Red Hat Society offers women friendship, frivolity

— From the poem "Warning," by Jenny Joseph

They dress in shades of purple and don flamboyant red hats. They accessorize with feather boas and dazzling jewelry. In just six short years they have formed an international sisterhood with chapters in the United States, Canada, Europe and as far away as Australia. They have even fostered a special line of merchandise with "Hattitude."

They are The Red Hat Society, and to date there are more than 20,000 chapters with an estimated 400,000 members. And they are still growing.

February of 2004 welcomed a record-breaking 2,547 new chapters — one of which was formed right here in Butte.

This amazing phenomenon started when Red Hat Society (RHS) founder, Sue Ellen Cooper, began giving her graying friends a red chapeau and a copy of Jenny Joseph's poem, "Warning," as a standard birthday gift. In the spirit of Joseph's poem, which encourages approaching aging in an unconventional manner, Cooper and her friends decided to don their red hats and go out for tea. The tea was a huge success and with each gathering that followed, their numbers continued to swell. The rest is history.

Butte Red Hat Society "Queen Empress", Chloe Gilman, 65, said she got the idea to start a new local chapter from a friend who belonged to chapter in Philipsburg. She suggested the idea to women in her exercise class at the Waterford Health & Fitness Club last February. The women embraced her idea with great enthusiasm.

"I called the national organization in California to find out how to do it, and they signed me up right then," she said. Gilman named the group the "Gal-Us Frame Gals," paid the $35 annual registration fee and began recruiting for Butte's third RHS chapter. In no time at all, the roster showed 70 members.

Gilman said there were 29 in attendance at the first gathering, which was held at Christina's Cocina in Butte. That number swelled to nearly 50 when the group recently met for a catered dinner at Toad Hall Manor. Gilman said the group plans to have a monthly gathering, and suggestions for future activities include a barbecue, a slumber party and a float trip.

According to Gilman, the only requirements are that members be female, over fifty and willing to attend gatherings dressed in purple outfits with red hats. "If you're under 50, you can belong, but you have to wear pink hats and lavender clothes," said Gilman.

Member Kay Duncan, 68, said she is in it for the fun of it. "I just think it's a hoot," said Duncan. "It's just a bunch of ladies getting together having fun. It's purely social. I think it will keep us young," she added.

For Sheila Youngblood, 62, it's a chance to expand her friendships with her classmates. "We get to know each other at a different level than exercise class," said Youngblood. "I think women need to be together with other women to have fun and laugh and to support each other," she remarked.

Sharon Chebul, 63, believes the uniqueness of this women's group is what makes it so popular. "With any other organization there's rules, regulations and committees. You're always working. This is purely social. This is what I really like about it. There's no obligation here," she said.

Apparently the only real challenge associated with belonging to the group is finding the appropriate frock to wear to meetings. "I am still searching for purple," said Maria Murray, who has her daughters searching stores and catalogs for a unique and stylish ensemble for their mom. Murray is also still looking for the right hat, so she was forced to improvise at the last meeting. "I borrowed my red hat from a hunter," she said with a smile.

Waterford Health and Fitness Instructor and Junior RHS member, Shelly Carpenter, said that although she is in her early 30's, she has no trouble relating to this group of older women. "It's like interacting with people my own age. I don't picture these guys as older. They truly are young at heart," she said.

For details on RHS, visit the Web site at

http://www.redhatsociety.com or call (714) 738-0001.