Doug Kerr
Well-known member
The Red Hat Society is a US-based international social order for women over age 50 (although there is a class of membership for younger women).
The organization took its original motif and name from a poem by Jenny Joseph, which begins:
and concludes:
Typically, at their "events" (never "meetings") the members may see a play or a movie, go to a museum, perhaps go along a nature trail or visit a historical farm.
At the events, the members wear a purple outfit and a red hat (except during the month of their birthday, in which case the color scheme is reversed).
Carla has been active in "Red Hatting" for over ten years, She began by joining a chapter in Dallas, and when she found it unsatisfying to herself and many of the members, she formed a new chapter there. When we moved to Weatherford, she joined the existing chapter there.
When we moved to Alamogordo, she found that there was no actual (chartered) chapter here, and so she founded one. The chapter is very active, and of course there are so many fascinating things to do here. (What other Red Hatters have a chance to visit the home where the first atomic bomb core was assembled, or to walk a trail along a field of black lava flow, or explore 900-year old petroglyphs?)
But yes, they then do go to lunch, and indulge in the official Red Hat Society activity for the good of our economy: shopping.
April 25, 2013 is the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Red Hat Society, and Carla had arranged for the Mayor of Alamogordo to issue a proclamation declaring that day to be Red Hat Society Day.
Recently, at City Hall, in the City Commission chamber, the mayor read the proclamation and presented the official copy to Carla. Three of her chapter members were there as well.
The ceremony was very nice. Here is a shot of the presentation:
Douglas A. Kerr: Alamogordo mayor Susie Galea presents to Carla Kerr
the official proclamation of Red Hat Society Day
[Yes, the proclamation was stripped in from a scan; it washed out badly in the original shot.]
The bear is not the mayor's bodyguard, but rather that of one of the chapter members.
On the actual anniversary day, Carla and I will be in Atlanta, at the Annual International Convention of the Red Hat Society (timed that way). So the mayor deputized Carla to represent the City of Alamogordo at the official anniversary celebration. (I don't think may cities will have a deputation!)
Carla has also arranged for the Governor of New Mexico to issue a similar proclamation on behalf of the state.
Best regards,
Doug
The organization took its original motif and name from a poem by Jenny Joseph, which begins:
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go and doesn't suit me.
and continues:With a red hat which doesn't go and doesn't suit me.
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens
and concludes:
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
The organization operates through local chapters, of which there are tens of thousands world-wide. In a large city such as Dallas, there might be 20 or more chapters, while in a smaller town like Weatherford, Texas or Alamogordo, New Mexico there may be only one.So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
Typically, at their "events" (never "meetings") the members may see a play or a movie, go to a museum, perhaps go along a nature trail or visit a historical farm.
At the events, the members wear a purple outfit and a red hat (except during the month of their birthday, in which case the color scheme is reversed).
The younger women wear lavender and pink, or vice-versa in their birthday month.
The head of a chapter is called its queen, and the members usually adopt "royal" names, such as "Countess of Springdale".Carla has been active in "Red Hatting" for over ten years, She began by joining a chapter in Dallas, and when she found it unsatisfying to herself and many of the members, she formed a new chapter there. When we moved to Weatherford, she joined the existing chapter there.
When we moved to Alamogordo, she found that there was no actual (chartered) chapter here, and so she founded one. The chapter is very active, and of course there are so many fascinating things to do here. (What other Red Hatters have a chance to visit the home where the first atomic bomb core was assembled, or to walk a trail along a field of black lava flow, or explore 900-year old petroglyphs?)
But yes, they then do go to lunch, and indulge in the official Red Hat Society activity for the good of our economy: shopping.
The first atomic bomb core was in fact assembled in what was until just shortly before then the bedroom of our current friend Clif McDonald - he owns, among many other things here, the barber shop where I get my hair cut.
April 25, 2013 is the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Red Hat Society, and Carla had arranged for the Mayor of Alamogordo to issue a proclamation declaring that day to be Red Hat Society Day.
Recently, at City Hall, in the City Commission chamber, the mayor read the proclamation and presented the official copy to Carla. Three of her chapter members were there as well.
The ceremony was very nice. Here is a shot of the presentation:
Douglas A. Kerr: Alamogordo mayor Susie Galea presents to Carla Kerr
the official proclamation of Red Hat Society Day
[Yes, the proclamation was stripped in from a scan; it washed out badly in the original shot.]
The bear is not the mayor's bodyguard, but rather that of one of the chapter members.
On the actual anniversary day, Carla and I will be in Atlanta, at the Annual International Convention of the Red Hat Society (timed that way). So the mayor deputized Carla to represent the City of Alamogordo at the official anniversary celebration. (I don't think may cities will have a deputation!)
Carla has also arranged for the Governor of New Mexico to issue a similar proclamation on behalf of the state.
Best regards,
Doug
