by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff writer
“Warning”—by Jenny Joseph
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go and
doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension
on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money
for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
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 . . .
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.
Imagine a group of little old ladies sitting around sipping tea wearing red hats and purple outfits.
Silly, right?
Well, that’s the point. They are members of the Red Hat Society - they’re all over 50 and they say they’ve earned the right to be silly.
It’s a national phenomenon. Now, Realtors are starting their own Red Hat Society group here.
Betty Taylor of Watson Realty and Virginia Lancaster of Lancaster Town and Country have decided to start a new chapter of the Red Hat Society called the “Oldies but Goodies.”
Lancaster said the criteria for joining the group is that the women are or were in real estate and like to be silly.
“When you get older, you have to have a good sense of humor,” said Lancaster. “Betty Taylor and I were talking about the Oldies but Goodies get-togethers and we agreed that we, Realtors, needed to start a Red Hat Society club so that we could see each other all the time. That way we would be meeting once a month and be able to see each other.”
Over the years, Lancaster said, these women worked together but many have retired or changed jobs and seemed to lose touch over time.
“We really need to be more organized because we do care about each other,” she said. “This way we can know what is going on with each other.”
Lancaster said they would try to get together once a month for a luncheon in different areas of town to accommodate all of the women.
“That way it will be easier on everybody or equally as hard for everyone,” she said. “The whole idea is for us to get together, catch up with each other and lie to each other and say ‘You haven’t changed at all in 25 years!”
They are still working out the details, but so far these are the Realtors who have signed up to be a part of this new group: Joan Deiterle and Colleen Boarding of Watson Realty, Barbara Swindell and Gloria Andrew of Riverpoint Realty, Mary Margaret Pyle of Re/Max on Park Avenue, Yvonne Giberson of Prudential Network Realty, Kathleen Goad of Re/Max on Park Avenue, Dee Bumbarger of Buck & Buck and Betty Taylor and Liz Lassiter, Bunny George and Jocelyn Whaley of Watson Realty.
Taylor will be the Queen of this chapter.
“I’ve been to four or five different Red Hat Society Groups,” said Taylor. “I find that you meet a whole bunch of different ladies, but it is very difficult to find something in common with them. It’s hard to find the basic thing that you have in common.”
Taylor said she really feels that an over-50 Realtor group would be more fun.
“We have our age and real estate in common,” she said. “Hopefully, since we have the basic togetherness, Realtors could have a lot to chat about.”
Taylor said she would like to keep the group at about 25-30 members to keep it more intimate.
“You can dress the way you want to and do what you want to do,” said Taylor. “I thought it would be so nice to have a group of ladies that are all interested in real estate.”
The Red Hat Society was started in 1998 by Sue Ellen Cooper of Fullerton, Calif., when she and a few friends were inspired by the poem “Warning” by Jenny Joseph. The poem warns people that when she is an old woman she will dress in a purple hat and purple attire.
The poem inspired many women to follow suit and start forming Red Hat Society groups.
The Red Hat Society Website states that the group has an estimated 400,000 members and more than 20,000 chapters across the United States and in 20 foreign countries. Chapters follow no rules, believing that having fun and enjoying each other’s company is what really matters as member’s age. Locally, that phenomenon has now grown to over 36 chapters here in the Northeast Florida area and some Realtors are already a part of it.
“We have lunch, maybe see a fashion show, admire each other’s attire, plan the next meeting...laugh, talk, and have fun,” said Karen Swinson, a Realtor with Re/Max on Park Avenue who belongs to the Redhat Royal Rascals at Eagle Harbor, which has approximately 50 members.
Though membership is for women 50 years and older, younger women are allowed but they’re called Pink Hatters - yes, they wear pink hats and lavender outfits.
“I joined just to have something fun and whimsical to do and to escape from the world for a while,” said Swinson. “We meet once a month; a person in the group picks the luncheon spot. We wear red hats and purple dresses to be outlandish. When I shared with some of my Realtor buddies that I had joined a group, they either thought I was goofy or wanted to go with me to the next one. The fun of being in this group is just to do something different and look different for a day.”
Though networking isn’t the key, it’s bound to happen.
“I did not join to improve my business but there is always networking going on in my life, and it happens, too,” said Swinson. “Actually two of the members are older retired Realtors, others are just grandmas, some of the women live with their adult children, then there are golfers, world travelers, widows, etc. We have a nice mix.”
Ann Clark of Ann Clark Realty is another Realtor who has found an outlet in the Red Hat Society.
Her chapter is called the Scarlett Red Hatters and has about 40 members.
“I met our Queen, Jo Ann Bennett, who is the executive secretary to the trustees and director of administration of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, at a senior dance and she told me I needed to join her chapter,” she said. “Our chapter is three years old, but I’ve only been a member since October a year ago.”
Clark’s chapter meets once a month at a restaurant.
“We keep track of people’s birthdays and send cards to them,” said Clark. “The main thing is that we just have fun. We just wear purple outfits and red hats and have fun.”
Clark said her group usually arrives at the restaurant early to get ready for their meeting. As patrons arrive at the restaurant, her group is usually subjected to stares.
“Then people come in, they see us in our red hats and purple outfits,” said Clark. “Some people are curious and others laugh at us. But, we don’t care because we have a wonderful time. I’ve always been sort of a cut-up anyway. This is a way for me to be myself at another time and with another group.”