Red Hat Society

Amanda Manning

GRIFTON — An epidemic of bright colors has hit Grifton and women over 50 are the main targets.

Grifton residents Joyce Houston and Lib Harrison recently started a chapter of the Red Hat Society, called The Grifton Red Hats.

The Red Hat Society is an organization of women in and around the United States that unite and bond in sisterhood as they go through the aging process together. There are currently over 25,000 chapters across the United States and in 20 foreign countries, according to the official Red Hat Society website.

It all started with the efforts of one woman named Sue Ellen Cooper and a poem titled, “Warning.”

Cooper decided to give a friend a copy of the poem, written by Jenny Joseph, along with a bright red vintage hat to celebrate her 55th birthday. The poem begins, “When I am an old woman I shall wear purple with a red hat which doesn’t go and doesn’t suit me.”

The first Red Hat Society officially formed almost a year later and word spread quickly about the group of ladies who went out adorned with bright red hats to match their purple attire.

Now, the society has hit Grifton and women ages 50 and up can be seen together sporting their red and purple attire, celebrating their age and the aging process.

Joyce and Lib both began Red Hatting by being members of the Ruby Red’s of Kinston. Eventually, they saw the need for a Red Hat Society in Grifton. And after research and lots of work, the two joined hands and formed Grifton’s first ever Red Hat Society.

“We’re a part of Grifton,” Joyce said. “We thought it would be good for Grifton, and the more we talked about it, the more we decided to do it.”

The Grifton Red Hats held their first meeting on June 14 and plan on meeting every second Monday of the month.

To be a member of the Grifton Red Hats, you must abide by all the rules, which are: there are no rules. The only guidelines are you must be a female over the age of 50 and you must wear a red hat with purple outfit to all Red Hat Society functions. Red shoes are another required accessory, but jewelry and other accessories are up to each individual.

“It’s just what the person wants,” Lib said.

The main thing required in the Society though, is that you must want to have fun, since that is the primary objective of Red Hatters.

Women under the age of 50 are also allowed to join the society, but for the Grifton Red Hats, those numbers will be limited. Those members under 50 must wear a pink hat and lavender clothing.

Lib and Joyce said they do not have a set schedule of the events the Grifton Red Hats will participate in but other Red Hat Societies are known to participate in parades, go on cruises and participate in just about anything they can. After all, these ladies are young and enjoy celebrating their youth with a little bit of noticeable fun.

For more information on the Grifton Red Hats or the Red Hat Society, call Lib Harrison at 527-2950 or visit their website at www.griftonredhats.com.

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