Remebering Betty Hacking

[James 'n Jane]

I was saddened to her of the passing of my dear Aunt Betty on 18 March
2009. She was the last remaining of the children of Henry Franklin and
Martha Elnora Wilcox Hacking and their spouses. She had an infectious
laugh and we always loved when she would come to visit with our
family. She will be missed. However, I rejoice for her and know she is
being happily welcomed by many who have gone before.

As I read through her obituary, it mentions her love of hats. A few
years back I found an article in the Idaho State Journal Archive about
her facination with hats and thought you might enjoy reading it,
especially since I could no longer find it online. I did add it to her
page on the KEH FT, but I wanted to also have it available in other
ways so it can be linked to the memorial I created for her on Find A
Grave. Here are the links to both the original obituary and her Find A
Grave Memorial:

http://www.legacy.com/IdahoStateJournal/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=125278994

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=34999145


Idaho State Journal article:
Sunday Style: Hats are still in vogue with two Pocatello women

By Juanita Rodriguez - Journal Lifestyles Editor

For Pocatellans Sherry Campbell and Betty Hacking, Sunday go to
meeting hats have never gone out of style. Both women are known for
wearing hats to Sunday Mass at St. Josephs Catholic Church where their
hats draw a lot of attention and compliments. Hats are like
petticoats, says Hacking. They cover a multitude of sins. And unlike
some women who don’t like to wear hats because they tend to ruin
hairdos, Hacking, who has worn hats for more than 60 years, loves hats
because she has more bad hair days than good. I’m not very handy at
hair creations, says Hacking, a retired nurse who volunteers at the
Bannock County Historical Museum.

As for Sherry Campbell, a teacher who is known for her love of
collecting and wearing vintage clothing, hats especially vintage ones
are a passion as well as a fashion statement. I just love old and new
hats. I think I have more than 200 hats. I’m afraid to actually count
them because I’ll know how obsessed I am, she says with a laugh. When
Campbell goes to church, she tries to match her ensemble, including
her hat, to the occasion. If the event is a dressier one like a
wedding, she may embellish a hat with flowers or ribbons. Whatever the
occasion, however, Campbell said she likes a feisty-looking hat with
personality. A woman never wears a hat to look silly. You wear one to
look attractive, Campbell says. In some parts of the world, hats are
still a part of fashion attire. We’ve gone so casual in this country.
Campbell says the bouffant hairdos of the 1960s killed the hats-and-
gloves look for church or any other occasion. And Vatican II, which
liberalized many practices of the Catholic Church, also ended the
unspoken rule that women must wear headdress of some type to church
services. Wearing vintage or new clothing and hats is like an artist
expressing herself, Campbell says. Your body becomes a palette. It’s
just a fun thing for me. Campbell says she was inspired to think and
live fashion by some maiden aunts on her fathers side who were, in her
eyes, the hottest babes in the world. They colored their nails, wore
makeup, used perfume and dyed their hair, she says. Campbell would
like to see hats come back in style for all occasions.

Hacking bemoans the lack of a selection of good hats from which to
choose and says she considers it a real find when she spots a hat that
looks and fits her just right. I have a short neck so I have to make
sure I wear a hat that doesn’t have a brim in the back, Hacking says.
She also would like to see more women donning a hat to church. It’s
worth all the compliments, she says. Campbell offers a word or two of
advice about wearing hats:

* Put on a hat and check it out in a full-length mirror.

* Always make sure you wear the hat with the label facing the back of
your head. There’s nothing worse than wearing a hat backwards.

Published Aug. 18, 2001
Idaho State Journal

http://www.idahostatejournal.com/archives

Accessed Saturday, August 27, 2005 4:58:02 AM
[no longer available on line at the above URL]