During the Hermitage chapter's second meeting at the Hickory Grille in Hermitage, a male diner from South Carolina was quite intrigued by the ladies in purple dresses and red hats.

"I don't work here, I'm actually eating dinner," said the man in a Southern drawl as he snapped their pictures. "But I love your hats."

"He's really taken by us," laughed Society member Jeanne Kimmel.

Chapter "Queen" Donna Reed said this has happened before.

"The last time we were in a restaurant, we had men taking our pictures too," she said. "Men love us. Men basically love women in hats."

The Greenville chapter of the Red Hat Society also raised a few eyebrows when they visited the Hickory Grille.

"Right away, when we were sitting at the bar waiting to get seated, a girl told us she read about (the Society)," said Carol Noble, a Greenville Red Hatter. "She was just as thrilled as she could be."

Sue Ellen Cooper of California founded the Red Hat Society in 2001. According to the group's Web site, Mrs. Cooper impulsively bought a red hat at a thrift shop because she thought it was "dashing."

Mrs. Cooper later read the poem, "Warning," by Jenny Joseph, the first two lines of which read, "When I am an old woman I shall wear purple/With a red hat which doesn't go and doesn't suit me."

Mrs. Cooper started giving her friends red hats and copies of the poem to hang on their walls as decorations. One day they decided to go out wearing purple dresses and red hats. The women starting bringing their friends, and the Red Hat Society was born.

The society now has chapters all over the country, including chapters in Hermitage, Grove City and Greenville. Each chapter has its own name. The Hermitage chapter is known as "The Red Hat Mamas," Greenville's is "The Bodacious Ruby Cuties" and Grove City's is "The Dashing Darlings of the Red Chapeau."

Betty Stubert, Barbara Stuver and Mrs. Noble were among the core members of the Greenville chapter that formed in May. Mrs. Stubert said she got information about the Red Hat Society on its Web site. The chapter started out with five people and is now up to 16.

"At first we wanted to keep it small, but you meet so many interesting people," said Mrs. Noble.

The Grove City chapter spent its first meeting in June making red hats.

"It was a fun activity too, because I didn't know some of the ladies then," said Grove City Red Hatter Carolyn Sack.

"It's just kind of like a fun thing," said Lucy Sack, Carolyn's sister-in-law who serves as the chapter's contact person and computer consultant. "We laugh a lot."

Rose Stote founded the chapter after she ran into a Red Hat Society group in Florida. The chapter was closed to new members, so she and her friend started their own. She started the Grove City chapter when she came back, Lucy said.

The Sacks were happy to jump on board.

"Purple is my favorite color," Lucy said.

The Hermitage chapter began in August after Mrs. Reed met members of a Red Hat Society chapter in Berea, Ohio.

"I saw these ladies come in with red hats into a restaurant," she said. "They told me about it. I started thinking, hey, that sounds like a great idea."

Eight women showed up for the first "Red Hat Mamas" meeting. The chapter has now ballooned to about 20 members.

"It's spread by word of mouth," Mrs. Reed said. "People have gotten interested and enthused about it."

The only requirements for the club are: you have to be over 50, and you have to wear a red hat and purple outfit on society outings. The Grove City chapter has two women under 50 who wear pink hats. The Hermitage chapter discussed adding white gloves and pearls to their ensemble.

Being a little uninhibited doesn't hurt either.

"No rules, no dues, no bylaws," Mrs. Reed said. "Our only requirement is to have fun."

The club's philosophy follows Mrs. Reed's own private motto, "You have to grow old, but you don't have to grow up."

Mrs. Noble said the club helps her and her fellow Red Hatters remember how to have fun.

"Life gets so serious," she said, referring to ill family members and losing parents. "If you don't get out and have fun, life just gets so sad."

The ladies all have different stories about where they got their red hats. Some bought them at the mall, some found them at thrift shops, others spray-painted old hats red. Almost all of the members decorate their hats in a unique way with sequins, feathers, flowers or veils.

"What it does, it gives you something to look forward to when you turn 50," Lucy Sack said. "You can wear purple and you can wear a red hat."

Although the Hermitage chapter had its first meeting in August at The Cookery, the society's real debut was in the Buhl Day parade.

Ten members rode the parade route in the back of a purple truck - wearing their red hats and purple outfits of course.

"I would say part of the fun is just the people's reactions," Mrs. Reed said. "I just couldn't get over it in the parade. People clapped (for us). If it makes people happy, it makes us happy."

The Grove City chapter got similar reactions when they took part in the Grove City Street Fair parade.

"Many times the parade had to stop because people were yelling and asking questions," said Carolyn Sack. "They asked, 'What is the purpose of your organization?' We said, fun is the purpose. They just kind of looked at us in awe. It's just a hoot, the whole thing."