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Ladies in red hats
These weren't scarlet women or the Red Menace, they were the Red Hat Divas, Chapter Five, of the Red Hat Society in Greensburg, enjoying lunch at Nancy's Fancy Tea Room.
These soirees are increasingly familiar as Red Hat Society chapters proliferate like purple and red wildfire.
The society celebrates the richness of women's lives after age 50. Younger women who simply cannot wait to join are allowed in on the fun if they wear pink hats and lavender outfits.
According to its official Web site, the organization originated in Fullerton, Calif., when Sue Ellen Cooper responded to a poem, "Warning,"by Jenny Joseph.
The poem begins:
"When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
with a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me."
Cooper invited a few friends for tea. They wore purple outfits and red hats.
The Red Hat Society said it began "as a result of a few women deciding to greet middle age with verve, humor and elan. 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."
The organization's motto is "Red Hatters Matter."
It is a phenomenon that is taking the country by storm. The 25,000th chapter, the Purple COWS, or Crotchety Old Women's Society, in Tennessee was registered in April. Chapters are located across the United States as well as 20 foreign countries. The first Greensburg chapter began under the auspices of the YWCA of Westmoreland County.
Fayette County chapters are bursting forth like spring lilacs and red roses. They include those in Uniontown, Connellsville, Belle Vernon, Brownsville, Confluence, Bear Rocks/Acme, and Perryopolis.
One of the newer chapters, the Red Hat Divas of Connellsville, launched on June 5, already has 26 members, according to its "Queen Mother," Mary Shubert of Connellsville.
"Each person who starts a chapter becomes its Queen Mother," said Shubert, who gets calls daily from women wanting to join.
Shubert heard about the Red Hat Society last May.
"I was in Atlantic City walking on the boardwalk and saw purple clothes and red hats in a shop," she said. "Someone told me what they were."
Coincidentally, on Mother's Day, her granddaughter gave her a red hat pin and a book titled "The Red Hat Society Fun and Friendship After Fifty."
"Then I went to the Internet to check (the organization) out," Shubert said.
Shubert investigated membership in the first Connellsville chapter, the Red Chatters. Queen Mother is Nancy Dye, she said. Since membership was closed, she opted to form her own chapter, the Red Hat Divas of Connellsville.
Her first function attracted 12 women. Word of mouth is increasing membership.
Shubert also visited The Madd Hatters in Uniontown, headed by Queen Mother Faye Augustine and formed last September. About 25 of the 60 members attend each gathering, according to Augustine. "It is amazing how many 50-and-over ladies need a day out once a month...including me," she said.
She discovered the society when a Southern lady wearing a "beautiful purple shirt with a red hat on it" visited the Uniontown Senior Center where Augustine is the director. The woman told Augustine she could start a chapter, and directed her to the Web site.
"Six people from the office were interested," Augustine said. "We had our first tea at the senior center with 12 people."
She can't believe how fast membership grew.
"Members come from all walks of life," she said. "Some really goofy and some dignified."
The monthly meetings have taken the Madd Hatters to places like a mystery dinner theater, Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa, and the Red Silo in Morgantown.
She said that some of the women's outfits are beautiful, while others just enjoy being comfortable and laid back.
"It doesn't matter because we are 50 and over," she said.
Augustine said that being a Queen Mom isn't always easy but it "sure is fun."
Last Monday some of Augustine's Madd Hatters attended a Red Hat Rally held at Idlewild Park in Ligonier. Joyce Wrigley and Connie Nicholson, both of Farmington, were among the Madd Hatters who attended with Augustine.
Nicholson, who returned to Uniontown after a 42-year absence, had been involved in the Red Hat Society in Tennessee.
"When I returned last October I thought I'd have to join in Somerset because there was none in Uniontown," she said. "Then this one showed up on the Web site."
