Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
THE MEMBERS of the local Red Hat Society gather at the Elk and Hound Thursday. Queen Mother Marge Tezak, center, and Vice Queen Lou Kalan, to her right, preside over the group. Donna Hockin wears a purple hat in the front left, signifying it is her birthday. There's red hats and purple galore, just like the woman in the poem wore.
By IAN MINIELLY
IRONWOOD - "When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple, with a red hat which doesn't go and doesn't suit me," were words of inspiration from the poem, "Warning," that motivated Sue Ellen Cooper to drop $7.50 for a red hat in 1997.
The hat was empowering and signaled something so much more than growing old, so she gave one to her friend, as she turned 50ish.
Within five years, the Red Hat Society grew to more than 40,000 chapters worldwide. The Upper Peninsula has 10 to 15 chapters of its own.
The red hat signifies a new chapter in a woman's life, a...
