Miss Fannie's Hat

One of Jacqueline's favourite books to borrow from our church library is called Miss Fannie's Hat by Jan Karon.  Based on the author's grandmother, Miss Fannie is a 99-year-old woman who loves to collect hats.  Peeking at her hat collection will give you a history of her life:  her green velour hat reminds her of the flood of 1916 when she saw a house floating down the river; her wide-brimmed felt hat reminds her of the time she caught a hawk that was trying to kill her hens; and her pink straw hat with silk roses reminds her of attending church every Easter (for the past 35 years to be exact). 

Miss Fannie's handsome young pastor approaches her about donating something for the church auction and she deliberates over which hat to donate.  It would be hard to part with any of her hats.  She finally decides to give up her most cherished chapeau, the pink straw hat with the silk roses.  She says that it "makes her feel brand new like Easter itself".  In the end Miss Fannie's hat fetches a tidy sum with which the church members are able to make improvements on the building and the grounds.  They dig a garden and fill it with roses; it looks just like Miss Fannie's Easter hat! 

Image courtesy http://images.borders.com.