In the 1920s, men ought to know that, by September 15, they are to store their straw hats away for the next summer, and begin wearing felt. Violators face ridicule on the streets of Northern cities.

Getting a jump on that deadline, on September 13, 1922, gangs of youth run through the streets of lower Manhattan, ripping straw hats from men’s heads and stomping them on the sidewalk. A group of dockworkers fight back, starting a brawl that closes the Manhattan Bridge.

The next night, a thousand teenagers armed with sticks with nails through them, prowl the streets for straw hats. Anyone who resists is beaten. Several people are hospitalized, and many teens are arrested.

In the years that follow, the fashion for straw “boaters” declines as does the ritual of shaming those who wear them.