Downtown statue’s cowboy hat missing; no plans to search for
it
Gilroy – A little piece of Gilroy’s history is gone. Forever.
The hat on the statue of legendary broncobuster Casey Tibbs that rides the awning above Hall’s Western Wear has been missing for months and no one, not the building’s owner, not the police, not anybody, is trying to find it.
“I don’t really care, it’s just a straw hat,” the owner, George Hall, said about the hat that probably wasn’t made of straw, considering it survived for decades on Casey’s head. “I haven’t looked at it.”
Because Hall has not filed a report, Gilroy police aren’t looking for the hat, Sgt. Kurt Svardal said Tuesday.
“We need someone to be a victim and confirm that it was stolen,” Svardal said. “We haven’t called in the helicopters yet. My guess is that, with something like this, it’s probably in someone’s room as a trophy and they’ll return it when they realize what a big story this is.”
One man who is upset about the hat is Louie Kalivitis, owner of Harvest Time, the Monterey Street restaurant that’s across Sixth Street from Hall’s.
“Why would someone take the hat?” Kalivitis asked. “It was nice. They should put another hat on it.”
That’s not likely. Hall doesn’t have much affection for the building that housed his father’s landmark store until it closed in the late 1990s. Known officially as the James Ellis building, the edifice opened in 1872 and is the oldest building on the block. Hall’s father, Bill, opened his clothing store in 1931.
The structure is in need of extensive retrofitting and George Hall said he has no plans to do anything with the building other than sell it.
“It will take a considerable amount of money to get it up to earthquake standards,” he said. “Next year we should know what we’re going to do with it. It will probably be sold.”
Most of what was known about the statue of Tibbs riding his horse “War Paint” has been lost to history. It was installed above Hall’s some time after 1956, the last year of Gilroy’s annual gymkhana, or horse riding competition. A few years ago it was repainted and spruced up in anticipation of a move to Bonfante Gardens, but the statue stayed put.
Tibbs, who was from South Dakota, was a beloved figure in these parts during the gymkhana’s heyday after World War II. According to the Casey Tibbs Foundation, in 1949, at age 19, he became the youngest man to win the national saddle bronc-riding crown. And between 1949 and 1955, he won six such championships, which is still a record.
He was also a great ambassador for his sport, appearing in movies and television shows and introducing rodeo to Japan. He died in 1990, a few weeks before his 61st birthday. Gilroy Rancher Don Silacci remembers Tibbs “as just an all-around good fellow.”
“I didn’t know him real well, but he was quite a guy,” Silacci, 69, said. “He did a lot to promote rodeo and for rodeo business.”
And if the new owners of the Hall’s building want to unload Casey Tibbs, he will always have a welcome home at Silacci’s Feed Barn on Monterey Highway.
“I’d like to have it at the feed barn,” Silacci said. “Just for the memories.”
