This year, politics have been making news, and the St. Joseph Museums created a special election exhibit that looks at the past. One of the more unusual items in the collection is a big, pink ladies hat from 1948. It belonged to Julia Woodson Edman, a St. Joseph woman actively involved in local Democratic politics.

But why wear a hat?

You have to remember that back in those days a lady didn’t go out in public without dressing up, said Kathy Reno, a museum spokeswoman. And that meant wearing a hat, Mrs. Reno said.

Sixty years ago, Mrs. Edman became an alternate delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

The convention was a contentious place. A group of southern delegates had walked out of the convention to form the State’s Rights Party, sometimes known as the Dixiecrats.

Party pundits were predicting Mr. Truman would lose to the popular Republican candidate, New York Gov. Thomas Dewey.

The convention was a hot and sweltering place that summer in Philadelphia. The convention hall became a virtual sauna for delegates. The excited Missouri delegation and Mrs. Edman had to wait until 2 a.m. to hear President Harry Truman, dressed in a white linen suit, deliver his acceptance speech. Mr. Truman promised the delegates that he’d win, and he did.

Mrs. Edman and her hat were there to see the start.

The St. Joseph Museums are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. The political exhibit is located at the museum’s 3406 Frederick Ave. location.

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Education connection:

Look through the paper to find a community event you would like to attend. Then look through the ads and photos to find a hat you could wear to this event. Write a news story as if you had attended the event, making sure you mention your selected hat. Visit the St. Joseph Museum to locate this beautiful hat, along with other items in the election exhibit.