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Ripped from the Pages of Joan Cripps' Diary
February 12, 2003 A delightful Tea was held at St. Michael’s Convent with the Nuns.
After being warmly greeted by Sr. Burns we proceeded to the parlour where was sang our Purple Hat song and entertained with
a Valentine Day poem by Robert Frost "How Do I love Thee." The ladies entertained with their skits and a special dedication
to our "Angels" — our spouses who do all our lugging — "A Witty Miramichier." Matilda also played her fiddle and we all joined in for a singsong. Bobby
brought special greetings from Mary Gill who due to illness was unable to join us. The dining room was beautifully set and a delicious lunch served. Thank
you Sisters for the invitation.
May 13, 2003 In April a character calling himself "Real Crazy Carl " put out a challenge
to the residents on the River to tell of any sightings of the legendary Kangaroo, so the Purple Hat Ladies took him up on
it. On the 13th of May a great time was had with the Roo at Darlene’s
Teahouse when the Roo showed up wearing the purple hat it had stolen off a garden bench when it was left unattended. We also had a "Show & Tell." Each lady brought something belonging
to her Mother or Grandmother and told something about it. Darlene had a tin plate dating back to the 1700. At this tea I shared a lot of the mail I’m getting from across Canada
and the States inquiring about the Purple Hat Ladies. They find us on a little web site I have. We now have four groups, one
in Wisconsin USA and the Ozarks USA. Also one in Nova Scotia. We now have a nice Grace we sing before tea.
September 10, 2003 We were invited to the Senior Citizen’s Home on Upper Water St. where
we had a delightful afternoon entertaining the ladies. We always start out by singing our theme song "My Purple Hat." Wilma
introduced Mira our mascot who the ladies loved as Wilma passed her around to be held. We sang our Grace before tea and our
delicious lunch. Matilda played a few numbers and the ladies acted out their poetry in costume. Especially enjoyed was the
"Saturday Night Bath" and "Flour Sack Underwear." Activities Director Jeanie Doyle thanked us for coming, and invited
us back.
October 2, 2003 Tea at 71 King St. greeted us with a downpour of rain as we arrived to
set up for our tea. Activities Director Linda Fowler welcomed us. Linda and her Little Sister Brianna had made paper purple
hats for all the ladies. They looked so cute sitting atop our heads. We sang our theme song, Matilda played the fiddle, and
the ladies acted out their poetry. "Pa’s Underwear" and "Grandma’s Shoes" was especially enjoyed along with "Flour
Sack Underwear" and "Saturday Night Bath." After we sang our Grace and Lillian read out poem about "Tea" Linda served
a lovely lunch.
October 22, 2003 Our Pot Luck Supper at St. Andrew’s United Church was wonderful.
We were greeted by Debbie Stymiest and the ladies, all wearing Purple Hats. After dinner we did our usual entertaining, and
the United Church ladies surprised us with a funny skit. A delightful time was had by all. We were invited back another time.
November, 2003 We decorated a tree again this year for Big Brothers and Sisters. This
year’s theme was "Christmas Legends." The tree sold again this year. We were invited to the pre-viewing of trees. The
trees are absolutely beautiful!
December 3, 2003 A perfectly beautiful Christmas Tea was held at the Loggie House amidst
the beautiful furnishings. We went all out in setting our table for this special occasion. So many lovely crafts graced our table, along with china, silver, candles
and a beautiful centrepiece. Audrey Cormier again catered for us serving our speciality "Scones." Bobbie did a great job with the "Rum Cake" recipe, as only Bobby can, best
time we ever had reading a recipe!
Hodge Podge We now have 4 groups: The Purple Rug Hookers - Nova Scotia, Canada - Their Mascot, Miss Quigley The Four Seasons – Wisconsin, USA - Joyce Ozarks Purple Hatters – Ozark, USA - They have their own web site,
and my site is linked. The lunch Bunch - Jeannie The Purple Rug Hookers sent me a lovely circled hooked mat with a purple
hat on a stand and a steaming cup of tea. We had a write up in the Halifax Harold. Peter Duffy is the Columnist. Also "The Roo Came Too" was a nice write up in our local paper. Our Crest is used on my napkins, letterheads, place markers, bookmarkers
etc. a lady in Texas helped me design it. We have our own theme song written by Wilma and put to music by my son
in law. Mira, called after the Miramichi is our Mascot and owned by Wilma. Costumes
used for our skits are also made by Wilma. Catou MacKinnon reran our interview on CBC a couple months ago. We sang
our song again with all the giggles. Bob Bauer also ran our interview. I received a beautiful purple hand made rosary from Joan B, also a little
ceramic purple hat. I have a purple hat corner on an old sewing machine in my front room. We are looking forward to the coming year and a visit with Senator Marilyn
Trenholm. It’s always exciting as we never know where we will end up .. Anyone interested in starting a group I would be glad to help you get started,
and I guarantee you lots of fun!
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