Official Red Hat Society Chapter
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Happy Birthday, Big D Re-Gals!
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Happy Birthday, Big D Re-Gals!
Twenty-one years ago on May 14, 2002, I held our Red Hat Society disorganization meeting at my house. I had learned about the Red Hat Society in a Dallas Morning News article on April 11 and invited ten friends to meet at my house for cake and coffee. Six, including me, showed up. (Estella was ill and didn’t make it to the first meeting.) I told them what I had learned about RHS, and we decided to start a chapter. Three of the charter members — Sharon, Estella, and I — are still members. Three of the ladies — Judi, Joan, and Mimi — left the chapter over time. Etta was the seventh member. Judi, Joan and Etta have since passed away. Etta was still a proud member until her death in 2022.
At that time, it cost $35 to start a chapter so each of us chipped in $5. Etta agreed to host the first gathering, Judi the second, and Joan the third. Our first official outing was a sack lunch at the Dallas Arboretum. Etta made her famous snickerdoodle cookies for dessert. My friend Judy from Tennessee was visiting and went with us.
At our May meeting, we had discussed names for the chapter. We liked the words Royal and Regal, but we couldn’t decide on one. As we were walking around the Arboretum, I said, “We have to pick a name so we can get the chapter registered,” and Judy said, “How about Re-Gals?” Everyone liked the name so we went with it. I sent in our registration, and we were officially a chapter on June 14, 2002, but I’ve always considered May 14 to be our birthday.
Happy Birthday to us. Here’s to another twenty-one years.
