Rod Kelusky models the 24-year-old Tilley hat given to him by his wife. Photo by Phil Novak, BayToday.ca. Rod Kelusky brought an old friend out of retirement this weekend so it could finally meet its maker.
Rod Kelusky models the 24-year-old Tilley hat given to him by his wife. Photo by Phil Novak, BayToday.ca.
Rod Kelusky brought an old friend out of retirement this weekend so it could finally meet its maker.
His wife Gloria had bought him a Tilley hat in 1981, and on Saturday Kelusky brought the legendary chapeau to Bigwood Sporting Goods so Alex Tilley could sign it.
Tilley was in North Bay to autograph the hats which made him famous worldwide, and he and Bigwood contributed money for each one signed to The Gathering Place soup kitchen.
Bigwood owner Ed Rogers said Tilley signed over 150 hats, raising $700.
“It was fantastic having him here,” Rogers said.
“He’s a nice guy, he knows how to handle people, he had fun with enjoyed our customers and was really intrigued with the sort of environment we have in our store.”
Kelusky, sporting his latest Tilley, was among the other owners who patiently lined up in the Worthington Street store to have their hats signed.
When he brought the out of a bag, though, the 24-year-old Tilley—Kelusky’s first—was definitely showing its age, yellowed and hole-filed.
“Did you ask for a replacement,” Tilley asked Kelusky, alluding to the lifetime guarantee which comes which each hat.
Kelusky said while exchanging the hat was an option, it wasn’t one he was partial too.
“This was kind of a cherished item to me, and maybe I can put it on my wall with my other first of things,” said Kelusky, who’s retired now but spent over 30 years working for the Ontario Transportation Ministry.
“But it just fell apart on me, perspiration and sunlight, and just wear and tear.”
Tilley knows his hats take abuse from time to time and that’s why he created them to be endurable.
He related perhaps the most memorable company story ever, involving animal trainer Michael Hackenburger and the elephant that ate his Tilley hat three different times.
“Each time the elephant passed the hat, Michael would wash it thoroughly and wear it again. We tried to get it for our mini-museum and he declined to exchange and we wrote back to him ‘we are secretly pleased,’” Tilley said.
Tilley developed his hat in 1980 after being unable to find one he liked well enough to wear while sailing. That led to the establishment of Tilley Endurables, which sells Canadian made hats, pants, shorts, vests and other garments geared toward the travel market.
