By Andrea McBride
Staff Writer
CARO —Besides being over the age of 50, there is only one requirement to be one of the Scarlet Sisters of Caro: be happy.
The Scarlet Sisters of Caro who attended the 10th anniversary celebration are (front row, from left) Suzanne Reed, Carol Haag; (middle row) Queen Marcia Leonard, Ladonna Redmond, Onna Lee Miklovic, Vice Queen Sharon Rumon, Jean Dean, Shelly MacNicol; (back row) Mary Ann Szpunar, Clara Ackerman, Cheree Szidik, Dianna Bondy, Carol Dworzecki, Jackie Garcia and Celia Hous. Nine of the 22 charter members attended the celebration. They were Reed, Haag, Miklovic, Rumon, Dean, MacNicol, Leonard, Ackerman and Garcia.
The club, which is similar to the Red Hat Society, celebrated its 10-year anniversary last month by eating a fancy dinner and remembering past events. It also took time to reminisce about members who have passed on: Donna Cramer, Barb Tetil, Lucille Noble, Elizabeth Bartholomew and Dorothy McAlpine.
Scarlet Sisters was started on June 22, 2005 at the home of Marcia Leonard, who was given the title of queen of the club. Word spread quickly about the social group, and the decision was made to cap it at 30 members, which resulted in a waiting list for about five years.
The club does its best to support local restaurants, which Leonard said is one reason why it is limited to 30 people.
“It’s difficult to find restaurants that will accommodate large crowds, and we love to have house parties,” Leonard said.
Members try to support one area restaurant each month. They also attend plays at the Thumb Area Center for the Arts, local church activities and events such as the yearly Taste of Caro.
“Anything going on in the area, if we know about it far enough ahead of time, we’ll support it,” Leonard said.
To add variety, the Scarlet Sisters also go on outings to cities such as Saginaw, Bay City and Frankenmuth. They have attended Great Lakes Loons baseball games, gone to the Children’s Zoo and visited Great Lakes National Cemetery, among several other activities.
Every November, they collect items to send to servicemen.
Leonard said the group tries to meet weekly, but members may come as often or as little as they please depending on schedules.
The ladies’ motto is “the gaudier the better.” They can easily be found at meetings and outings due to their infamous red hats and purple clothing. For official Red Hat functions, such as the 10th anniversary, they pull out fancier hats and clothing with rhinestones, glitter and feathers.
Leonard said being a Scarlet Sister has given her several good friends she knows she can count on, even for matters that are not Red Hat related.
“I never had a sister, and so I feel like I now have 22 sisters,” Leonard said.
Scarlet Sisters is at 24 members and hopes to recruit six more. The club meets at 5 p.m. the first Thursday of every month at Brentwood in Caro. For more information, call Leonard at 673-5250.
Women under 50 are also permitted to join. Instead of red and purple, they wear a pink hat and lavender clothes. When they turn 50, a “reduation” ceremony takes place and they then begin wearing the traditional colors.
Leonard said the club gives members a chance to escape from the stress of everyday life and be silly.
“They’ve got all week long to sit home and stew and fret about all their problems,” Leonard said. “But when they gather together, when they put their red hat on, they put on their happy attitude … and just have fun.”