After hearing so many people say that hatpins were used for self-defense, I finally found a hatpin story in the wild. In truth, I wasn’t researching the topic and I found this account quite by accident. Nevertheless, it’s a good one.
Hatpin Better than Knife
Sheriff Davis’ deputies are seeking a man who had grabbed and tried to kiss Miss Mildred McClaves, 20, Poughkeepsie. He accosted her near her home.
A knife the man carried proved to be no match for a hatpin Miss McClaves pressed into service to put him to rout.
The young man grabbed her at a lonely place on the Manchester road. She fought and he flourished a small knife. Miss McClaves counter- attacked with the hatpin and he fled when an automobile came along.
Save for slight lacerations on the right hand, Miss McClaves escaped unharmed.
Source: The St. Charles herald. (Hahnville, La.), 02 Dec. 1922.
