The Cy Crumley Scrapbook
ET&WNC Railroad

Tour 22: The Incredible Return of Cy Crumley's hat.


     
 

Your host and narrator for this tour is Ken Riddle.

Here is the amazing story of the incredible journey of Cy Crumley’s hat.  In October 2007, the hat was advertised for sale by Haas Jewelers of Cincinnati, Ohio on eBay (auction number 160166230130). Follow along with the photo journal below of the hat's history and its return to Tweetsie Country. Could Cy Crumley or any of the legendary ET&WNC railroaders ever have imagined that Cy's hat would some day be a vintage collectible obtaining a winning bid of $3,652.00?

  


Click on each photo to see a larger view.
 

"Cy with the Girls "
Date: 1938

Cy's hat purchased from the ebay auction is the same one shown in the photograph above (and countless others) showing him hard at work as the conductor on the passenger train “Tweetsie.”  This picture was made in 1938 at Pardee Point in Doe River Gorge.

 

 

eBay
Auction
Date: 2007
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Cy's Hat
Date: 2007
 

Inside Look
Date: 2007

The photos above show the hat in detail as offered for auction on eBay. ET&WNC Historical Society members discovered the auction and the item was verified by me (Ken Riddle) as the authentic hat worn by Cy. I suspect that a family member living in Ohio who had inherited these mementoes from Cy's daughter, Ruth Tupper, sold them to Haas Jewelers.


 

  .

Cy at Age 90
Date: 1976
I took the photo above of Cy Crumley at age 90 wearing his ET&WNC hat at his home on Buffalo Street in Johnson City. Below his daughter Ruth proudly wears her father's hat at Doe River Gorge.
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Ruth with the Hat
Date: 2001

 

 

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Grand Dames of Tweetsie
Date: 1981
Above are a couple of shots of me wearing the old hat years ago. The photo on the left is with Cy's daughter Ruth and on the right with Mrs. Bert Allison, wife of Tweetsie Engineer Brownie Allison.  This was on an excursion the Watauga Valley Railway Historical Society had from Johnson City to Elizabethton in 1981. Below is a vintage photo of Brownie and Bert Allison with their daughter Joanie.
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Brownie, Bert & Joanie Allison
Date: 1940s

 

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Haas
Jewelers
Date: 2007

Cy's hat wound up here, at a store in Cincinnati where people go to sell off old jewelry.  The store put it on eBay and watched the fun begin.  And fun it was for them I am sure as the old black hat brought in thousands of dollars. The winning bidder was my friend and memorabilia collector, Mike Hardin from Atlanta. I had to be in Detroit on business so after the auction was over I told Mike I would I would go by and pick it up lest it befall a horrible fate at the hands of UPS. Below pretty little Arabelle Haas was there at her Cincinnati store waiting for me, and I thought it only proper in the spirit of my old friends to take her picture.  I am quite sure Mr. Crumley would be most delighted at this picture of a great looking gal modeling his old black hat.

  .
Arabelle
Haas
Date: 2007

 

 

The Hat Returns to the Gorge
Date: 2007
Doe River Gorge had its Open House excursions on Sunday, October 21.  I didn't think Mike would mind if I took the hat over there for one more ride to Pardee Point.  Here are Jerry, Phil, Dowdy, Mark, Cody, and Steve with Mr. Crumley’s hat.  Notice none of them look like Ms. Arabelle Haas.


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Joan Allison Deardon
Date: 2007

Another special person on hand at the Gorge for the Open House was Arabelle’s only real competition.  This is Joan (Joanie Allison) Deardon, Brownie and Bert Allison’s girl shown in the photo above as a young girl with her parents.  She has been through the gorge more than anybody alive today, as she went with her father to work every day when she wasn't in school.  She claims to be an excellent bell ringer, and sure looks better in Mr. Crumley’s hat than anyone else up there that day.  We sure miss her Momma and Daddy too.  Mrs. Bert Allison come up to the gorge several times before she passed away at 98. Below is Terry Maughon, the head man up at Doe River Gorge, in his best style with the old hat on. I took it on one last ride up to Pardee Point and instead of all the usual talk I do about the railroad I talked about Mr. Crumley and how important he was to the whole Tweetsie legacy on that trip.  I sounded pretty good, if I do say so myself. (My head is way too big to fit the old hat anymore). Many thanks to Doe River Gorge Ministries for allowing the most scenic part of the Tweetsie Railway in Tennessee to be restored and experienced in the 21st Century.

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Terry Maughon
Date: 2007

 

 

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Mike Hardin: Winning Bidder
October 2007
The last stop for the old hat was delivery to my good friend Mike Hardin's office in Atlanta. I wanted to take his photo but I really had to work with him to get him to smile. He kept trying to look like his great grandpappy, George Hardin. Seriously, we cannot express enough gratitude to Mike for keeping Mr. Crumley's things intact and within the Et&WNC family. I know it would mean a lot to Cy and especially to his daughter Ruth to have this treasured collection together for future generations to enjoy.
 

George Hardin
Date: 1920

 

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Cy Crumley Figurine
Date: December 2007
Recently released by Po'e 'O Honua is a 1:20.3 scale miniature figurine of Cy Crumley for model railroaders and ET&WNC collectors. The figurines are available on ebay and are designed and produced by Richard Kapuaala, who lives in Hawaii. Cy is the third figurine available with the others being Sherman Pippin and Andy Kern. Richard's grandfather, Columbus Madison Foley, worked the rail on the ET&NWC Railroad which prompted his interest in developing the Tweetsie figurines which can be used with any scale model railroad.
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Closer View
Date: 2007
   

 

 


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