There's just enough time for one more look!
The 2011 Virtual Time Capsule will close in January 2012. Together, we have created a virtual Time Capsule that contains that which we hold dear about Hatting in 2011. We thank all of you who have contributed.
The Time Capsule will remain buried in our archives until the Red Hat Society's 20th Birthday in 2018, at which time it will be revealed once more!
It's anyone's guess what it will feel like to look back on this remarkable year; this turning point in RHS history. One thing is for sure, in 2018, there will be some big parties thrown all around the world!
2011...the Year of our Legacy. With the donation of our first red hat and boa in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, it is only fitting that we spend 2011 focused on what our Society will mean to women for generations to come.
As we consider our Legacy, what could be more fitting than a time capsule? Imagine if we could create a "virtual" time capsule that allowed us to place everything that we hold dear as a Society away for women 30....60...100 years from now. Well, nothing can stop us. Let's do it! What would be in it? Our first red hat? A jar of giggles? A kazoo? Some bling? Each month we will have you give us your ideas on what should be spotlighted and each month we will unveil the newest inclusions. This is going to be fun!
To make a suggestion for the Time Capsule, email us at stories@redhatsociety.com.
As we roll back the year to January and move forward through the months, we see group of items that uniquely reflect us. These items help tell a story about what it means to be a part of the Red Hat Society in 2011. Of the many items that we could add to this final spot, one missing set of items shout to be added: Our Member Pins!
Vintage to the present design, our Queen and Supporting Member pins have perched jauntily on our lapels, our purses and our hats! The wearing of our pins announce to the world that we are proud to be a Sister in the Red Hat Society and care about its Legacy for the future. Beautiful!
By popular demand, this month's nomination to the Time Capsule is the book that started it all:
The Red Hat Society:
Fun and Friendship After fifty
By: Sue Ellen Cooper
When we were spontaneously creating the Society, we never had an inkling as to how powerful and important our organization would become in today's world. This unpretentious little book lovingly made up of stories of kindheartedness and sisterly love is as relevant today as it was when written.
For your own copy, Click Here
This month's selection comes from Betty, Queen of the Scarlet Flamingo Flappers, Clay, MI. She suggested that we add a representation of the feelings that fill up our lives as Red and Pink Hatters.
Our September selection idea comes from Sharine aka Queen Torchsinger of The Ravishing Reds, Sparks, Nevada. She reminded us of how the Red Hat Society once again was immortalized in pop cuture through humor as Opal Pickles becomes a Member. So funny!
This month's suggestion comes from Supporting Member, Barbara of the Hoot N' Hollern Hatties , Joshua, TX.
Barbara tells us that our next choice simply must be our BLING! She says, "What would we do without it?"
What is Bling exactly? The Urban Dictionary gives the definition of Bling as the term that refers to the imaginary "sound" that is produced from light reflected by a diamond. We like the sound of that!
Barbara also included this clever ditty to share:
No matter if we are rich or poor,
we still have to dream and have our bling.
No matter if it is the real thing,
we cannot do without our bling!"
She wonders what Bling will look like in 25 years or more. So do we!
The mind boggles at the thought!
Olive, The Queen Mother of Graceful Ladies of Co-Op City chapter from Bronx, NY, recommended that a pair of lace gloves would be a perfect addition to our 2011 virtual Time Capsule.
Fancy gloves enhance our famous rendition of THE WAVE; our gesture of great grace and elegance. Red and Pink Hatters across the land, use the wave to say hello, goodbye or acknowledge the crowds wherever we go. Perfect for your next parade!
Peggy, Royal, Loyal Assistant Queen (aka the "Relic") of the South Jersey Red Violets - Mt Laurel area of New Jersey, suggests that we add just the right companion piece to lace gloves; a fine handkerchief to catch all the happy and sad tears we've shed and shared with our sisters. Sisters who have made life so much more bearable for so many of us...
Our sentiments exactly.
In honor of the magic in our hats, and the fun in feather boas, our Time Capsule could not be complete without a Red Hat and Purple Boa!
2011 will be the year that goes down in history as the year that the Red Hat Society's first Red Hat and Purple Boa were put on display in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. They are in the "forever" business... and so are we!
Queen Jo Anne of the Ladies in Red in Burlington, North Carolina. U.S. since 2003, suggested that we add a Member card to our virtual Time Capsule. She tells us,
"I still have my first card that says I am a Member of the Red Hat Society!"
She tells us that she thinks Member cards are very important symbol of membership in the Red Hat Society. We think she is right. And how they have changed in the passing years!
Our April entry to the Red Hat Society Virtual Time Capsule comes from Queen Bev of the Edmonton, of Alberta, Canada chapter, Free Spirits.
Queen Bev started her chapter in 2006 and gathers with her 18 plus Supporting Members for loads of fun and friendship. She and her chapterettes live up to their chapter's name! They are Free Spirits!
Queen Bev says, "My thought for an item to add to the RHS Virtual Time Capsule would be a pretty tea cup, saucer and tea pot set. Is this not what Red Hatters do best?" (Have the perfect cup of tea!)
Our entry for March to the RHS Virtual Time Capsule comes from Queen Mickey, RHS Ambassador and FQM of the Roamin' Red Hats of Tampa, FL.
Queen Mickey thinks an important item to be included in the time capsule, should be a giant list of current Queens and Supporting Members at the time of the capsule closing on December 31, 2011. She feels these are the women who are the true representatives of the RHS.
This select list will hold the women who make up the true essence of the RHS. The women who have created friendships that are in some cases short in duration but long in depth and meaning. They bring to these relationships the comfort and understanding that only a woman can bring to another; a compassion that in some cases even a husband cannot provide.
So in honor of all the women of the Red Hat Society today and all the new women we will bring into the fold in 2011, we add the largest list of beautiful, kind-hearted women in the world to our virtual Time Capsule for March.
Our entry for February to the RHS Virtual Time Capsule comes from Queen Pearl of the St. Charlie's Angels, Philadelphia, PA, United States, who suggests that we add a special DVD that captures all the fabulous action from our many International Conventions. From the one first held in Chicago, IL, United States in 2002 to the 2011 London New Year's Day Parade, England they are all fabulous and worthy of sharing with generations to come.
Including Red Hat Society Days and Hoots, Hatquarters has sponsored 43 over-the-top major events since 2002. Pictures of these events may be seen under Past Event Photos. You may even see yourself! What a great addition! What will be next?
To start things off, your Hatquarters staff posed a suggestion.
Here's what they thought would be perfect to include:
Our Offical Instrument
The Kazoo!