International Hat Company | Wikipedia audio article |
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This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Hat_Company 00:03:09 1 History 00:03:18 1.1 First location and early company history 00:07:57 1.2 New markets and expansion 00:10:06 1.3 Sale, decline, and liquidation 00:14:08 1.4 Successors 00:14:46 2 Products 00:17:02 3 Legal issues 00:19:07 4 Philanthropy 00:20:32 5 Legacy 00:21:05 6 Facilities 00:24:56 7 Presidents Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago. Learning by listening is a great way to: - increases imagination and understanding - improves your listening skills - improves your own spoken accent - learn while on the move - reduce eye strain Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone. Listen on Google Assistant through Extra Audio: https://assistant.google.com/services/invoke/uid/0000001a130b3f91 Other Wikipedia audio articles at: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=wikipedia+tts Upload your own Wikipedia articles through: https://github.com/nodef/wikipedia-tts Speaking Rate: 0.9886454733413956 Voice name: en-GB-Wavenet-D "I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think." - Socrates SUMMARY ======= International Hat Company, formerly named the International Harvest Hat Company, was a St. Louis, Missouri-based manufacturer of commercial hats and military helmets. The company was one of the largest hat manufacturers in the United States and, at one time, the largest manufacturer of harvest hats in the world. It is best remembered for its design and mass production of tropical shaped, pressed fiber military sun helmets for soldiers of the United States Army, Marines, and Navy during and after World War II. Additionally, the American owned company was a major producer of harvest hats, straw hats, fiber sun hats, enameled dress hats, baseball caps, and earmuffs throughout most of the 20th century. However, it is the International Hat military sun helmets that have become the most notable collector's items. Established in 1917 as a private corporation, the company began with a single product line of harvest straw hats. By the late 1930s, the company had expanded into fiber pressed sun hats and leather harvest hats. During World War II, International Hat developed and produced several models of military sun helmets, including a model with rudimentary ventilation. After the war, the company became interested in plastic molding injection, moving increasingly away from pressed fiber. In the 1950s, General Fibre Company, a subsidiary of International Hat, changed its name to General Moulding Company to reflect these production changes in basic materials. By the 1960s, International Hat was mostly producing baseball caps, straw hats, earmuffs, plastic helmets, and plastic sun hats. During this era of expansion, the company had a proclivity for building its factories in small rural cities, often becoming the largest employer and economic backbone of those communities. On several occasions, International Hat donated land or facility equipment for the creation of municipal parks located adjacent to one of its factories, namely for the purpose of benefiting employees, their families, and the local community.After sixty-one years of business, the company was sold in 1978 to Interco, Inc., where it continued operating as a subsidiary. In 1988, Interco was the target of a hostile takeover bid. Consequently, International Hat was divested the following year to Paramount Cap Company, as part of a debt restructuring plan instituted by the parent company. However, Interco subsequently went bankrupt in 1991, after selling 16 of its 20 subsidiaries. Although International Hat was liquidated, several of its original factories are still in operation by other hat companies in Southeastern Missouri. Additionally, one of International Hat's warehouses in the historic district of Soulard, Missouri has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. International Hat operated the historical building from 1954 to 1976. It is presently used as a senior and disabled living facility. |