This was sent to us from our customer Dean in Daphne, Alabama. Proof that our belts are not meant to just hold up your pants.
Sit back and let me tell you a story…
I’ve been a fan of the Colonel for a while. As I type this, I have my No.20 portfolio in front of me, my braided leather necklace on, and my Golden Retriever laying beside me wearing his No.2 Collar.
But by far my favorite item is my No.5 Belt. I bought it in the spring of 2005 as a present for myself after achieving a major personal goal after graduating college. I’ve worn it nearly every day since. It’s been with me through everything from weddings, hunting trips, and fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, and to the office every day. Which is why I was so upset it was stolen.
In October of 2011 my wife and I were at a ball park after work one evening. We’d changed clothes and left the bag with our clothes in it in my truck. While at the game my truck was broken into, and the bag was taken. In the bag with our clothes were our iPhones, the wallet my wife had given me, and her jewelry. But of everything we lost my No.5 belt upset me the most. I got my money back from the banks, I can always buy another phone, and her jewelry was nothing special. But my belt was seasoned, it told a story. It had the marks from my tape measure that was with me in the field. It had a worn spot from my dove bag. When you hung it on the wall it had a curve to it that fit me. And, it had a scar on it from when my dog was a puppy and decided to chew on it a bit! It really upset me to lose it. I ordered another one, but it just wasn’t the same.
Then a month ago my wife got a strange phone call. A contractor friend of ours who was clearing land for a new project came across a bag with clothes in it and a few business cards – they had found our bag! I just happened to be not too far away when my wife called me so I drove over, and sure enough there was my bag. The thieves had thrown it in a wooded swamp not far from the park.
For nine months it had been in a swamp in South Alabama. The clothes were shot, deteriorated to almost paper thin. Her Jewelry was there; no money or cards or phones, of course. But my belt was still in the bag! And it had held up pretty well, too. The brass fittings were very tarnished and the leather was dried out. So I took it home and treated it with mink oil and polished up the brass. The brass parts are fine except the small ring that connects the two separate pieces of leather; it’s rusted through and won’t last long. But it’s living again, and I’m wearing it as I type this. And I’ll keep wearing it until that piece finally gives out.
It’s strange that a simple piece of leather can become so important to you. It’s one of those things you don’t think about until it’s gone.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my “story.”
Dean G.
Daphne, AL
Thank you, Dean. This is what we hope our product means to someone. Our favorite part, “But my belt was seasoned, it told a story. It had the marks from my tape measure that was with me in the field. It had a worn spot from my dove bag. When you hung it on the wall it had a curve to it that fit me. And, it had a scar on it from when my dog was a puppy and decided to chew on it a bit!”
That’s what we hope our products will do – tell your story and develop character as time goes by.
