Panama hat miners of the California Gold Rush traveled to California via the Isthmus of Panama and Pacific Mail Steamship Company. In 1906 , U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt visited the construction site of the Panama Canal and was photographed wearing a Panama hat, which further increased the hats' popularity. Although the Panama hat continues to provide a livelihood for thousands of Ecuadorians, fewer than a dozen weavers capable of making the finest "Montecristi superfinos" remain. Production in Ecuador is dwindling, due to economic problems in Ecuador and competition from Chinese hat producers. The tamsui hat was a straw hat made in Formosa
Hats Off for Cancer Hats Off for Cancer Hats Off for Cancer (HOC) is a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides support for children affected by cancer. The signature activity of the charity is to collect donated hats for distribution to children battling cancer—especially children with alopecia resulting from their treatment. The organization estimates that it has coordinated the distribution of over 1.5 million hats since 1996. The organization was founded in 1996 by Tara A. Lawrence, whose grandfather died from prostate cancer in 1992. Lawrence initially volunteered with the American Cancer Society, where she was exposed to children battling cancer who were