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                             Linda Murphy, Sonja Kirk, Lorraine Trinks and Sue Ellen Cooper

 

This just in from Sonja Kirk and Lorraine Trinks 

What a fantastic time we are having.  Look for the float with the rat on the front.  It is celebrating the Chinese New Year.  I made the whole arrangement of flowers on the back of the float on the right as you are looking at the back.  I also made sure that the arrangements on the whole float were full enough by adding flowers in blank areas that the others missed.  Lorraine also put the roses on that float.  They had to be strategically placed.  We also worked on the Ronald McDonald float, by cutting purple statis flowers off of the stems, and on the Farmer's Insurance float.  That is the one with the 50 foot Indian on it.  We cut the eranythus grass that was used on the bunnies,( a term I never heard, but the part of his outfit that hangs from his arms. We worked on the Lutheran float, which they say will probably not be on TV, but we made little round (cinnamon like) rolls of cotton to cover the little lamb completely.  I also painted  Jesus' lips pint with strawberry juice.  In addition we snapped the tops off of mums and put toothpicks in them for other floats. All of the roses and some of the other flowers are in water filled containers.

I loved this experience.

We also have visited the Chrystal Cathedral and the Red Hat Society store.   You will not believe this!!!!!  We walked into the store and Sue Ellen and Linda were shopping for their trip to the Red Hat opening of the show in Las Vegas.  Linda had flown up from Florida and they needed new sort of matching outfits for the Vegas event. They really took their time with us and it was great fun. Sue Ellen asked us to take a picture of ourselves working on the float to send to her for the broadcast.  I personally gave Sue Ellen my pin from the Hattitude Affair, and Lorraine personally gave her the tape of her group that was taken when they were at a winery and that was on CPTV.  Both Linda and Sue Ellen seemed genuinely pleased.Of course we also got her autograph.


Today we are off to see the Queen Mary in Long Beach and then to a fishing town for eats.  Tomorrow we will be at the Parade. 
We have to leave at 4 AM to see the parade.  We will be right near the tv cameras, in one of the front rows, I will have on a red coat and red hat, Lorraine will be dressed in black and with NEW RED HAT FORM THE OFFICIAL RED HAT STORE IN FULLERTON.....YEAH!


 
 
Sonja M. Kirk
33 Rolling Hills Trail
Bolton, CT 06043
 

 

 

Red Hat Hot Mamas    Avon

October 24,2007

 

 

Another great day was shared by those of us who were able to partake in this most pleasant trip.  Two cars from Avon and one from Manchester enabled us to gather in Sturbridge around 10:30 p.m. Time flew by as there was a scarecrow exhibit and a fabulous gift shop to look at.

   The Publick House is an eighteenth century inn and has managed to maintain that special ambiance of the 1700s and today’s world.  We arrived and were taken to our own dining room where hot apple cider awaited us.  It was cold and rainy but it made no difference to the autumn scenery; just polished it up.

 Nancy managed to add a Halloween spirit to the table with her gift bags full of chocolate stuff; luncheon was traditional and delicious and seemed to go on for ever.    We played a Halloween Quizz which Dorrie and Dorothy won, (8 points apiece), and we also had a hat contest which Vinnie won and received a super “Chick” pen knife; and Terry, Barbara, and Dorrie won the door prizes.  We were given baskets with goodies from the Publick House a free pair of earings from the Gift Shop and a 10% discount from their delicious bakery.

A fabulous day had to come to an end and we arrived in Avon around 3:30 .p.m

 

 

 

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE RED HAT SOCIETY?

1 Where is Red Hat Headquarters? Fullerton, Cal

2 What is the name of Sue Ellen’s best friend ? Linda Murphy

3.What is our main responsibility as Red Hatters? To Have fun

4. Who is the embodiment of Red Hat Spirit? Ruby Red Hat

5. What is Purple Perks? an individual value added membership program within the Red Hat Society

6. At what ceremony does a member receive her first red hat? Reduation

7. What famous singer is going to star in Hats? Melissa Manchester

8. What organization designed, supported and funded Step & Stride with Ruby AARP

9. Is the Red Hat Society a non-profit organization?

The Red Hat Society is NOT a non-profit organization. Registration fees are considered taxable income. Chapter/membership fees go to pay office expenses and employee salaries.

10. Name two of the Red Hat Society romance novels. The Queens of Woodlawn, Domestic Goddess, Acting Their Age

11.What is a Scarlet Sparkle ? a story of something serendipitous and that happens in the life of a Red Hatter, which has some sort of reference to her membership in our group. (In other words it is a magical connection that arises from the Red Hat Society.)

12. What kind of credit card does The Red Hat Society sponser? Master Card

13.What is the name of the RHS Nashville Convention? “Rhythm and Rhinestones"

14. When is RHS Day? April 25th

15. What are the flexible guidelines for being a Red/ Pink Hatter You must be a woman of 50 or over (or you may be a Pink Hatter under 50), and you must attend functions in full regalia, (red hat, purple outfit for women 50 and over, or pink hat and lavender outfit for women under 50).

16. Who wrote “Warning” Jenny Joseph

17 When was the Red Hat Society officially formed > April 1998

18. How many Red Hat Chapters exist? Nearly 40,000 chapters exist in the U.S. in all 50 states and in 30 foreign countries.

19 At what university are Red Hat Society members being interviewed as part of a study of the link between leisure activities and a longer, healthier life? Penn State.

20. What did Sue Ellen do before founding the Red Hat Society? She enjoyed a part-time career as a commercial artist with her artwork published as framable prints and greeting cards by such companies as Leanin' Tree and Portal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States Canada England/UK Cote D'Ivoire Nigeria Australia Barbados

THE HARD HAT BROTHERHOOD

An international organization of men who get together
for fun and to have a good time doing guy stuff.

Our Motto: TESTOSTERONE: Our Guys Are Full Of It...

www.hardhatbrotherhood.com

 

Origins Of The Hard Hat Brotherhood:

Sometimes it just takes a good THWACK to the back of the head.


My name is Andrew Smith a.k.a. Andy, the Head Hard Hat and I would just love to tell you that the origins of the HHBrotherhood came to me as an inspiration out of the blue. The truth is it was more like a two-by-four to the back of the head – THWACK!

You see, I’m a guy and before the Hard Hat Brotherhood existed I exhibited typical guy behavior. For fun let’s name that behavior “Husband-Couch-Potatoitis” and I will give you a few of the symptoms. See if these sound familiar. I spent hours on end in front of some sort of luminary device like a large screen TV, computer monitor, gaming console… you get the idea. So captivated by these seemingly harmless appliances that the only communication I was able to convey to my wife, Char, came in the form of nods and grunts. Selective hearing soon set in. That is when your wife gets no response to requests like “take out the garbage” or “the lawn needs to be mowed”, but does get an immediate response to “honey, would you like a cold one?”. Any of this ring any bells? Unknown to me at that time I was sinking into a solitary stagnant existence much like a hermit, only with cable and broadband connections. Needless to say, my wife was not too pleased with my behavior and soon she started shopping around for a two-by-four.

Char became involved with the Red Hat Society in February 2004. When I say involved I mean like to exist you need air, water, food and the RHS. The kicker is I didn’t even realize at first that she had started her own Chapter, named it the “Flaming Red Divine Divas” and she was now The Queen. I was too busy watching ESPN. Even as the family room started to fill up with a wild assortment of newly designed hats, feather boas and rhinestones I was still oblivious. All I cared about was that the three hat stands, complete with large hats, on top of our projection TV did not impede the current game of the week. My first real recollection that something was up was when I had to physically start moving the hatboxes out of my computer chair. You see, I sort of had a ‘slight’ obsession with computer games when I wasn’t watching television. As you can no doubt imagine I was a bit slow on the uptake back then. My constant self-isolation was building stress in our marriage and the THWACK of all thwacks was a comin’ but I still didn’t have a clue. That was when fate stepped in.

My Queen was about to hold her first RHS Chapter Event. An event is when a bunch of Red Hat Society ladies get together and do things. I was in my usual male mood of wondering why I had been taken out of my busy schedule of watching television to be dragged along to unload and help setup all of my wife’s RHS stuff. Okay so I was a bit of a jerk back then – remember this is in the past. We finished the setup for her and the Red Hats ladies started coming in. My wife looks at me, smiles and waves and I realize that is my cue to leave. Here I am, literally on the outside of a restaurant looking in and waiting. As I am about to start exploring my new outside environment, I notice some of the other RHS husbands standing near by. I knew one of them so I went over and we started talking. Joking at first about our ladies, the conversations then turned to more in-depth topics. I suggested we find someplace to continue talking and maybe get something to eat. Everyone agreed and we ended up having a great time, just us guys – go figure. After a few more RHS events it became the normal thing to do. Drop off the ladies, set-up the event and then go out with the guys. We actually looked forward to meeting up just as much as the ladies did.

After three or four months of doing this my wife suggested that since I liked doing this so much, why not start up my own guys club? My response was typical male-like behavior; I rolled my eyes and whined that “nobody is going to want to join a guy’s club!”. “How do you know if you don’t try?” she said, smiling that sly smile that always means I already lost the debate. THWACK! Well you know, maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing to try.

She suggested that maybe we should have hard hats and that way we could even decorate them. My response was less than enthusiastic; I am thinking, “you have got to be kidding me. No male in his right mind is going to decorate something like a hard hat and wear it out in public – No Way”. THWACK! Hey, you know we would be a club and we do want to draw some attention to ourselves otherwise no one knows we are a club, right? Why not. The guys thought it was a great idea and we all started creating our own hard hats.

The Hard Hat Brotherhood was born and with it I found a new outlet. Through this outlet I have been able to maintain great friendships with guys all around the country. I absolutely love being able to not only go out with just the guys a few times a month but also have combined events with our Red Hat wives so we can share fun times together. As men it is easy for some of us to just let ourselves fall into an isolated way of existing. I have found through the HHBrotherhood that it is also just as easy to go out and make friends and actually enjoy life instead of just passing through it. It took my wonderful wife Char and several THWACKs to the back of my head to figure this out. It is now my joy and goal in life to help other men figure this out as well. As young boys and men many of us were part of “a gang” of some sort, be it sports, band, science club, cars, poker night, etc. and treasured those friendships. We now provide that same type of friendship and interaction for adult men. The guys know they have “Brothers” all across the country and we are spreading around the world.

The Hard Hat Brotherhood is now an international organization made just for men and is currently sweeping the United States and now all over the world. Based on the simple premise that men sometimes just want to go out and be one of the guys. While participating in HHBrotherhood events there are no rules, regulations or honey-do lists. Any guy from age of 18 and up may join in the pursuit of having fun doing “guy stuff”. Please visit our website at www.hardhatbrotherhood.com and be sure to sign yourself up. General membership is free. You can also email Andy, the Head Hard Hat at headhardhat@hardhatbrotherhood.com and always remember the Hard Hat Brotherhood motto: Testosterone: Our Guys Are Full Of It!

 


 

 

 

 

 

Chicken Soup Stories

 

 
GOOD MORNING MY DEAR QUEEN MUM AND STAFF..
 
HELLO CHICKEN SOUP ..
 
I MUST HAVE ALL OF YOUR CHICKEN SOUP BOOKS AS I LOVE TO READ THEM AND SO ,  I AM GOING TO TRY AND WRITE A STORY FOR YOU ABOUT MY CHAPTER AND MY LOVELY FLOWERS THAT I HAVE GROWING IN MY GARDEN OF LOVE.
 
I AM A VOLUNTEER FOR HOSPICE AND A VOLUNTEER FOR A  LOCAL HOSPITAL AS AN ADVOCATE FOR PATIENTS RIGHTS.  I LOVE WHAT I DO BUT, 4 YEARS AGO I WAS TALKING TO A FRIEND OF MINE , I TOLD HER I NEEDED TO HAVE SOME FUN THING TO DO AND SHE SAID   "I HAVE JUST THE THING FOR YOU .. IT IS A GREAT SITE, I WILL EMAIL IT TO YOU...AND SO SHE DID..
 
I CHECKED IT OUT, SEARCHED IT GOOD,AND WITH SUCH  JOY AND COULD NOT WAIT TO BECOME A "RED HAT LADY"  I WENT TO THE CHAPTER SEARCH IN MY TOWN AND NEARBY TOWNS LOOKING FOR A CHAPTER TO JOIN..
I WAS TOLD THEY WERE EITHER FULL OR THEY DID NOT KNOW IF THEY WERE EVEN GOING TO BECOME A CHAPTER AT ALL.   SO  I DID WHAT I HAD TO DO, I EMAILED THE EXAULTED QUEEN RULER IN CALIFORNIA AND ASKED HER ADVICE.. SHE TOLD ME TO START MY OWN CHAPTER, AND WALKED ME THRU SOME OF IT AND THEN LET ME GO ON MY OWN..."PIECE OF CAKE"   BUT , KIND OF WONDERED IF IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO??
 
I PUT MY NAME IN THE CHAPTER SITE IN THE RED HAT SOCIETY AND THEN THE BALL STARTED TO ROLL, GATHERING LADIES FROM ALL OVER THE PLACE, NOT ONLY IN MY TOWN BUT IN OTHER SURROUNDING TOWNS AS WELL,  IT WAS AMAZING   ..   PHONE WAS RINGING, EMAILS WERE COMING IN SO FAST I COULD NOT KEEP UP FOR WEEKS.
 
IT DID NOT TAKE TIME FOR ME TO GET US ALL TOGETHER PLAN A MEETING AND GET THE BEST SURPRISE OF MY LIFE, TO SEE  THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FACES, ALL SMILING, ALL HUGGING EACH OTHER AND LOOKING SO HAPPY TO BE WITH ONE ANOTHER......WOW .....WHAT A FEELING .....WHAT A HIGH  AND TO THNK...I DID IT...I MADE THIS HAPPEN,  I MADE FUN HAPPEN FOR ALL OF US.. IT WAS SO SPECIAL AND EXCITING, AND IT STILL IS..EACH TIME I MEET THESE WONDERFUL LADIES, ALL DIFFERENT , ALL HAPPY TO BE TOGETHER AND EXCITED TO BE SILLY AND SOMETIMES EVEN "WILD" ...I HAVE TO PINCH MYSELF AND SAY..."I DID THIS"
 
IT IS BY FAR THE BEST THING I HAVE DONE FOR ME TO HAVE FUN AND ESCAPE THE HARD TOUGH DAYS I HAVE AS WE ALL DO..IT IS SOMETHING THAT FOR A DAY, I CAN FORGET AND JUST BE A SILLY AND FUN LOVING LADY IN PURPLE AND FOLKS STOPPING AND ASKING US...
"WHO ARE YOU ANYWAY? AND WE LAUGH AND GIVE THEM ANSWERS THAT MAKE THEM LAUGH, OR SCRATCH THEIR HEADS?? IN WONDERMENT..
 
THIS PAST APRIL, WE CELEBRATED OUR 4TH BIRTHDAY,,WE HAD A DELIGHTFUL PARTY  AT A LOCAL RESTAURANT, OUR EVENING WAS SPLENDID AND ALWAYS SOMETHING WE WILL REMEMBER.. EACH OF US SAID A SHORT LITTLE SPEECH ABOUT WHAT WE ARE GETTING OUT OF THIS LITTLE JOURNEY AND IT WAS SO SPECIAL..
 
WE ARE NOW UP TO 3 SCRAPBOOKS, WE CHECK THEM OUT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE AND LAUGH AT OUR PAST AND PLAN FOR OUR FUTURE,  ALL OF IT TO BE "FUN"
 
AS FOR WHAT THIS DID FOR ME .. IT MADE ME MORE CARING,LOVING, APPRECIATIVE AND ALWAYS LOOKING FORWARD TO A FUN EVENT..
 
I HAVE MADE A MOST WONDERFUL GARDEN OF FLOWERS EVER, CONSTANTLY BLOOMING, ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL , ALL DIFFERENT AND BLENDING WELL TOGETHER..
 
AMAZING LIFE AFTER 50 AND IT JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER...
 
LIFE IS GOOD .  ENJOY .. MAKE IT COUNT..
 
    FRAGRANTLY,
 
QUEEN MUM MICKIE
 
LES CHAPEAUX ROUGE OF NEWINGTON..

 

I was looking forward to spending my retirement living on a lake, reading good books, traveling and dining out as often as possible. I figured I had earned the chance to just relax after 35 years of teaching. All of these daydreams included my husband of 26 years. But fate had other ideas.

In September 2000 my husband died of a massive stroke. I was left living alone on a 23 acre farm and traveling 100 miles round trip every day to my teaching job. I was up for retirement in June 2001. I carried though with the plan even though it meant leaving people who had become my extended family.

My son graduated from college that same year. Job opportunities were few and far between for Marine Biologists, so he moved in with me and found work at a local Walmart and later at a PetCo. We had recently placed my 97 year old father in a nursing home and I had no other relatives close by. So I decided to sell the family farm and move to a smaller house closer to my teaching friends. It was also necessary to sell the cottage on the lake. That meant cleaning out two houses with over 60 years of family history. The next step was finding a temporary place to live while waiting for our new house to be finished. I was fortunate to have my son with me during those months. In February of 2002, on the day of the only snow storm that winter, we moved into our brand new home. We lived with a very muddy dooryard for awhile. It was a challenge just to get in and out of the house.

For several months we were busy unpacking and decorating. Many of my friends from school came to help. However, when school started again in September those friends were no longer free to keep me company. I had survived many lifestyle changes in the preceding two years and I now became quite depressed and lonely. I spent my days sitting around feeling sorry for myself, napping a great deal and accomplishing nothing.

Call it serendipity if you like, but one day I happened into a local gift shop and found a great red hat. As I was paying for it the owner asked if I belonged to the Red Hat Society. I had no idea what he was talking about. He said to look The Red Hat Society up on the internet. When I got home I logged on to a new outlook on life. First I started a chapter of teacher friends. Nothing new there and no new people. Then I joined another chapter in the same town and my new life began. I met many wonderful new friends in this group. I enjoyed it so much that I started a second Chapter of my own and added more people to my growing list of friends.

But the best was still to come. I had heard about Queens’ groups that meet occasionally and I decided to see if the Queens in my area would be interested. We now have about 60 chapters on our email list. We have been meeting every other month for 2 years to socialize and share chapter news. We even sponsored a one day convention and have another planned for this September As founder of the group they call me The Grand Pooh Bah. A Pooh Bah is defined as a pompous but useless official. I just love the title. It’s so whimsical. I just hope I don’t completely live up to the definition.

Working with this group of ladies is a wonderful experience. Ladies who decide to become Queens have a special outlook on life and the willingness to get involved.

Best of all I made a new Best Friend. Joyce lives about a block away and I was not aware of her existence before we met at a Queens’ meeting. Now we frequently do lunch or go on adventures. I find myself very busy. Sometimes I have several Red Hat events a week. I maintain a website that we use as a means of communication. People I’ve never met call me for advice or to ask if I will post their coming events on our site.

The Red Hat Society has given my retirement new life. Every day is a new day to go out and PLAY.

Mary Lou Rogers

30 Primrose Lane Suffield,CT 06078

860-668-7982

thegrandpoohbah1@hotmail.com

 

 

Town To See Red Today - And Purple



By NANCY SMYTH LASTRINA
Courant Staff Writer

October 15 2005

ENFIELD -- The town is the place to be today for women dressed in shades of purple and sporting red hats. And they won't be acting their age.

Nearly 300 are expected to gather at the Crowne Plaza for a convention of the Red Hat Society called the Autumn Hattitude Affair.

The group, which is growing by 100 new chapters a day worldwide, was created in California for women 50 and older to celebrate middle age. Today's event is the first large gathering of the Red Hat Society in north central Connecticut, said member Mary Lou Rogers of Suffield, "queen" of two local chapters. Chapter leaders are known as "queens."

Rogers said the society is helping develop an enormous "nurturing network" for women over 50.

Thirty-five local chapters will be represented at today's event in Enfield, which is being sponsored by the Queens' Court of North Central Connecticut.

Rogers said many women were on a waiting list for the convention and still others were turned away. A larger venue is being sought for next year's event.

Today's events will include a poetry reading, a fashion show, a magic show, a sing-along and remarks from guest speaker Scot Haney of WFSB, Channel 3. It is not open to the public.

Other get-togethers are more local, at the chapter's discretion. Outings may include a museum trip, dinner, a movie or sightseeing. National events draw thousands of women.

Rogers says where there are Red Hatters, there is laughter.

"People are drawn to our outfits and our smiles," she said. "When you retire, it is the perfect way to make new friends and find new activities."

Information on the local chapters can be found at www.rhsct.com. The national organization's website is www.redhatsociety.com.

Copyright 2005, Hartford Courant

 

From Hatquarters Friday Broadcast 6/17/05

PLAN AHEA.....D

Queen Joyce Young (Little Red Hens, Enfield, Connecticut) decided to set up a pajama breakfast at a local restaurant and invited chapters from the surrounding area.  When the restaurant manager asked how many women to expect she estimated that possibly up to 50 would attend.  She (and, no doubt, the manager) was amazed when 168 women, representing 12 chapters, showed up!  One group had even hired a school bus to drive them in from 50 miles away!  Apparently, all went well though, because Joyce says the event was “a smashing success.”  The “Audrey Hepburn Breakfast at Tiffany’s Glamour Award” was presented to the most stunning attendee.  Three “Is This What I Look Like in the Morning” non-glamour awards were also given out.  I would guess that there was a lot more competition for these...

More recently, the Little Red Hens chapter (joined by five members of The Rambling Red Rowdies of East Hartford) traveled 40 miles themselves, to visit the Harney & Sons Tea Company in Millerton, New York.  Since they knew that Harney & Sons manufactures the official tea of the Red Hat Society and they arranged a tour of the factory and a tea tasting, followed by a lovely lunch at a country inn.  

Queen Joyce appears to have the gusto and the panache to make any event successful.

 

   
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ROMEO club men's answer to Red Hat Society




They may wear red hats and dine out en masse, but no one would mistake this group for a chapter of the Red Hat Society.

They are, they will tell you proudly, ROMEOs.

Ranging in age from 59 to 86, these Fort Myers, Fla., residents in January began their monthly lunch excursions as Retired Old Men Eating Out.

"It started as the popularity of the Red Hat Society took hold with the women," co-founder Pat Darga says. "Bob Beals and I were sitting around talking and he says, 'We ought to start a group of guys. We ought to call ourselves the ROMEOs.' "

So the group was born in much the same way as the Red Hat Society, a loosely knit network of women-only groups whose members don red hats and purple dresses for their strictly social public forays.

The Red Hats, now numbering some 1 million worldwide, also began as a small group of friends who got together for lunch.

"We do it for the comradeship," Mike Pastuch says. "Men are pretty much loners. We have a few ha-has, a few drinks. It works out nice."

Darga says, "We have one rule: There are no rules. We don't have any officers. We don't have any meetings. We don't have any dues. We just sit around and say, 'What do you want to do?' "

The only required uniform is the red ROMEO-emblazoned baseball cap, though "we're thinking of getting purple dresses for a few of the guys," member Dick Foster says.

On a recent weekday, when their wives headed off to a theater matinee, 14 ROMEO members car pooled to a Hooters restaurant.

"We're old, but we're not dead," Mike Edmondson says as a server in tiny, tight orange shorts and an equally abbreviated T-shirt hoisted a pitcher of beer and handed out full glasses around the table.

The conversation flowed as freely as the brews.

They engaged in some good-natured ribbing and discussed real estate, boating, upcoming trips, TV and "American Idol."

The men in their red ROMEO caps drew some curious glances from around the room. Though no one approached to find out who the group is, it's happened at other gatherings, Darga says.

After one lunch, he noticed a man looking at them with a puzzled look.

"I walked up to him and explained that we were Retired Old Men Eating Out," Darga says. "He busted out laughing and offered to buy the hat right off my head."

It turned out the man was retiring and had no idea what he'd do with his free time. He told Darga he plans to start a ROMEO chapter in Sheboygan, Wis.

Four of Darga's golf buddies from Bonita Springs, Fla., attended a February lunch and joined up, while Darga's brother took a hat north to Muskegon, Mich., with the intention of starting a ROMEO group there.

Counting them and the members who have headed north for the summer, they figure there are about 27 members so far.

There is even an Arizona chapter, in Payson.

Darga and Beals think the group could take off like the Red Hat Society. They are working to register the name, and its Web site - romeoguys.com - has hats for $9.95 and information for starting chapters.

Darga says, "We could sit at home and do nothing or gather around and exchange lies."

 

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Red Hatters Participate In Memorial Day Activities
 

May 31, 2005

By JIM FARRELL, Courant Staff Writer

 
MANCHESTER -- Queen Poo-la-la was thrilled with the size of the crowd at Monday's Memorial Day parade.

"As the kids would say, it was awesome," said Margalit Hadassah Payenson, who goes by her regal nickname when she is in the company of others in the international Red Hat Society.

Payenson was one of 14 women, all wearing red hats and purple outfits, who were part of the colorful procession that marched along Main and East Center streets.

The day had its solemn moments, including wreath-laying ceremonies at memorials along the route, but was notable mostly for music, smiles and conversation.

Police and fire contingents, school bands and a stream of uniformed youngsters wearing the colors of their Little League teams and Brownie troops all were present.

And for the first time, so, too, were the Red Hatters.

Created in California, the society is for women age 50 and older who are ready to celebrate their middle-aged status.

"You've worked all your life, maybe been a soccer mom, etc. Now it's time to do something for yourself," said Joan Sault, who also marched.

There are 10 separate groups - or chapters - in town. Members sometimes just meet for coffee, but other times gather at a restaurant and occasionally arrange for a more ambitious day trip.

In every case, members wear a red hat and a purple outfit.

Sault, whose chapter is called the Sisterhood of the Bodacious Mamas, said she suggested that the group participate in the parade.

"If nothing else, people in town know we are here," she said, noting that members also commemorated the occasion by placing flowers at local veteran's monuments.