MANHATTAN HATTER
by suggesting we come right over for coffee.
Within an hour we were being ushered into
his fabulous brownstone on 17th street.
It was fun to finally meet this super-talented man from Tennessee. He was warm
and friendly and made us feel very welcome.
He introduced us to his business partner
Jim and to his cousin Jo Saylors, a gifted
sculptor from Oklahoma, who surprisingly
also originated from Marshall County.
We had a long conversation touching on
many subjects including his Southern roots
and I found we had some common Scottish
ancestry; both of us having McDonald’s in
our family tree.Mr. McConnell insisted we
should return that evening and all have dinner at his favorite French Restaurant, La
Cote Basque, and we were delighted to accept his generous offer.
Smartly attired in our full length evening dresses we found ourselves once again
in a taxi heading to Manhattan. It was getting dark and the lights of the city were glittering off the residual snow. Our cab pulled
up in front of La Cote Basque and we hurriedly stepped inside out of the cold The
restaurant was elegantly decorated with
colorful floor to ceiling murals of the Mediterranean Coast and Provincial France.
After removing our winter coats, we were
escorted to our seats at a large round table
where Jack and his guests were waiting to
greet us.
There were seven of us at Jack’s dinner party. Among the guests was a delightful friend of Jack’s called Betty from Little
Italy, New York. She had a fascinating life
history, having been a hairdresser to Barbara Walters, Nancy Reagan and Placido
Domingo among others.
This was a very accomplished group of
people and the conversation was scintillating. Among other things we talked about the
famous people who had worn Jack’s hats
and the many photographs of them covering an entire wall in his house. My favorite
was Audrey Hepburn who looked stunning
in the hat Jack designed for her.
The evening passed all too quickly, so
we thanked Jack for a splendid time and
delicious meal, said our goodbyes and returned to our hotel where we talked excitedly about our superb day before settling
down for the night.
Reluctantly, after such a wonderful
weekend in New York, we set off for La
Guardia chatting enthusiastically. Then to
make our weekend even more memorable,
who did we run into in the airport? Harry
Connick Jr.. Jeanette and I spoke to him but
he refused to let me take his photograph.
Treasured correspondence before a trip of a lifetime to New York City to meet Jack McConnell.
McConnell was laid to rest in Bryant cemetery in Marshall County.
The concourse was fairly quiet and we
noticed he wandered around freely without being recognized. He spent time in the
bookstore and even stood in the queue with
us for a cup of coffee.
To top off that bit of excitement, as we
walked further down the concourse, lo and
behold we bumped into the Keno brothers
from Antiques Roadshow. Leslie and Leigh
were delightful. They wanted to have their
photograph taken with us and even gave us
their personal business cards. They were
very nice and friendly.
Upon reflection I realize a friendship
was forged with Jack during my visit and
continued as we corresponded over the next
several years. Jack invited me to go back to
visit him in New York but I never made it.
Sadly, Jack died almost five years later, on
October 24, 2007 at the age of 91 and is
buried in Bryant Cemetery in Mooresville,
Marshall County, Tennessee.
Displayed in a glass case in the museum
at Hardison School in Lewisburg, there are
three magnificent hats that were donated by
Jack McConnell. His hats are widely sought
after by collectors, so happily his legacy will
live on for some time to come.
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