With the groundbreaking for Red Hat's expansion project this morning, today's Patch Answers comes from a reader asking why the hat in Red Hat is red and not blue or lavender or some other color.
Ultimately there's no one true answer. In an interview with Red Hat magazine, Red Hat co-founder Bob Young gave two answers.
The first was that a red hat has long been a symbol of freedom, dating back to the days of the U.S. and French Revolutions.
However, it is also possible that the name came from a red lacrosse hat that Young frequently wore while attending Carnegie Mellon University.
Regardless of how it came to be, the fact remains that Red Hat is now one of Westford's largest employers.
According to Red Hat spokesperson John Flannagan, the company first came to the area with offices at Tyng's Tarry just across the Westford/Tyngsborough border.
They stayed there for three months in 2002 before moving to Lan Drive (2002 to 2004), Technology Park Drive (2004 to 2008), and their current location near the corner of Concord and Littleton Road.
They'll remain at their current location, it's just going to be getting a little bigger thanks to the TIF agreement with the town and state.
Red Hat can earn additional tax breaks if they bring 100 new jobs to the campus in the next two years and 181 in the next five years.
Jonathan Damon
10:20 am on Monday, June 18, 2012
I've always thought it was in contrast to "black hat", where the black hat is the bad guy so the white hats and red hats are there to save the day. I've heard "white hat" used in computer security and I assumed their name was a take on that. Interesting.
Darryl L. Pierce
12:31 pm on Monday, June 18, 2012
Mark Ewing named it "Red Hat Linux" before he became associated with Bob Young. He named it for the red hat he wore.
Anne Shirley
2:18 pm on Monday, June 18, 2012
The name always made me think of "The Red Hat Society" -- the social group for women of a certain age.
Paula McCarron
3:07 pm on Tuesday, June 19, 2012
The Red Hat became the symbol due to this poem by Jenny Joseph - A bit of the poem here :
WHEN I AM AN OLD WOMAN I SHALL WEAR PURPLE
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes...............