West Texan wearing hat with cattle brands burned on it, San Angelo Fat Stock Show, San Angelo, Texas. Russell Lee, 1940.
I'm thinking that the kids described as a "street gang" are just kids hanging on the corner. That's where you met your friends, and it's what you did with your spare time if you grew up in the city.
And they said "Silent Cal" had no sense of humor. . . .Coolidge ten gallon hat..has this been posted? forgive me if it has
Who says they were comfortable?
My dad was born in 1913, and throughout much of his life was pretty much "required" to wear a suit and tie for both work and societal reasons. By the time I came along in 1961 he was a foreman (middle management at a tuna cannery, coincidentally) and his daily work and casual wear consisted of a tee shirt, work pants (the 1960s equivalent of Dickies' pants), and work boots. By that point he would need to wear a suit and tie only for special occasions, and grumbled about how uncomfortable they were almost every time. So, yes, he wore suits when he needed to, but much preferred the comfort of his far more casual working clothes. Fishing in a suit coat, tie, and hat? He would have thought they were nuts.
My dad grew up on a farm in Nebraska; I have no idea what he wore during his childhood and teen years, but I'd guess it was probably "dress" clothes that had seen better days and were repurposed as work clothes. Dad rarely took vacations while I was growing up, so a month or two after he retired at the age of 72 my brother and his wife insisted dad and mom accompany them on a trip to northern California. Much to my shock and surprise, when they returned a week later dad was wearing a pair of blue jeans; the first time I had ever seen him in a pair. It had apparently become necessary for him to buy them during the trip (I never found out why) and he liked them so much that he bought a few more the week after they returned, and those were the only pants he wore until the day he died two years later.
