By Kathy McCutcheonSA Staff Writer

Members of the Red Hat Society, including Emma Culwell, far left seated; the Queen Mother, Jan Zirott, far left, standing; McCutcheon, far right, first row; Clydine Myer, sixth from the left, standing; and JoAnn Sprinkle, Sonya and Marvin Myer’s aunt, far right and standing directly behind me. Last Friday, Jan. 7, I had the pleasure of attending a “Red Hat Society” (RHS) luncheon at Jesse’s Restaurant in Magnolia Springs.

The group of ladies from Dauphin Island, who started their chapter of the RHS last June, extended an invitation to my friend, Sonya Myer and myself. Sonya is the daughter-in-law of Clydine Myer, a member of the group.

Emma Culwell, 93 years young Through my husband Mark and our friendship with Sonya and her husband, Marvin, we have come to know their family, Clydine and Marvin “Ertis” Myer Sr., and have spent many wonderful weekends on the island.

When asked to be a guest of the RHS, I told Sonya, lets go. For those who know Sonya, when you say let’s go, we go!

As guests, I thought all we had to do was hop in the car and head to our destination. Not so!

Clydine Myer and Sonya Myer Sonya said Miss Clydine called and said if we didn’t mind, it would be nice if we dressed up for the occasion. She said, “We have another guest attending, she’s 93 and plans to dress up.” (What pressure.) Of course, for Sonya, this was great. She was extremely excited. For those who know me, I cringed, not so great.

You see, the RHS attire is purple colored clothing and red hats for ladies over the age of 50 (me). Under the age of 50, you wear lavender colored clothing and pink hats, a symbol for ladies in waiting, not quite 50. (Sonya)

For me, this was a challenge and totally out of character. For Sonya, the more “foo, foo” the better.

I found a purple jacket and red hat right here in Jackson, so there was no excuse not to dress for the occasion. Lucky me! And of course, Sonya, who enjoys dressing up, already had her pink and lavender attire.

We headed towards Fairhope, made a few stops and continued our journey to Magnolia Springs.

When we arrived at Jesse’s, Mrs. Myer was waiting outside, dressed in her red hat and purple ensemble. We were disappointed not to see our friend, Mary Binion, formerly of Chatom, and now retired with her husband Ben, on Dauphin Island, not waiting outside with her. Mary, an active member of the group, couldn’t attend the trip because her daughter-in-law was having a baby. (We missed you.)

After a few hugs, we headed inside to meet the rest of the ladies. A special room was set up to accommodate the group. As we walked into the room, all we could see were ladies in red hats, purple clothing and all over the age of 50 sitting at long tables. (By the way, Sonya was the only pink lady in attendance.)

Introductions were made and I began taking pictures. You see, I mentioned to my boss, Jim Cox, earlier in the week that I was attending this luncheon. He said, “Kathy, take some pictures and write about it. Maybe it will spark an interest, and other ladies will start their own chapters.” “There is already an interest,” I replied. Teri Tidwell of The Nail Studio, has been carrying red hats and accessories for almost two years; Judy Boykin of Traditions, has jewelry, soap dispensers and other gift items with the red hats’ logo and Cecelia Brunson, Debra Chancey and Mary Hilt, owners of Simply Southern, have had jewelry, flags, ornaments and cookbooks for more than a year. They had already made a list of names of ladies interested in starting a chapter in Jackson. (They are not organizing a chapter but will gladly help assist someone to begin a chapter.)

For those who have never heard of the Red Hat Society, let me give you a little background.

Sue Ellen Cooper of Fullerton, Calif. inadvertently began the group in 2000 when she and a few of her friends were inspired by a poem titled, “Warning” by Jenny Joseph. The poem begins with “When I am an old woman...” The poem mentions wearing a red hat and purple attire, and friends were invited to meet in public for tea. Cooper bought a vintage red hat at a thrift shop and placed it on a hook next to the framed poem. The whimsical decorating idea was the basis for gifts to her special friends. The friends decided to form the club, thus the beginning of the Red Hat Society.

The RHS is a play group for women whose motto is “There is life after 50.” The Red Hat Society theme song by Mike Harline puts it rather bluntly: “All my life, I’ve done for you. Now it’s my turn to do for me.”

There are no official rules, just strong suggestions:

1) red hat attire for those over 50 (red gloves optional)

2) purple clashing ensemble

3) pink hats and lavender clothing, under 50, until the birthday, the big 5-0!

The main responsibility is to have fun, dress up and enjoy friendship, good humor and laughter. Each member is encouraged to display creativity and play dress-up to their hearts content.

Everyone takes a turn in planning the next outing. Members pick a month and assume responsibility for planning the time, place and notifying fellow members by invitation, phone or e-mail. Usually no roll call is taken at the gatherings. It is a laissez-faire atmosphere with attendance rules decided in each chapter.

The “Queen Mother” is decided by the group and is usually the person who begins the chapter.

To register as an official chapter, the fee is $35 per year, which includes listing the chapter on the Web site and an invitation to all official Red Hat Society events. There is an annual RHS convention. (2002 was held in Chicago and 2003 in Nashville.) Now back to the luncheon.

The Queen Mother, Jan Zirott of Dauphin Island, who was elected to this honorable position, she said by default, introduced the guests which included Sonya, the youngest at 45, Emma Culwell, 93, of Mobile, the oldest and myself, soon to be 51. ( I can only hope that I will be as sharp and healthy as Emma at her “young” age.)

The RHS ladies conducted a short informal meeting about the next events, which included making a visit to a nursing home and attending the Red Hat Fun retreat at the Pearl River Resort.

For lunch, everyone ordered from the menu which included a variety of sandwiches, crab and shrimp salads and many other specialty entrees. The restaurant, which has a wonderful atmosphere, includes a meat market and grocery. (We highly recommend the trip but everyone should allow at least one hour and forty minutes of travel time.)

At the conclusion of the luncheon we gathered to take a few more photos and wish everyone a safe trip home. Some of the ladies continued their trip to "Stacies”, an old-fashion soda fountain in Foley, for an ice cream sundae.

Sonya and I had no room left for dessert and decided the best way to work a little of the rich food off was to stop in Fairhope to do a little shopping. (What a choice and what a sacrifice! Ha, Ha!) I suggest if you haven’t seen Fairhope at night with its holiday lights, you need to do so before the end of the month. What a beautiful wonderland of enchantment.

I want to thank Clydine Myer for inviting us, especially me, Aunt JoAnn Sprinkle, for the warm welcome; the ladies of the RHS, ya’ll were delightful; Pam McDermott, a member who just happens to have my maiden name and who shared with me information on our ancestry; and a special thank you to the Queen Mother, Jan Zirott, who provided most of the information included in my story about the Red Hat Society.

The Red Hat Society has chapters across the nation and in many foreign countries.

If anyone is interested in starting a local chapter, contact me at The South Alabamian or Simply Southern. All it takes is having one person take charge of one meeting, and the rest is history.

For more information about the Red Hat Society, go to the Web site at www.redhatsociety.com.