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I'll Lock Up
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Toronto's last Hatter?
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Sorry to hear about the old guy's passing.
These are the reporter's words ...
Catleugh Jr. continues the family business, and says, with a lilt of pride in his voice, that he is the only remaining professional hat blocker in Canada. People from all over North America send their hats to Catleugh Jr., who cleans and blocks them just the way his father did 50 years ago.
... and not a direct quote. But if the paraphrase is close to what Catleugh Jr. actually told her, well, I just gotta scratch my head. The "only remaining professional hat blocker" in all of Canada? I can't name another right off the top of my head, so I can't dispute the claim. Still, I'd think there would be at least a few other people making at least a few bucks blocking hats somewhere in that large and lovely land to the north.
These are the reporter's words ...
Catleugh Jr. continues the family business, and says, with a lilt of pride in his voice, that he is the only remaining professional hat blocker in Canada. People from all over North America send their hats to Catleugh Jr., who cleans and blocks them just the way his father did 50 years ago.
... and not a direct quote. But if the paraphrase is close to what Catleugh Jr. actually told her, well, I just gotta scratch my head. The "only remaining professional hat blocker" in all of Canada? I can't name another right off the top of my head, so I can't dispute the claim. Still, I'd think there would be at least a few other people making at least a few bucks blocking hats somewhere in that large and lovely land to the north.
Feraud
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^^Some reporters never let facts get in the way of a good story..
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Feraud said:
Well, this one has apparently spoken with Catleugh Jr. on at least one other occasion. And on at least one other occasion she attributes to him his claim of being the sole professional hat blocker in all the land.
The following two paragraphs are from a feature story that the Toronto Star posted on their site in January of 2009.
Catleugh believes he is the only remaining professional hat blocker in Canada. The proprietor of The Hatter, a small shop tucked into a line of stores on Avenue Rd., north of Lawrence Ave. W., cleans and blocks hats, just the way his father did back when every well-dressed gentleman wore a well-pressed hat.
"We're the only one doing it," he says. "In the whole country. If there is somebody else out there doing it, I'd like to know who they are."
To her credit, she is careful not to assert what she hasn't verified. She writes "Catleugh believes ... " and then later quotes him directly.
Again, I'm in no position to dispute the claim, but I still find it kinda incredible. There are three people I know of in my home state, which isn't an unusually populous one, who clean and block hats, and I wouldn't be surprised to catch news of more. When I consider that Canada has something like five times the number of people ...
Here's a guy that I would think should be able to do it.
http://www.dailyxy.com/daily-xy/style-and-grooming/leon-drexler-torontos-bespoke-hat-maker/
http://www.dailyxy.com/daily-xy/style-and-grooming/leon-drexler-torontos-bespoke-hat-maker/
