Who are those silly ladies?

Red Hat Society ladies were on the move in Sumter recently.

If you visited the Sumter Mall last Saturday, you probably saw a hundred or more ladies over the age of 50 dressed in purple and red and they weren’t celebrating Halloween. They were being their cheerful silly selves and seizing the day as it was declared Red Hat Day in both the city of Sumter and the county.

Our own Honorable Vivian Fleming-McGhaney, guest speaker and member of a local Red Hat Society group dressed the part as she spoke of the women spreading joy and companionship for women over the age of 50. “We are re-shaping the way older women are viewed in Sumter,” she said.
The Red Hat Society originated in California where a group of friends met for afternoon tea and now the ladies of the Red Hat Society number over 1.5 million worldwide. It seems the only rules that apply are the purple attire and red hats that they wear at all their gatherings.

One local group, The Sassy Lassies, prided themselves on silliness while preparing for the annual parade around the mall. Doppy Queen, Mary Huff and Lady of Hi-Ho Manor, Alice Infelise couldn’t stop giggling as they posed for pictures. The group even has a Sneezy Contessa and a Lady Happy among them. Of course, it is Lady Carrisa—Protector of the High Manor, who they were all talking about. Betty Gallegos, renamed Princess Charming, proudly displayed the RED stuffed dog out the window of the float. Yes, you read that correctly, Protector of the High Manor is a stuffed dog!

Embracing fun and life was definitely the goal of the day, except for some of the younger crowd floating around the mall that day. Being in the market for a new Pink Boa myself, I thought this would be the perfect place to acquire one; however, my wonderfully supportive 15 year old daughter quickly stated, “Mother, don’t you dare.” Needless to say, she ran to the nearest exit shouting, “Stop it, you're not that old, it’s embarrassing!”

Try explaining to a fifteen year old that women under the age of 50 are allowed to be members too. According to the Sumter Sassy Lassies, those under 50 wear pink hats, while those over 50 wear red hats. She wasn’t buying it though, not a pink hat lady anywhere when you need one. Oh, and if you were fortunate to find a lady wearing a purple hat, that meant it was her birthday month.

Sitting amid the crowd, I found one lady, whose face never would turn toward the camera, but atop her magnificent Red Hat was what appeared to be the word “Queen” along with the symbol of a crown. Could it have been? No, not in Sumter! Perhaps she was just the Queen of Silly, but we’ll never know because my teenager threatened to leave if I got too overly involved.

On the flip side, my two year old grand-daughter was visiting from Atlanta and she loves to play dress-up and have tea parties. I decided what better way to train up a child to be silly, than to teach her that mothers, grandmothers and daughters can never be too old to play dress-up and have tea parties. So that afternoon, her teenage auntie was forced to laugh and giggle as we ruffled all our feathers being silly as can be and pretending to be Red Hat Ladies.

For all those Red Hats out there and the women who wear them, we support you in your pursuit of fun, friendship, freedom and fulfillment.

To find out who the spirit of the little girl is who lives inside all “mature” Red Hatters, log onto www.redhatsociety.com or email Annette Briggs at diva-queen-1@hotmail.com.

Toby Horton

toby@mysumterherald.com