"...expanding the bonds of sisterhood for women approaching 50 and beyond..."

Well, we don't know when our Chapter got started, but we think a couple of ladies read the poem by Jenny Joseph and knew there were others in Lakeland having more fellowship and fun than us, so a few of us started wearing red hats, and purple dresses on outings...(EVEN TO CHURCH!) and the rest is history. Many ladies in our parish wanted to have fun and fellowship together in the Christian spirit. THIS was a way!

If you'd like to join us, give me a call at 688-4502 and start smiling (and laughing) because, you know what, it's okay to do that as a Christian!

                                        QM Lora Karr
                                         

Red Hat Society History Founded
by
Sue Ellen Cooper

The Red Hat Society began as a result of a few women deciding to greet middle age with verve and humor. We believe silliness is the comedy relief of life, and since we are all in it together, we might as well join red-gloved hands and go for the gusto together. Underneath the frivolity, we share a bond of affection, forged by common life experiences and a genuine enthusiasm for wherever life takes us next."

While visiting a friend in Tucson several years ago, Sue Ellen impulsively bought a bright red fedora at a thrift shop, for no other reason than that it was cheap and, she thought, quite dashing. A year or two later she read the poem "Warning" by Jenny Joseph, which depicts an older woman in purple clothing with a red hat. Sue Ellen felt an immediate kinship with Ms. Joseph. She decided that her birthday gift to her dear friend, Linda Murphy, would be a vintage red hat and a copy of the poem. She has always enjoyed whimsical decorating ideas, so she thought the hat would look nice hanging on a hook next to the framed poem. Linda got so much enjoyment out of the hat and the poem that Sue Ellen gave the same gift to another friend, then another, then another.

One day it occurred to these friends that they were becoming a sort of "Red Hat Society" and that perhaps they should go out to tea... in full regalia. They decided they would find purple dresses which didn't go with their red hats to complete the poem's image.

The tea was a smashing success.

Soon, each of them thought of another woman or two she wanted to include, and they bought more red hats. Their group swelled to 18, and they began to encourage other interested people to start their own chapters (18 women don't fit well around a tea table). One of their members passed along the idea to a friend of hers in Florida, and their first "sibling" group was born.

Sue Ellen's fondest hope is that these societies will proliferate far and wide. We have now held three successful Red Hat Society conventions with entire hotels filled with women of a certain age wearing red hats and purple outfits!  

Red Hats On Line - Click here!

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