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Those Red Hats Mean Nothing But Fun
By Lauren Puglisi
 | | --Photo By Lauren Puglisi The "Scarlet O'Hatters" of Leisure Ridge Senior Community in Manchester recently met for their monthly luncheon at the Captain's Inn in Forked River. For more photos, visit our galleries at www.micromediapubs.com. |
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What do you get when you mix purple with red?
A monthly celebration for a group of colorfully dressed ladies from Manchester Township's Red Hat Society, that's what.
The Red Hat Society is an international organization that was originally designed for women over 50 years old to get together, laugh and be silly.
And that's exactly what Manchester's "Scarlet O'Hatters" did Friday afternoon at the Captain's Inn in Forked River when 40 women from Leisure Ridge Senior Community enjoyed a full course lunch with a scenic view of the river.
Selma Giordano, the Queen Mother of the group, said she initiated the idea of starting a group within her community about five years ago.
"I thought it was a wonderful concept to have an organization for all of the women at Leisure Ridge to go, have fun and be silly," Giordano said. "After calling the organization and meeting with the original creator, Sue Ellen Cooper, who was so great, I knew I wanted to form a group in Manchester."
According to Fara Jones, the "Scarlet O'Hatters" Princess, every month, two members from the group volunteer to organize an enjoyable event for everyone to attend.
"We do luncheons, attend BlueClaws events, go to the movies and even make trips to Atlantic City. It's really just about us women getting out and being social," Jones said. "Another fun thing you can notice is that the women who have birthdays this month, wear purple hats to stand out."
One woman in the crowd stood out, not only for her purple hat, but for the natural smile she wore on her face.
Catherine Vasselli said she was enjoying her lunch and looking forward to celebrating her 93rd birthday with her family this week.
"I have seen a lot of tragedy in my life, losing many of my loved ones, but I really enjoy being in the Scarlet O'Hatters because everyone is always friendly and happy to be together," Vaselli said. "I have always been active. I am a pianist, so I really love to dance and listen to music. This Monday, I'm also meeting my family to have dinner for my birthday."
Mary Iavarone and Mona Laguna were the volunteers that planned Friday's event. They said that Catherine is a member of the group who is an inspiration to everyone.
"Catherine is so active, she food shops and does so many things on her own. We are lucky to have her in the group," Iavarone said. "We chose the Captain's Inn because it is a great place, and it's something new."
"Planning everything went well. Our main goal was to find a place that people would like and then we also tried our best to find a restaurant outside of Manchester," Laguna added.
The group's vice president, Barbara Biles, said the event was a success and that the group was looking forward to next month's luncheon at the Shrimp Box in Point Pleasant.
"The Scarlet O'Hatters will be celebrating our fifth anniversary this June. We will continue to hold events as long as we can, which I'm sure will be for a long time to come," Queen Mother Giordano said.
Women over 50 who are interested in joining or creating a Red Hat Society in their community can visit the official Web site to learn about registration requirements at http://www.redhatsociety.com/infonew/howitstarted. html.
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