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The Cowboy Way

Greeley's Traditional Roots in the "Ag Life" Lives On, as Seen Through One Multigenerational Family

Article by Mathew Klickstein

Photography by Taryn Ashlee Photography

Originally published in Greeley Lifestyle

Greeley Hat Works head honcho Trent Johnson calls it "hatisfaction." A colorful hybrid of, well . . . "hat" and "satisfaction." Ostensibly, he means that particular satisfaction one garners from wearing a hat — not to be confused with a baseball cap, as Johnson's wont to declare — that fits the bill perfectly.

For Trent, “hatisfaction” and its complementary “hatitude” are about more than mere style or clever branding. He works as hard as he does because he knows his clients often need his hats to properly get their work done day in and day out, too.

A prolific globetrotter fitting dignitaries, politicians, musicians and the cast of popular television shows and movies such as Yellowstone and Jeremy Renner starrer Wind River, Trent also makes hats for our men and women working out on the range, helping to keep Greeley connected to its proud agrarian legacy.

“That’s my number one customer,” Trent says. “People that really use the hats. For me, Greeley Hat Works is truly part of Weld County’s western way of life.”

Larson Farms & Feeding LLC facilitates a diversified ranching operation based on the eastern outskirts of town whose dynasty of such Greeley Hat Works patrons have been tirelessly working their land in Weld County for six generations.

Four of those six generations, from stolid great-grandfather Jack, straight through to his tiny tyke great-grandchildren Luke and namesake Jack, together oversee more than 4,000 irrigated acres of forage crops.

They also operate a 10,000 head feedlot and maintain a 750 head cow herd that spend their summers in Wyoming when not grazing and calving during the winter on cover crops planted across the ever-growing family’s harvested fields.

Zealously adhering to the Larson Farms’ motto of “our core values run deep and true,” the Larsons strive to keep the way of the cowboy alive while always looking to the future for continued progress and adaptation to the changing times.

One thing that hasn’t changed since the first Larson immigrated from Sweden to the area in 1905 (a mere four years before Greeley Hat Works started up) is the need for a good, comfortable and sturdy hat.

“We’ve been working with Greeley Hat Works since before Trent bought it,” the senior Jack says. “Trent was still in college at that time, just working there. But now he’s running the show, and we all get our hats there to this day.”

To Jack’s son Lelyn, the Larson family continues depending on Trent as their hatter due to one word: “quality.”

In clarifying his point, Lelyn points to the “quality” of the material used.

“It’s about craftsmanship and durability,” he says. “The fact that Trent’s hats hold their shape even if you get into some rain or something like that. All of our hats are hats he has made, and they definitely are always of that higher quality we need to be out there and working as hard as we do.”

“It means a lot to me to go out and see people who get so much out of the hats that we make for them,” Trent says. “Whether it’s bright as can be out, raining, snowing or whatever, our hats are, in the end, made to protect the cowboys so they can do what they need to do to get the job done right.”

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