The History Of Indy Gear Part 3

Micheal French's history of "IndyGear", a website and organization that's partly responsilbe for bringing fedora's and the Spirit of Adventure back into the Mainstream of Popular Culture, inspired by the Inidana Jones moives. Part III – Inn of the Sixth Happiness: Club Obi-Wan."...

“Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of Club Obi-Wan, there was an age undreamed of. And unto this, came Indiana Jones, destined to wear the rumpled fedora of Herbert Johnson upon a troubled brow. It is I, his Chronicler, who alone can tell thee of his saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!”

Part I – The Dark Ages

Part II – The Rise Of NIM

Part III – Inn of the Sixth Happiness: Club Obi-Wan.

Part IV – Ship of Fellows, Fellowship Broken

Part V – Dedications and Thanks

Appendix - Interview with Deborah Nadoolman

In the months following the great IndyFan War, the survivors built a new nation that was known as “Club Obi-Wan.” The club was a pivotal addition to the house that Indiana John built. There came to that place many who would contribute greatly to its continued existence. Many of them are still with us.

Indiana John built the walls. Within the walls entered Michaelson, Patterson, MK, Fedora, Lee Keppler, Magnoli, Whipwarrior, ITG (now so familiar, that only her initials were needed), Indiana Jun, Indiana Dan, Mmarosy, Rundquist, Sergei, Jonesy, Agent5, Rabbitooth. Pyroxene, Minnesota Jones, NeosMatrix, IndyGuitarist, Dalexs, Schwammy, Renderking Fisk, and West, he who continually congratulated. There were many, many others. So many that only an elephant of the ages could recall them all with any ease.

During the transition and the fledgling days of Club Obi-Wan, I, your chronicler, saw many wondrous things. This was the gathering time. Before, only a few had come face to face. Now, there were many small meetings everywhere. I was present at the Buchanan Arms on brisk nights amongst the best of men and women. Across the country, others were meeting as well.

Willie-Scott-matchbook With survival and a new house came newfound bravery amongst us. Our closeness to the vendors and craftsmen as a unified voice was creating influence. The Wested jacket began to change. The whips of Paul Stenhouse were now widely accepted. Keppler started a serious foray into the realm of the fedora. An attempt was made to create a new Indy shirt, but the IndyShack experiment faded. Rumors grew that the Aldens had changed from pumpkin orange to brick red. The Mark VII bag was becoming scarce.

Then came the Rainforest Café. There gathered MK, Keppler, Rundquist, and many others. It was the first large gathering, but not the last. Little did we who participated know that it would be eclipsed by many other events soon to come. At the café I, your chronicler, saw the first of the modern Keppler fedoras, the prototype Keppler resin revolver, and heard the first rumblings of the now mythic MK Idol. Soon afterward, I was privy to the lost behind-the-scenes footage of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the video journal of the seaplane sequence that captured its famous crash.

Club Obi-Wan quickly started to thrive. It was the first dynasty of a great civilization, finally removed from the caves and into cities of wood and stone. Thus equipped and with a strong sense of unification, the IndyGear world soon had influence on the destinies of many vendors. Akubra gave us a Deluxe Federation, and the elite hatters Optimo and Gary White were soon competing for IndyGear attention. It was a glorious time of contribution and comfort. For the weary cyber-traveler, Club Obi-Wan was a true solace, an inn of six levels of happiness: Friends, fedoras, jackets, whips, events, and advice.

This was the time of Rundquist, who seemed to own every Indy fedora in the market. I, your chronicler, cannot count how many times I saw photography of his countenance under various felt brims. This was the time of the great cargo pocket debate, the period of vacillation on the width of hat ribbon, crown height, and felt weight. This was the time of the What Price Glory replica bag, and the early trials of EC Whips.

This was the time of the bullwhip handle debate and the bullwhip length debate. This was the time of great gatherings in Texas at Peters Bros., though I shied from them after mine shrank and turned green, like a cadaver lying in the open air of a foul wetland.

Individual faces were finally seen. Plans were made. In some cases, gifts exchanged. But there was something much larger on the horizon, and it would be the first of truly great adventures…