KING FERRY - Forget the DeLorean from “Back to the Future,” hats were the time-traveling vehicle of choice during Laurel Auchampaugh's presentation on the history of hats on Sunday.

“These hats are history,” Auchampaugh said. “They are from the (Great) Depression, they are from women's suffrage, they are from the world wars. All too often we don't realize we are experiencing history until several years later.”

Instead of giving a lecture and displaying a few hats, Auchampaugh went around the one-room school house at the Rural Life Museum and placed a hat on each visitor's head while sharing her own personal stories about the significance of that particular hat or its time period.

For Malvie Hunt, of Venice, wearing a hat was just the beginning as Auchampaugh also pulled out a dress that was traditionally worn by women during the suffrage movement. As Hunt stepped into the dress, she recounted her personal and family experiences in their quest for equality.

“My aunt said voting was the most important thing to happen to her. She said now you can be anything you want to be,” Hunt said as she also held up a sign that read “Let Women Vote.”

In another presentation, Auchampaugh dressed a woman from the audience in a black hat, a black flapper dress and a pearl necklace from the roaring '20s. As they stood side by side, the two women delighted the audience as they began dancing the “Charleston Shuffle.”

As a hat enthusiast herself, Francine Huxford, of Auburn, said she appreciates the historical messages that several of Auchampaugh's hats represent.

“Hats are fun and they say so much more, that's what I get out of them,” Huxford said. “They make a statement about the people too.”

While many of her hats were for women, Auchampaugh also shared a World War I helmet that was grazed by a bullet in France and a coonskin cap similar to the one that was worn in the Disney movie “Davy Crockett.”

With the helmet, Auchampaugh said it was worn by her father-in-law when he was poisoned in a mustard gas attack, which eventually took his life in 1935.

“I want to try to get the men involved too,” Auchampaugh said.

“That's why I tell the war stories and the farming stories with the recession, because they can connect with that. It's history, and its similar to the stuff that we are going through right now with Sept. 11 and the current economic crisis.”

Auchampaugh said the key to her show's success is the audience's participation. While she does tell her own stories, Auchampaugh believes those stories only serve as a way to help audience members such as Hunt share their own experiences.

As Auchampaugh and several other women began talking about World War II-era hats and how they went to Moravia to find feed sacks that could be turned into clothing, Auchampaugh said the sharing of experiences helps to show how current generations are also making sacrifices by cutting out non-essential items in light of current financial hardships.

“I encourage people to share these type of family stories,” Auchampaugh said. “These stories make history and they need to be remembered. If people don't write them down, they will be lost forever. They all share so much, and it's nice to have that. That's why I like to do this event.”

Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net