Fun Hats Are as Common on Island as Fudge, Horses
By Leslie Rott

Wild and crazy hats have become just as common as fudge and horses on Mackinac Island these days. Pictured are (from left) Michelle Milligan, Hannah Palmer, Chelsie Russell, Emily Williamson, and Autumn Strickler of Indian River.

From pizzas and hot dogs to elephants and horses, on a busy day, downtown streets are full of children wearing crazy hats that attract attention from all. It seems that one can barely walk into a downtown store and not be bombarded with a rack of neon fur.

Patty Schoenborn, manager at Betty’s Gifts, said that the shop has been selling the hats for the past five years. She said that every year, the hats get bigger and wilder.

“The wilder the better,” she said. “One person buys it and more people follow.”

She described the trend as “monkey see, monkey do” and said the hats are also popular at amusement parks.

Nevertheless, she said, “I don’t know what motivates them to buy them.”

The crazy hats that Betty’s Gifts sells range in price from $2.98 to $5.95.

The Big Store started selling Dr. Seuss-type hats 10 years ago on the advice of one of their salesmen, and the line has expanded to just about anything wild and crazy. Manager Tim Leeper said children who come to the Island with school groups buy the hats because their parents are not there to tell them they can not buy them. He described the hats as “a statement of individuality” for children.

This year, he said, the furry hats are the most popular, but he cautions wannabe hipsters that popularity varies every year.

“You never know which one the kids are going to like,” he said.

He also notes that children love to take pictures with the hats on.

Wild and crazy hats at The Big Store range in price from $4 to $10.

According to Barbara Shulman, manager of Frank Shama Gifts, the store has been selling the hats for a couple of years.

“They’ve been a pretty big seller,” and says, and that the store sells them all summer long.

Hats at Frank Shama Gifts range in price from $3 to $7.

At the Balsam Shop, “They come in here and they just go crazy,” said sales clerk Kathy Wightman of the children and the hats. She said that the store has been selling the hats for about four years and this year, the most popular hats have been the light blue and the neon pink furry hats.

When she shares a ferry ride home to St. Ignace with a school group, she said 99 percent of the students will be wearing crazy and wild hats that they have purchased on the Island.

Elaine Bunker said the children like the hats because “they’re cool and they’re fun.” She said that some schools have crazy hat days and that students want to buy a hat to wear for that. “It gives them character,” she added, saying that children's choice of hat really reflects their personality.

Funky hats at The Balsam Shop are sold from $4.95 to $11.98.

Souvenir store managers agree that the hats have been a good business investment.

Hannah Palmer and Autumn Strickler of Indian River, visiting Mackinac Island with their fifth grade class from Inland Lakes School, wore their new hats proudly as they walked down the street.

They bought the hats, they said, because the hats are different and they wanted to be different from everyone else.

How different are they really when everyone is wearing them? Evidentially, the variety that each store has and the different colors and styles offered make individuality possible.