The Queen Bees of Zion

The Queen Bees of Zion, a chapter of the National Red Hat Society was formed in March, 2005 with Noma Blanton designated as our Queen Mother. The name of the chapter was suggested by our high school mascot, the bee. With an initial membership of 29, it has grown in the past few months to a total of 60 members. The Red Hat Society was inadvertently begun by Sue Ellen Cooper of Fullerton, California when she and a few friends took inspiration from a popular poem entitled "Warning" by Jenny Joseph, which begins "When I am an old woman..." Since the poem mentions wearing a red hat and purple attire, she and her friends formed a group that met on a regular basis for tea in their red hats and purple dresses—in public, of course. When Sue Ellen and her friends were featured in Romantic Homes magazine in July 2000, they began fielding inquiries from other women who wanted to start their own chapters. There are now over 500,000 members in the US and Canada as well as the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and even Mexico.

The motto of The Red Hat Society is, “Fun and Friendship, Before and After Fifty”. There are no official rules, except in the matter of red hat attire. Of course, to be a Red Hatter, one should wear a red hat and a clashing purple ensemble at all meetings to keep up the spirit and purpose of the (dis)organization. Women under 50 should stick to the pink hat and lavender attire until THE BIRTHDAY. This adds an element of fun to aging, which we think is invaluable to women in our society who have learned to dread aging and avoid it at all costs. Red Hatters believe that aging should be something anticipated with excitement, not something to dread. The main responsibility is to have fun! This is an opportunity for those who have shouldered various responsibilities at home and in the community their whole lives, to say goodbye to burdensome responsibilities. This is a place to have fun and enjoy ourselves. The refrain of the popular Red Hat Society theme song by Mike Harline puts it rather bluntly: "All my life, I've done for you. Now it's my turn to do for me."

With this in mind and with much anticipation, the ladies began planning places of interest to visit while wearing their Red Hat ensemble. Several locations were suggested with the main requirement being food and fun! One of the first places we visited was “The Safe House” in Milwaukee,a popular spy-theme restaurant and night spot that since 1966 has provided “Crafty Concoctions and Incredible Edibles to hungry agents on R & R”.A stop along the way at The Jelly Bean Factory in Pleasant Prairiegave all the ladies a chance to sample various flavors of jelly beans and purchase bags for later consumption. We had an excellent meal, toured the restaurant and stopped for ice cream at The Cold Stone Creamery in Kenosha, Wisconsin to finish off the day.

In May, we went to Maggiano’s in The Old Orchard Shopping center for lunch;on to Glenview for shopping and site seeing; and of course a stop for ice cream at Homer’sin Winnetka. What a day that was! We all came home busting at the seams from the delicious meal we had at Maggiano’s and the ice cream we had at Homer’s.

Our outing the next month was to Greendale, Wisconsin where we toured the historical old town on a 4- seater bicycle. We had a delicious lunch at the Taste of Home Restaurant which is owned by Reiman Publications and had lots of time for shopping in the square--one of our favorite things to do! Greendale is the site of Reiman Publications that publishes several magazines and books on cooking as well as home improvements books and magazines, books on birds and flowers and many more wonderful publications. Of course, we had to have our desert which we did at Toppers, where they serve the most delicious ice cream. (Ice Cream again!!).

In August, several of the Red Hatters attended an Aretha Franklin concert at Ravinia and later in the month, attended the performances of The LipozzanStallions in Wadsworthwith a delicious meal at The Shanty afterward.

Of course, all summer long we were waiting breathlessly for the results of the Bee Contest which the city of Zionheld this summer. Eighty-Three bees wereentered anddecorated in a manner representing the clubs, organizations and commercial businesses in Zion. The people of Zion had a chance to vote on their favorite bee and ‘lo and behold’, the Queen Bees of Zion won Grand Prize with their entry of RU-BEE dressed in all her Red Hat finery! Great job, girls!

The Queen Bees of Zionwere also participants in the Jubilee Days Parade. The ladies decorated three golf carts with purple and red decorations which included lots of hats and bags and RU-BEE, our winning bee wearing her Grand Prize Sash riding proudly in place of honor. The Red Hattershad a great time riding and walking in the parade. What a terrific bunch of ladies!

Our plans for October include a trolley ride on Zion’s own Beeline Trolley with refreshments to be partaken of afterward at the new restaurant, “It’s All Good”. A trip to The Cheesecake Factory in the OldOrchardShopping Center for lunch is also scheduled for October. We are looking forward very much to this trip! Can’t wait to sample all the good food!

Many, many more interesting adventures await us in the coming months.