Hat's off to seventh-grade July Fourth hat designer, Mercury 6-30-11

POTTSTOWN — There's something new about this year's Fourth of July Commemorative Hat. This year, not only can you own a hat but you can meet the artist who designed it.

It's seventh-grade middle school student Leila Atoo, whose design was selected and who won a $100 prize.

"She was very happy and very deserving," said Leila's art teacher Julie Shea.

"Leila is a very talented artist, but also very shy, so this is a good opportunity to bring her out of her shell a little bit," Shea said.

She was not the only one.

"The kids were really excited," said Shea. "Usually when I present them with a contest they say 'oh, do we have to do this?' and usually I make them optional, but because this is for Pottstown they all had to do at least one design in my class," she said.

"And actually, they didn't mind because they all love clothing and fashion design and they realized if they won, their neighbors would be wearing the hat they designed," Shea said.

"And they all go to the festival, so they all know about the hats and one of the kids' parents had a whole collection of about 15 years worth so they brought a whole bunch in to give them an idea of what they could try," said Shea.

Eileen Schlegel, a member of the Fourth of July Committee and director of Pottstown Parks and Recreation, said she thinks the hats may date back to the 1980s.

She said the committee wanted to get the community more involved in the particulars of the celebration and this was seen as a good way to do it.

"The hats originally started out as keepsakes, tokens of appreciation, for people who donated their time, the fire police, the kids who play in the baseball tournament, things like that," Schlegel said.

"But eventually, they became so popular that we started selling them, and the price ($5) hasn't changed since we started," she said.

Helpfully, the money from hat sales goes directly to paying for the fireworks and the sale usually generates between $2,500 and $3,000 profit.

So the sale of all 1,400 hats this year will be put toward the $40,000 shortfall this year's celebration is facing.

Other hat designs were also recognized by the committee and prizes given out by grade.

Below are the other winners at Pottstown Middle School:

1st place winners — $75

6th grade: Austin Scavello; 7th grade: Ileanna Scavello; 8th grade: Leah Yeary

2nd place winners — $50

6th grade: Shaila Watts; 7th grade: Joshua Stasik; 8th grade: Brandon Seyler.