
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 15, 1994                   TAG: 9404150064
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Wendi Gibson Richert
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

DENIM TO REMEMBER

The search for the world's oldest pair of jeans is over, and the winner is a pair of well-worn 1920s Levi's 501 work pants found in an abandoned mine shaft.

Levi Strauss kicked off its ``Send Them Home Search'' for the oldest pair of jeans last year on Feb. 26, the birthday of its namesake who created the first pair of jeans in the mid-1800s.

Heath Rackley of Lubbock, Texas, turned up the dirty denims - worth a grand prize of $1,000, a trip to San Francisco and a custom-fit pair of 501s for himself. He discovered the loot while working as a student geology technician in 1991.

Rackley willingly donated the jeans to the company for posterity's sake; they'll be permanently exhibited in a collection of historic jeans.

And, speaking of history:

nThe Two-Horse leather patch guarantee on the rear waistband of your Levi's has been used since 1886. The Red Tab on the right rear pocket was added in 1936.

nIn 1942, the crotch rivet was removed from Levi's after cowboys complained that the rivet heated up when they sat by the campfire.

nIn 1873 Levi Strauss was granted a patent for riveting pocket corners. In 1937, the back pocket rivets were removed because folks complained that they scratched school desks, saddles and the paint on car hoods.

nLevi Strauss uses close to 1.25 million miles of thread annually for jean production - enough to wrap around the world 50.2 times.

|- WENDI GIBSON RICHERT

by CNB