The good gals all wear red hats

By Deborah RawsonPrint Story | Email Story
The Red Hat Society continues to gain in popularity, including chapters in Berkshire County
It began as simply a nice gesture from one friend to another for her 55th birthday, a gift of a poem, “Warning,” by British author Jenny Joseph and a bright red vintage fedora. The birthday gesture has blossomed into a worldwide phenomenon encompassing over 400,000 members in more than 20,000 chapters in over 20 countries around the globe – including many burgeoning chapters in Berkshire County. The Red Hat Society, a “new” women’s movement meant to change the perception of aging women in the United States and offer a large source of support for women over 50, has seen what the group calls FUNominal growth, as women around the world unite under the brims of red hats, having fun, bonding and sharing a sense of sisterhood as they journey through the aging process together. The poem that inspired the organization begins “When I am an old woman I shall wear purple with a red hat which doesn’t go and doesn’t suit me.” It goes on to state that aging can be filled with many frivolous and “freeing’ moments. Sue Ellen Cooper, the exalted queen mother of the society, presented the poem and a hat to her dear friend Linda Murphy in November of 1997, and by spring of 1998, the Red Hat Society was formed, with the first chapter and “hatquarters” starting up at an afternoon tea in Fullerton, Calif. The second chapter formed shortly thereafter in Florida, and since then the movement has seen a virtual explosion of numbers. The group registers approximately 500 new chapters and renews over 50 chapters on a weekly basis. Each chapter decides for itself the number of women who can join, and the events they will hold or take part in, based on their own membership needs. Although the average chapter consists of approximately 20 women, it is reported that some chapters in Berkshire County contain over 40. “We prefer the smaller groups; it’s more intimate, more personal,” said Belle O’Brien, “empress of events” for the Dalton-based Red Hat Damsels and president of the Women’s Club of the Berkshires. “We’re all very intelligent people,” added Vice Mother Elizabeth Heath, another member of one of the two registered chapters in Dalton. “We’ve all raised our families and done other things, and now we’ve decided just to have fun.” The Red Hat Damsels, which came into being in February this year, met recently at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, where five of the 15 members turned out in full regalia to enjoy lunch and relax on the porch. Each member joined for different reasons, and all met in various ways. Queen Mother Nancy Hobson said she had moved to the area from Natick and was looking for a social group to join. “At the time, there was only one chapter in Pittsfield. I e-mailed the woman but never heard back, so I clicked another button on the computer and started our own chapter,” said Hobson, who is also the hospitality chairwoman for the Women’s Club of the Berkshires. Another Red Hatter, Hobson’s sister Charlotte Martorana, said, “I came all the way here from Natick just for the food — and to see my sister, of course.” Martorana and fellow Damsel Claire Fournier, who also serves on the St. Agnes Fundraising Committee, haven’t decided on their official titles yet, but they are perfectly happy just to enjoy the company of their fellow hatters. “It’s all about fun,” O’Brien said. “We do a lot of community outreach and volunteer work through other avenues in our lives, but this group is about anything that doesn’t give you stress.” Other suggested titles and assignments for chapter members include the “hysterian,” who keeps the chapter’s scrapbook, the “sergeant-in-gloves,” who ensures proper behavior, if the group can decide what that might be, the “anti-parliamentarian,” who makes sure no one makes any rules, the “barristress’ or resident attorney and the “e-mail female,” who handles the chapter’s online communications. There are over 243 Red Hat chapters in Massachusetts alone, with more popping up every day. Other chapters and their queen mothers in Berkshire County include The Victorian Roses of Northern Berkshire, Mary Ann George; Red Hat Camellia’s, Camellia Duda; Red Hat Mama’s, Pam St. John; The Greylock Red Hatters, F. Martha Green; Alma Rose, Maria Caccaviello; Appleton Dome Dames, Kathleen Murphy; Berkshire Hattitudes, Priscilla Zuber; and The Girl’s Club, led by Julia Whitcomb and Kathleen Wicker. The official Web site, www.redhatsociety.com, is packed with information and offers the opportunity to network with woman around the world through such things as a bulletin board, the “Queen Mother Board” and a chat room, “Red Hat Chat,” where members can share ideas and information and offer each other support in large numbers. Each chapter should register on the official Web site so seekers of Red Hatters can find a chapter close to them. Chapters organize fun activities, such as luncheons and tea parties, sleepovers and pool parties. They go to movies, plays and charitable functions, always adorned in their proud red and purple colors. Cooper has a written her first book about the society, “The Red Hat Society: Fun and Friendship After Fifty,” which was published by Warner Books in April this year. The group also has a subscription-based, 16-page quarterly mini-magazine it produces, which includes columns, craft ideas and articles on “inspiring personalities.” The group’s motto is “Red Hatters Matter.” Because of the range in distance for all its members, the national Web site serves as the communication hub. Each Friday, the exalted queen mother offers a broadcast to anyone wishing to receive her weekly informational sessions, in which she discusses happenings of the hatquarters office, news from the national society and lists of upcoming events. The Red Hatters held their first national convention in Chicago in April 2002 with about 400 attending the four-day event. The second convention held in Nashville, Tenn., saw over 2,000 Red Hatters in attendance. The numbers for this year’s convention in April at Gaylord Opryland in Dallas, Texas, were not yet available, but Red Hatters have no doubt the organization continues to grow. The group consists of a wide demographic of members, including working women from a variety of careers, mothers, grandmothers, retirees and women who are married, widowed and single. The spirit of the self proclaimed “Disorganization Society” forbids that they make rules, and there are no bylaws to follow — only suggestions that are made from the founding chapter. Women must be at least 50 years old to become a Red Hatter, yet younger women are welcomed into the group as “Pink Hatters in Lusty Lavender,” trading in their lighter colors for the official purple and red at a ceremony they call “Reduation,” when a woman reaches her dignified big 5-0 and turns in her pink hat to be bestowed with a red one. Several area chapters are full and not accepting new members at this time, but suggestions for starting new chapters can be found on the Web site. Although there is only one official Red Hat retail store, Imperium, in Fullerton, Calif., red hats are becoming more and more available throughout retail shops. Other whimsical merchandise, ranging from red hats, gloves, and boas to the group’s official instrument, the kazoo, are available at the online store, www.redhatsocietystore.com, or by calling 866-FUN-AT-50. Literally thousands of articles have been published about the group in regional newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, The New York Times and Boston Globe, and Red Hatters have been featured in national magazines such as “Good Housekeeping” and “Women’s Day,” with the first article published in the July 2000 edition of “Romantic Homes,” all helping to launch this growing trend of ladies in fashionable, fun, colorful outfits. “We lead a self-indulgent life style because we feel at this point we’ve earned it,” Heath said. That life style and the general philosophy of the society might be best summed up in the poem by Sue Ellen Cooper, exalted queen mother and society founder: Ode to the Red Hat Society A poet put it very well. She said when she was older, She wouldn’t be so meek and mild. She threatened to get bolder. She’d put a red hat on her head, and purple on her shoulder. She’d make her life a warmer place, her golden years much golder. We read that poem, all of us, and grasped what she was saying. We do not need to sit and knit, although we all are graying. We think about what we can do. Our plans we have been laying. Instead of working all the time, we’ll be out somewhere playing. We take her colors to our hearts, and then we all go shopping. For purple clothes and hats of red, with giant brims a-flopping. We’re tired of working all the time, and staying home and mopping. We order pies and chocolate fudge, and rich desserts with topping. We crown ourselves as duchesses and countesses and queens We prove that playing dress-up isn’t just for Halloween. We drape ourselves in jewels, feathers, boas, and sateen. We see ourselves on television and in magazines. We laugh, we cry, we hug a lot. We keep each other strong. When one of us goes out for fun, the rest all go along. We gad about, we lunch and munch, in one big happy throng. We’ve found the place where we fit in, the place we all belong.
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Dalton Announces New Supplier for Energy Program

DALTON, Mass. – The Town of Dalton has signed a thirty-four month contract with a new supplier, First Point Power.
 
Beginning with the January 2026 meter reads, the Dalton Community Choice Power Supply Program will have a new rate of $0.13042 per kWh. The Program will also continue to offer an optional 100 percent green product, which is derived from National Wind Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), at a rate of $0.13142 per kWh.
 
For Dalton residents and businesses who are enrolled in the Town's Program, the current rate of $0.13849 per kWh will expire with the January 2026 meter reads and the new rate of $0.13042 per kWh will take effect. This represents a decrease of $5 per month on the supply side of the bill given average usage of 600 kWh. Additionally, this new rate is 3 percent lower than Eversource's Residential Basic Service rate of $0.13493 per kWh. Residents can expect to see an
average savings of $3 per month for the month of January 2026. Eversource's Basic Service rates
will change on Feb. 1, 2026.
 
Dalton launched its electricity program in January 2015 in an effort to develop an energy program that would be stable and affordable. From inception through June 2025, the Program has saved residents and small businesses over $1.7 million in electricity costs as compared to Eversource Basic Service.
 
It is important to note that no action is required by current participants. This change will be seen on the February 2026 bills. All accounts currently enrolled in the Program will remain with their current product offering and see the new rate and First Point Power printed under the "Supplier Services" section of their monthly bill.
 
The Dalton Community Choice Power Supply Program has no fees or charges. However, anyone switching from a contract with a third-party supplier may be subject to penalties or early termination fees charged by that supplier. Ratepayers should verify terms before switching.
 
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