful partnership,
project, and exhibit.
SUMMER QUARTERLY, 2018 | 3
MUSEUM REPORT
QUARTERLY
Summer 2018
A nyone who regularly reads our newsletters knows that
historical census records are invaluable resources for
historical researchers. In this issue’s feature about milliners
in Renton, for example, census records listing the names of those
who practiced the art of hat-making led me to further sources, like
newspapers and other records.
A census has been conducted every year in the U.S. since
1790. Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution requires that a
census be taken of everyone living in the U.S., for the purposes of
determining the number of congressional seats, drawing district
maps for elections, and distributing federal funding. The next
decennial census takes place in 2020, and the Census Bureau is currently busily
finalizing questions.
Last December the Justice Department requested that a question be added
about citizenship status—whether citizen, naturalized, or resident alien—a question
not included in the short form census since 1950. Some researchers have expressed
concerns that such a question would suppress participation by immigrants concerned
that their personal information might be disclosed to Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE).
And indeed, although the Census Bureau is prohibited by law from disclosing
individual personal information, it has happened: historian Margo J. Anderson of
the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and statistician William Seltzer of Fordham
University have found evidence that in 1940, as World War II approached, census
officials provided to the FBI block-by-block data on where people of Japanese descent
were living in seven states. In 1943 the Census Bureau gave names and addresses
of Japanese living in Washington, DC. By law, these records are not available to
researchers for 72 years, long after most of the respondents are dead; the 1940
censuses were opened to the public in 2012.
Many of the early censuses before 1960 did ask basic questions about
citizenship status, information which is incredibly helpful to us when we explore a topic
like women expatriated by their marriage to immigrants, a topic that Sarah Samson
examined in our September 2017 quarterly. But context is everything, and to the extent
questions cause people to run and hide from the census, they do damage to our ability to
understand the American populace, not only now, but for decades to come.
by Elizabeth P. Stewart,
Museum Director
Mano family listed in the 1940 Federal Census.
Elizabeth P. Stewart
Director
RENTON HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
Sarah Samson
Graphic Design & Layout
Karl Hurst
City of Renton Print &
Mail Services
RENTON HISTORICAL
SOCIETY BOARD
OF TRUSTEES
Betsy Prather, President
Laura Clawson, Treasurer
Antoin Johnson, Secretary
Lynne King, 2019
Colleen Lenahan, 2020
Pete Kalasountas, 2020
Jessica Kelly, 2020
Elizabeth Stewart, Board Liaison
MUSEUM STAFF
Elizabeth P. Stewart
Museum Director
Sarah Samson
Curator of Collections &
Exhibitions
Kim Owens
Public Engagement
Coordinator
Nezy Tewolde
Office Aide
RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM
235 MILL AVENUE S
RENTON, WA 98057
P (425) 255-2330
F (425) 255-1570
HOURS:
Tuesday - Saturday
10:00am - 4:00pm
ADMISSION:
$5 (Adult)
$2 (Child)
4 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM
BOARD REPORT
T he Board of Trustees of the Renton Historical Society
got the year off to a strong start, with a four-hour
Board retreat held at the Renton Community Center.
This Saturday working meeting gave trustees a chance to
get to know one another better and to do so some intensive
work on the future of the Renton History Museum. The
retreat was facilitated by Lynn Bohart, recently retired
Executive Director of the Renton Community Foundation
and now the principal of Lil Dog Communications, who
brought a wealth of nonprofit experience to the table.
Among the retreat activities were an examination
of the strengths, weaknesses, and upcoming opportunities
and threats for the Museum. As strengths, trustees identified
“creative” and “unconventional” exhibits; “great stories”;
the Museum’s professional staff; our historic building;
and support from the City of Renton. Opportunities that
trustees cited included strengthening our relationship with
the Renton School District; improved fundraising; and using
more technology. Our historic building is also a challenge to
be aware of as it ages; other possible challenges include the
construction in our neighborhood and its parking impacts.
Board members and staff will also be looking for solutions
to our dwindling collection storage space and other changes
in the environment, including competing leisure activities,
political reshuffling, and changing funding sources.
The Board also looked at ways of revitalizing the
work they do, to constantly reignite their passion for the
Museum. Tapping into their love for their work, an exercise
about “The Best Thing About Our Board” identified these
qualities: “camaraderie,” “learning and bringing your kids
to learn,” “stories about different people’s lives,” and
“being able to give back.” When exploring what they love
about Renton, trustees said: it’s got “a small town feel with
big city conveniences and big expectations,” as well as its
parks, ethical government, diversity, and growing potential.
All these exercises will feed into this year’s
updating of the Museum’s Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan
is our five-year roadmap for the Board and staff’s work. The
Strategic Plan Committee will be meeting once or twice a
month until the end of the summer to formulate a strong
plan that will guide us into 2019 and beyond.
If you’re looking for a creative way to give back
to the Renton community, consider joining the Board of
Trustees of the Renton Historical Society. We are looking
for a variety of skills and talents—including fundraising,
human resources, and a background in law—and enthusiasm
for outreach, events, and learning! Contact Museum
Director Liz Stewart at estewart@rentonwa.gov or 425-255-
2330 for more information or an application.
UPCOMING
EVENTS
Board members participating
in the Board retreat with
facilitator Lynn Bohart earlier
this year.
Whiteboard during exercises at
the Board retreat.
BOOKMARKS AND
LANDMARKS: THE BIG
BURN BY TIMOTHY EGAN
June 13
7:00-8:30 pm
Egan tells the story of a 1910
forest fire that galvanized
public opinion about the
wilderness. No requests for
book-signing, please. Must
register wth KCLS.
RENTON RIVER DAYS
July 27-29
10:00-4:00 pm on Fri. and
Sat.; 12:00-4:00 pm on Sun.
The Museum is FREE during
Renton River Days week.
Check out our special history
activities in the Museum
yard. Renton History Live!
performances on Saturday.
DIGITIZE YOUR AFRICAN
AMERICAN HISTORY
June 16
1:00-3:00 pm
Bring your stories and songs,
photos and video tapes, art and
objects, genealogy research
and more to this interactive
workshop presented by Dr.
Janice Lovelace.
SUMMER QUARTERLY, 2018 | 5
and Minnie operating the business.3 Thirty-nine-year-old Margaret
J. Stafford was a widow, and she was supporting her teenage
son Harvey. Despite their lack of male support, both Cope and
Stafford were able to operate their own shops—Cope’s in a stand-
alone building on Burnett St. and Stafford’s in the newly built
Spencer Building, the city’s showpiece “brick block” at Third and
Williams in the early 1900s.4
Although Minnie Cope was off to Tenino by 1911,
Stafford continued her millinery shop in Renton until at least
1915, quite an accomplishment given competition in Renton and
Seattle. She regularly advertised the arrival of spring and fall
lines of ladies’ hats. She was a skilled businesswoman, using the
promise of “experienced trimmers” and price reductions to get
customers into her shop. In 1912 she “offer[ed] tailored hats at
prices that are a surprise to the ladies.”5 “You will find my prices
the lowest,” she advertised.6
Mrs. Stafford had an “experienced trimmer at your
service,” who could customize a hat to suit a customer’s taste
or a particular dress. Women’s employment options were
limited, so millinery seemed an ideal career for young women
who were widowed or waiting slightly longer to marry, and
needed to make their own living or supplement the family
income. Hat-making or trimming was relatively clean work in
Continued from page 1 Cover photo:
Women over a certain
age would not consider
attending a party without a
hat in the 1890s. This picnic
on Talbot Hill shows the
variety of headwear women
had to choose from.
(RHM# 41.0481)
FELT, FEATHERS & FANCY
In 1909 Wood's General Store, located on Main and Walla Walla, offered a large selection of straw hats suitable for
work and everyday wear. (RHM# 2006.043.032)
6 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM
a respectable, safe, female-only setting, and it was creative.
In 1910 and 1911 Renton millinery trimmers included Rose
Chevalier, Minnie Jenkins, Bertha Keller, Mary A. Williams,
and sisters Gertrude and Nellie Kavanagh. In addition,
Florence Nugent Tonkin worked as a milliner in a department
store—probably Frederick & Nelson in Seattle—and Annie
Walker was a milliner in a wholesale store—probably the
famous Staadecker & Co., also in Seattle.7
Women could learn the millinery trade on the job or
in schools in major cities; young women frequently wrote to
advice columns asking about training for milliners.8 New York,
London, and Paris were world renowned for their hats, and the
best schools were also located there. In these schools young
women learned hat-making from framing a hat, to covering
and facing the frames, to “the making of folds, twists, ends,
knots and bows.” “Even the knack of veil draping is made an
art,” wrote one observer. “Often a girl has to make twelve or
fifteen hats before she is competent…. Doing this brings into
play many useful little achievements, such as steaming velvet,
pressing silk and curling feathers.”9
In the 1870s through the early 1900s Victorian-era hats
were adorned with ribbons, artificial flowers, artificial berries
and leaves, bows, rosettes, and feathers. Some hats incorporated
not just feathers, but bird wings—wired open to look as if a hat
might take flight—or whole taxidermied birds, from beak to tail.
As early as 1875 Mary Thatcher Higginson decried the sacrifice
of birds for women’s fashionable hats in Harper’s Bazaar,
writing “The outspread wings have lost their magic power, and
Opposite, left: Unknown woman in Kennydale sporting a
wide brimmed hat with a large fabric pouf, ca. 1905. (Charles
W. Sanders Collection, RHM# 2014.026.090)
Above, left: Cope Notions & Millinery, 1909, with Minnie
Cope (center) and daughter May Morrison (right). Cope sold
the hats and the embellishments—ribbon, bows, and artificial
flowers—needed to dress a hat. (RHM# 2006.043.022)
Opposite, right: Mrs. Charles B. Cowan wears a hat with three
taxidermied Carolina parakeets on it. As the wife of prominent
Seattle surgeon Dr. Charles Cowan, Mrs. Cowan wore the
height of fashion in the 1900s. (Charles W. Sanders Collection,
RHM# 2014.026.123)
Above, right: Mrs. M. J. Stafford was Renton's longest
lasting millinery business. Mrs. Stafford married in 1917 and
retired from millinery. (RHM# 1998.115.104)
SUMMER QUARTERLY, 2018 | 7
the little feet, instead of clasping some swaying bough, have
been hopelessly entangled in meshes of velvet and lace.”10 As the
national arbiter of all that was fashionable, Harper’s Bazaar’s
editorializing against bird hats was very influential. In 1886
ornithologist Frank Chapman followed this up by conducting a
two-day inventory of bird hats on the streets of New York City
during which he identified 174 bird hats with 37 different species
on them.11
The “plume trade,” as it was called, did irreparable
harm to bird populations like the snowy egret and the Carolina
parakeet, and concerned women themselves began to take the
lead in changing tastes. Bostonites Harriet Hemenway and
Minna Hall organized educational tea parties at which they
informed women of the ways in which their hats contributed to
decimating living birds; their boycott formed the basis for the
National Audubon Society and legislation protecting American
birds. The Lacey Act of 1900 was the first federal law to
prohibit selling illegally captured birds across state lines,
and in 1918 the Migratory Bird Treaty Act criminalized the
capturing, killing, or selling of any migratory bird or its parts,
including nests, feathers, and eggs.12
Although the East Coast was the center of the debate
about bird hats, Renton and Seattle ladies were not unaffected. The
new bird protection legislation applied mainly to plume hunters
and wholesalers, but game wardens did not rule out prosecuting
the purchasers and wearers of the bird hats. Seattle was close to
some important feather-hunting centers—like the future Malheur
National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon—and milliners began to pay
close attention to the law. In September 1904 thirteen hat-makers
and hat shop owners were arrested in Spokane for selling illegal
plumage. By 1907 the Seattle Star identified the most up-to-date
trend: with the latest decree by the National Milliners’ Association,
“Newest Millinery is Strictly Vegetarian.”13
Hats in Renton were less grand than the best
Victorians, however; it is likely they leaned more toward straw
and ribbons than full-fledged bird hats. Only once, in 1913, did
Mrs. Stafford advertise feathers at all, and Mrs. Arthur Everett
Smith’s Renton Millinery Parlor advertised “a large showing of
Imported hats, something that has never before been shown in
Renton” in 1914.14 For those interested in grander hats, Seattle
milliners had started placing ads in Renton newspapers, and
Mrs. Stafford and Mrs. Smith found themselves competing
with “Madame” Pearl Hemer’s The Paris Millinery.15
But it was not only the Seattle milliners that began
putting those in Renton out of business. As American
involvement in World War I looked more likely, excessive
spending on elegant headwear began to seem extravagant and
even unpatriotic, and styles simplified. Small Renton shops also
struggled to compete against department stores like Frederick
& Nelson’s and mail order catalogs like Sears Roebuck & Co.,
which promised to deliver the most beautiful hats at low prices
to the customer’s door. These trends combined with women’s
war work to all but put an end to the custom-designed hat in the
small local shop. Mary Cook Smith closed Renton Millinery
Parlors in 1914 to shift her attentions to her shop in Columbia
Continued on page 10
8 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM
In 2014 we received a massive donation
of 844 glass plate negatives, all taken
by amateur photographer Charles W.
Sanders. Prior to the negatives walking in
the door we had no idea who this man was,
and he remains at least a partial enigma.
Born in Illinois in 1872, he doesn’t show
up in a Washington census until 1910 in
Port Townsend (though his obituary puts
him in Washington by 1904). He was a
carpenter who traveled around the Puget
Sound working on government projects
including Fort Worden and the Ballard Locks, which he also
photographed. He did portraiture on the side and a sizeable
portion of the collection includes portraits of soldiers and
citizens from the forts and Port Townsend areas.
Most interesting to us, though, was that he appears to
be one of the early White settlers of Kennydale. Fortunately, he
photographed his new neighbors, even before Kennydale was
a neighborhood. His Kennydale photos show people in camps
and newly built structures, including the Garden of Eden (as
Kennydale was first known) Hotel.
At the time of donation we had no means to scan
the negatives ourselves, nor could we afford to outsource
the scanning for such a large collection. In early 2015 UW
Museology graduate student Jema Hayes inventoried the whole
collection and cataloged a select 200 of the negatives. She also
rehoused the collection, ensuring it was properly stored in acid-
free sleeves and custom boxes.
Last summer I mentioned the Sanders Collection
while presenting a session at the Washington Museum
Association annual meeting in Moses Lake. George Weis of
the Fox Island Historical Society was at that session. Mr.
Weis has extensive experience scanning negatives and he
took a special interest in our collection. Earlier this year Mr.
Weis very graciously donated a scanner capable of handling
the collection. He also purchased special software for the
Museum to use on this project.
Since gaining this spectacular new scanner I have
scanned around 200 of the negatives. And nearly every single
one has been cause for excitement as we’ve watched the image
finally show itself. This collection is of regional importance and
we can’t wait to share it as we scan more.
Workers at the Ballard Locks, ca. 1913 (RHM# 2014.026.012)Camp near Kennydale, ca. 1905 (RHM# 2014.026.075)
COLLECTIONS
REPORT
by Sarah Samson, Curator of
Collections & Exhibitions
Children near Kennydale, ca. 1905 (RHM# 2014.026.062)Garden of Eden Hotel, ca. 1905 (RHM# 2014.026.803)
Sarah Samson
Curator
SUMMER QUARTERLY, 2018 | 9
MEMORIAL DONATIONS
February 16, 2018 - May 10, 2018
Ed Bergsma
Wendell & Cleo Forgaard
Barbara Boyungs
Wendell & Cleo Forgaard
Dolly Bruce
Larry & Jeannie Crook
James (Jim) Burdulis
Carrie & Greg Bergquist
Donovan Lynch
Carole Edlund
Paul & Nancy Duke
Richard Fritzler
Shirley Custer
Doris Girias
Wendell & Cleo Forgaard
Kay Jewett
Wendell & Cleo Forgaard
Cecilia Major
Greg & Carrie Bergquist
Jim Medzegian
Elizabeth P. Stewart
Sheila Wood Mottern
Greg & Carrie Bergquist
James (Corky) Pistoresi
Donovan Lynch
John Strugar
Wendell & Cleo Forgaard
MEMORIAL
DONATIONS OF
$100 OR MORE
Rachel Christensen
Anonymous
Norma Lou Jones
Bill Collins
Velma Melville
Anonymous
John“Jack”W. White
Barbara Dengel
THE 100th
BIRTHDAY OF
LOUISE GEORGE
Rachel Beatty & the Jenkins
family
Sarah & Wil Samson
Betty Seligman
Elizabeth P. Stewart
(through Renton
Community Foundation)
THE 103rd
BIRTHDAY OF
BEA MATHEWSON
Elizabeth K. Mathewson
GENERAL
DONATIONS
Charmaine & Jim Baker
Trudy Dasovick
Steven Denison
GENERAL
DONATIONS OF
$100 OR MORE
Jennifer Davis Hayes
(through Renton
Community Foundation)
GENERAL
DONATIONS OF
$500 OR MORE
Family of Cecilia Major
Ila M. Hemm
MATCHING GIFT
DONATIONS
Rachel Beatty
Nordstrom
IN-KIND
DONATIONS
Pritchard Design
George Weis
Or perhaps Lonely Acres?
We have fleeting references
to this park in what
was known as Renton
Junction, but we’re not
quite sure where it was.
It was convenient to the
Interurban railroad and the
Pacific Highway. We know
that African Americans
held picnics there in the
1920s and 1930s, as did the
Swiss Society. There was a
clubhouse there, a tavern,
and a dance pavilion,
possibly at different times.
It had a darker history, too;
a notorious murder there
closed its doors in 1938 and
it was also a government-
mandated gathering place
for Japanese about to be
sent to internment camps
during WWII. If you have
ANYONE REMEMBER PEOPLE'S PARK?
memories about the park or
objects or photos relating
to the park, we would
love to hear about them.
Please contact Curator
Sarah Samson at ssamson@
rentonwa.gov or at 425-
255-2330.
NEW MEMBERS
Muriel Lawty
Alice Lockridge
BENEFACTOR
MEMBERS
Bob Aliment
Charmaine & James Baker
Nick & Irene Tonkin
PATRON
MEMBERS
Lynne & Mike King
GIFT MEMBERSHIP DONORS
Anonymous
10 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM
City, and Margaret Stafford, the longest lasting milliner in
Renton, remarried and moved to Bellingham in 1917, retiring
from hat-selling altogether.16
By 1920 Mary Spencer was the only milliner in
the Renton census; many more women were stenographers,
telephone operators, or saleswoman in retail stores.17 The 1920s
created a new and different set of jobs for women—more public
and more professional—and that also created a new and different
desire for hats. When the Doris Morris Hat Shop opened in
Renton in 1922, proprietor Carrie Patch Yates brought years
of designing and sales experience to the manager’s position.
She had made and trimmed hats for Staadecker & Co. and
managed the Bonnet Nook in Seattle. Her assistant, Margaret
Shabro, had worked as a milliner for MacDougall & Southwick,
another of Seattle’s largest department stores.18 Department
stores like Frederick & Nelson’s or MacDougall & Southwick
and manufacturers like Staadecker & Co. and Harper-Buchner
Co. now served as training grounds for hundreds of Seattle-area
women interested in careers in women’s apparel.19
In the 1920s merchandisers began catering to the youth
market, whose tastes were different than those of their mothers. The
new hats were head-hugging, softer, and unembellished except for
a discreet bow or leather band; they suited women’s short, bobbed
hair. The Doris Morris Shop promised that “high school girls
will have a nice line of felt sports to select from” and the Vogue
Specialty Shop carried “clever felts, soft straws, lovely silks.”20
In 1930 “picture hats,” those embellished hats of the
Victorian era, briefly threatened to make a comeback, but Louis
Buchner, treasurer of the Harper-Buchner Hat Co., insisted that,
“You can’t tell me that women will ever tolerate those heavy,
grotesque hats again. The new styles are too comfortable.”21
He was right. By World War II hats were no longer a required
accessory for the fashionable woman—the more they moved out
into the world, the more they left their hats behind.
Continued from page 7
ENDNOTES
1 Ruth Gurney was apparently the very first milliner to operate in Renton as
early as 1900, but we know little about her. She was thirty-nine years old in
1900, her husband Solon was a jewelry peddler, and they had one son, Adam.
1900 Renton census.
2 Harriet Cook employed Rose Chevalier as an apprentice and advertised a “Hat
Renovatory” for those who did not want to buy new. Renton Journal, 22 Jan
1909, p.1; 1911 Renton City Directory; Renton Weekly News, 9 Oct 1908, p.2;
“Ladies!,” Renton Journal, 12 Mar 1909, p.3.
3 Cope was living with her second husband, Ambrose Cope, in Renton in 1909,
and again in Olympia in 1911, so their separation must have been temporary.
May Morrison later remarried. 1910 Renton census; 1911 Olympia City
Directory. RHM# 2006.043.022.
4 1910 Renton census; RHM# 41.0431.
5 “Big Reduction in Tailored Hats,” Renton Herald, 30 May 1912, p.3.
6 “Millinery Opening,” Renton Bulletin, 11 Sep 1914, p. 3.
7 1910 Renton census; 1911 Renton City Directory.
8 “Cynthia Grey’s Correspondents,” Seattle Star, 25 Jul 1910, p.6; Seattle Star,
2 Nov 1910, p.6. One young widow gave her reasons for seeking training in
millinery: “There are no wages in clerking, and I do not want to do laundry work.”
9 “Making Their Gowns; How Women Save Money, Meanwhile Learning a
Trade,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 21 Jul 1895, p.12.
10 Quoted in Amelia Birdsall, “A Woman’s Nature: Attitudes and Identities of
the Bird Hat Debate at the Turn of the 20th Century,” Senior Thesis, April 12,
2002 (Haverford College, Haverford, PA), 7.
11 He estimated that 50 species of American birds were being killed for their
feathers. Jeanmarie Tucker, “The Bird Hat: Murderous Millinery,” Maryland
Historical Society blog, n.d. (http://blog.mdhs.org/costumes/the-bird-hat-
murderous-millinery, accessed on 30 April 2018).
12 Jesse Greenspan, “The History and Evolution of the Migratory Bird Treaty
Act,” Audubon Society News, May 22, 2015 (http://www.audubon.org/news/
the-history-and-evolution-migratory-bird-treaty-act, accessed 30 April 2018);
William Souder, “How Two Women Ended the Deadly Feather Trade,”
Smithsonian Magazine, March 2013 (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/
science-nature/how-two-women-ended-the-deadly-feather-trade-23187277,
accessed 30 April 2018).
13 “Arrested Milliners,” Seattle Star, 22 Sep 1904, p.5; “Newest Millinery
is Strictly Vegetarian,” Seattle Star, 2 May 1907, p.4. Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge was created in 1908 by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt after its
population of white herons was decimated by plume-hunters. “Malheur
National Wildlife Refuge,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife web site (https://www.fws.
gov/refuge/Malheur/about.html, accessed on 2 May 2018).
14 Renton Bulletin, 19 Sep 1913, p.3; Renton Bulletin, 10 Apr 1913, p.2.
15 Renton Bulletin, 23 Oct 1914, p.3; Renton Bulletin, 23 Oct 1914, p.3.
16 “Millinery Announcement,” Renton Bulletin, 23 Oct 1914, p.3; Bellingham
Herald, Sep 1966, n.p.
17 1920 Renton census.
18 “New Millinery Store to Open in the City,” Renton Bulletin, 11 Aug 1922, p.1.
19 “Two Boys Who Used Their Heads and Others,” Seattle Times Magazine,
6 Jul 1930, p.9. Black Bear Manufacturing was also an important source of
employment for young Renton women, with nine Renton women employed as
seamstresses in their overall factory in the 1920 census. 1920 Renton census;
“Growth is Remarkable,” Seattle Sunday Times, 17 Jul 1927, p.23.
20 “New Millinery Store to Open in the City,” Renton Bulletin, 11 Aug 1922,
p.1; “New Hats and Hats from Regular Stock,” advertisement, Renton
Chronicle, 15 Mar 1928, p.7.
21 “Two Boys Who Used Their Heads and Others,” Seattle Times Magazine, 6
Jul 1930, p.9.
22 Her careful head for business allowed her to cultivate a real estate portfolio
in downtown Renton as well. “Dream of a Lifetime Comes True; Lily
Hedberg Opens New Store,” Renton Chronicle, 22 Sep 1955, p.1. Hedberg
represented Millinery to the Renton Soroptimists.
EPILOGUE
Lily K. Hedberg’s worklife exemplified the path to success in
women’s apparel, post-millinery. Though she started in hats,
Hedberg understood that the broader area of women’s clothing
represented the future. As a young woman she began her career
at Frederick & Nelson as a salesgirl on the floor; by 1928 she
was a department manager and by 1930 she was a buyer. By
1940 she was the women’s wear buyer for the whole department
store. In 1942 she opened a small shop in downtown Renton,
next to Ethel Martin’s Dress Shop. In 1955 Hedberg opened the
Renton Mercantile Co. at 800 Third Avenue, the “dream of a
lifetime.” “I’ve wanted to provide a beautiful store where Renton
shoppers can find the finest in clothing and gift items, and now
the store is becoming a reality,” Hedberg said.22
Staff at the Renton Mercantile, with owner Lily Hedberg
(4th from left). A few pared down hats of the 1940s sit on
the front counter. (RHM# 2002.032.4401)
SUMMER QUARTERLY, 2018 | 11
I nvite your history-minded friends and family to the History-Making Party benefiting
the Renton Historical Society! This fantastically fun event features a catered dinner,
dessert dash, raffle prizes, and silent & live auctions featuring upcylced home furnishings
by local makers! Lively and lovable local emcees Aunt Dottie and Nephew Aaron will
be on-hand providing entertainment and laughs. Tickets are $45 and will be available on
BrownPaperTickets.com and at the Museum.
On
SEPTEMBER
26
doors open at
5:30 PM
SAVE THE DATE!
MEMBERSHIP FORM
Please select a membership level:
Individual $30
Student/Senior $20
Family $40
Benefactor $75
Patron $150
Business/Corporate $175
Life membership $750
Basic memberships
Sustaining memberships
Name:
Address:
Phone:
Payment information
Visa or MC #:
Exp. date:
Signature:
Please make checks payable to the Renton Historical Society.
Please consider making a tax-deductible
donation! Your donations help us provide
new exhibits and exciting programs.
Donation: $
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Renton History Museum
235 Mill Avenue South
Renton, WA 98057
Phone: 425.255.2330
Fax: 425.255.1570
rentonhistory.org
RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM
235 Mill Ave. S
Renton, WA 98057
Unknown woman in a bird wing hat, ca. 1895. Her hat bears a resemblance to hat #18K16022, from the 1908 Sears, Roebuck & Co.
catalog, which sold for $3.48. (RHM# 2000.127.2820 and image from Sears catalog)
IN HINDSIGHT...