&uot;I feel just like Minnie Pearl,&uot; Nancy Hockenberry exclaimed as a name tag hanging from a string was pinned to her red hat.

Monday, February 18, 2002

&uot;I feel just like Minnie Pearl,&uot; Nancy Hockenberry exclaimed as a name tag hanging from a string was pinned to her red hat.

Around the room, there were many red hats and purple dresses as the first gathering of the local chapter of the Red Hat Society got under way at the Turtle Dove Teahouse Friday.

The gathering was organized by Kelly Schultz and Carol Wolter. Last fall, Schultz had read about a chapter in White Bear Lake in a metro newspaper, and liked the idea so much, she decided to find out if there would be any interest in starting a chapter locally.

&uot;Between Carol and I, we talked about it with friends and sensed an interest,&uot; Schultz said.

Schultz said she’s always loved hats. &uot;I had three red ones myself,&uot; she said. &uot;I gave one to Carol.&uot;

The society takes its signature red and purple look from the poem, &uot;Warning, When I Am An Old Woman, I Shall Wear Purple,&uot; by Jenny Joseph.

The Red Hat Society’s mission statement reads:

&uot;The Red Hat Society 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.&uot;

According to its Web site, the Red Hat Society was founded by Sue Ellen Cooper of Fullerton, Calif. While visiting a friend in Tucson several years ago, Cooper impulsively bought a bright red fedora in 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, &uot;Warning&uot; and felt an immediate kinship with the author. She decided her birthday gift to a dear friend, Linda Murphy, would be a vintage red hat and a copy of the poem. She had always enjoyed whimsical decorating ideas, and thought the hat would look nice hanging on a hook next to the framed poem. Murphy got so much enjoyment out of the poem that Cooper gave the same gift to another friend, then another, then another.

Then, one day it occurred to them that they were becoming a sort of &uot;Red Hat Society&uot; and that perhaps they should go out to tea – in full regalia. Since the narrator of the poem threatens to &uot;… wear purple and a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me …&uot;, they opted to each find a purple dress to complete the image.

The tea was a smashing success, and soon each of them thought of another woman or two she wanted to include, and they bought more red hats. The group has swelled, and they have had to encourage interested people to start their own chapters. One of their members passed the idea to a friend in Florida, and the first &uot;sibling&uot; group was born. Today, there are some 200 chapters in the United States, Australia, Canada and England.

The local chapter plans to choose a name for itself, but was having so much fun Friday with lunch and a skit that members never took a vote, Schultz said. Some examples of other chapter names are &uot;Scarlet Hatters,&uot; &uot;Red Hot Tamales,&uot; &uot;Shades of Purple,&uot; &uot;Red Hot Mamas&uot; and &uot;Crimson Crones.&uot;

Wolter and Schultz have set up three more third-Friday &uot;gatherings&uot; at the Turtle Dove – May 17, Aug. 16 and Nov. 15. Schultz said other groups were meeting at teahouses, so the Turtle Dove seemed a natural fit.

&uot;And Gwen loves this sort of thing,&uot; she added of teahouse owner Gwen Reiss.

Reiss herself, busy with customers, was decked out in purple, and keeping with the rules, the wait staff had a hat of pink and outfit of lavender. While the organization is primarily intended for women older than 50, it does not discriminate. It’s &uot;suggested&uot; that anyone younger than 50 wear the pink and lavender combination.

Never without a hat, Mary Ann Dixen is a natural for the local club. &uot;I thought it sounded real fun,&uot; she said. &uot;I first heard about it when a chapter from the Twin Cities came down for a tour of the Doll Museum.&uot;

Anne Ehrhardt said she didn’t even think when she got the invitation. &uot;It just sounded like fun,&uot; she said.

And so did Joan Muschler. &uot;Oh yeah, it sounded like fun – as long as it wasn’t for breakfast.&uot;

Hockenberry said she looked forward to dressing up. &uot;I did have a red hat,&uot; the veteran actress said, &uot;left over from ‘Prelude to a Kiss.’&uot;

For more information on the Red Hat Society, visit www.redhatsociety.com.