Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article

Historic Treasure of the Week
March 22, 1998
By Raula Criss Wright
Vigo County Historical Society

A bygone era has worn away

Hats galore--that’s what could be found when one opened the doors of Edythe’s and Marie’s Hat Shop.

Hats of every type and for every occasion lined the shelves of the small shop at 125 S. Seventh St., owned by Edythe Ross and Marie Voges.

Ross learned the millinery business from Margaret Ann Kintz, who had a shop in the Hotel Deming. She was only 16 when she was apprenticed. Ross worked very hard for three years without pay and her talent bloomed.

Voges learned the business while working for Fannie Light. The two women opened their first shop in 1942 in the Indiana Theatre building. In 1953, they moved to 125 S. Seventh St.

Voges dies in 1968. Ross continued to run the shop until 1978, when she retired and the doors of the millinery shop closed.

Women loved Edythe’s and Marie’s hats. In those days, a woman would buy a new hat if her spirits were low.

Hats were made of felt, velvet and beaver hair for the winter months. In the summer, hats were made of silk, straw, milan or leghorn.

The trimmings were things of beauty in themselves, made from the plumes of a bird of paradise, ostrich or egret or the wings of other birds, maline, flowers and ribbons. Add a hat pin and a woman’s day would brighten.

Also, veils were used, especially if a woman was in mourning. A veil would cover her face at the funeral and for several months following.

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.