WE SAY GOODBYE TO MAURICE SILVER OF THE AMERICAN HAT COMPANY

Maurice Silver, a hatter who changed the Western-wear business by developing a water-resistant straw hat, died Sunday in Houston. He was 81.

Silver ran The American Hat Co. for forty years. They specialized in straw and felt cowboy hats and at its height in the 1980s they employed 150 workers.

Silver was a native of Houston, and was a grandson of Sam Silver, who founded the family's hat business in 1915.

Silver was "a man with a warm friendly smile and a firm handshake," who reported for work each day in a suit, cowboy hat and boots.

Silver's greatest achievement was the development of a water-proofing process that made straw cowboy hats durable in the Texas heat.

"In the olden days with the Huckleberry Finn-looking hats, when it rained, they'd get wet and deteriorate," said Silver's son, Tom Silver. "My father felt there would be a large market for a durable Western hat to keep the sun off your head, but one that also would withstand the weather."

Through a trial and error process starting in the 1950s, Silver found a way to coat the straw hats with shellac.

"It was flexible," Tom Silver said, "not brittle enough to break, and it could be worn in all sorts of weather."

'Open crown' a success
Silver also promoted "open crown" hats that gave hat sellers a wide variety of styles without expanding inventory, said his nephew Gary Cohen. With that system, said Cohen, owner of The Hat Store on Richmond, haberdashers need only stock a variety of hat sizes.

Unlike pre-shaped hats, the open crown models could be customized for each buyer in the store.

"He was an innovator," Cohen said. "He was a hard, hard worker. If he believed in something, that was it. He didn't hem and haw around. He went for it. In business, he made many great decisions."

Silver was honored for his achievements by the Headwear Institute.

He sold his business in 1984.