Tom P. Peters Sr.; Hat Maker for Presidents

Tom P. Peters Sr., 100, a hat maker who sent his wares to Presidents beginning with Woodrow Wilson. Peters also was known for handing out silver dollars and for calling all of his customers, including the roughest cowboys, “honey.” Peters and his brother Jim came to Fort Worth from Skopi, Greece, in 1911 and ran shoeshine parlors before they began making hats. Peters began sending hats to U.S. Presidents more than 70 years ago, said his grandson, Joe Peters. “His first President was Woodrow Wilson,” Joe Peters said. “He sent him a western hat, but Wilson sent it back, saying he didn’t wear western hats. He was partial to top hats like Abraham Lincoln.” Peters and Amon Carter Sr., a former publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, worked together to design the Shady Oaks hats, which Carter handed out to movie stars, political leaders and foreign dignitaries. In Fort Worth, on Sunday.