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“When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple, and a red hat
Local chapters
join the fun of
Red Hat Society
By Kim Ash
Staff Writer
A 1935 Will Rogers film proclaimed that
“Life Begins at 40.” The life of a “Red
Hat” begins at 50, when a woman can
be adorned with her official crown. It may be a
Victorian style accented by feathers or a flap
per style of the Great Gatsby era. But only red
if the wearer has reached the half-century
mark.
In a county whose population is dominated
by 30-somethings, these 50-somethings are
proud to wear the hat and a not-so-matching
purple ensemble as a sign that they welcome
the mark of maturity with gusto.
On Wednesday, the hat-clad group known
as the Red Rascals gathered at Cumming’s
Foster House to partake of good fellowship and
a bit of chicken salad.
The 20-member group of women 50 and
older is one of about five separate chapters in
Forsyth County that are registered with the
society, according to the Red Hat Society’s
official Web site. The group meets about once a
month, according to its founder, or “queen
mum,” Jean Goggin of Forsyth County.
According to Goggin, the chapter meets to
have fun and celebrate being a woman over 50.
The Red Rascals began with about 10 mem
bers, and grew to about 20, Goggin said.
The Red Hat Society was founded by Sue
Ellen Cooper in 1998. Cooper, in 1997, sur
prised a friend turning 50 with a vintage red
hat and a poem, and since then the society has
spread to include many chapters in all 50
states, with more chapters still to form. The
society headquarters is located in California.
Being a member of the society means fol
lowing no rules, as the members have already
had many duties in life.
See HATS, Page 2B
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When HO! HO! HO! becomes OH! OH! OH!
Too much holiday shopping can bring foot and back pain if you aren't careful
By Harris Blackwood
Community Editor
Santa Claus doesn’t walk through the mall
all day with his big heavy black boots, but if he
did, he might be inclined to trade them in for
something a bit more comfortable, said a
Cumming doctor who specializes in foot prob
lems.
Dr. Keith Miller of Foot and Ankle
Wellness Center said he sees patients through
out the year who are complaining with severe
pain in their feet which is attributable to their
choice of footwear.
“People choose fashion over fit about 70
percent of the time,” said Miller. “The combi
nation of swelling and compressed nerves can
cause a burning numbness that can extend up
into the legs.”
Miller said that he sees women in high
heeled shoes and boots walking through shop-
Forsyth Life
which doesn’t go and doesn’t suit me.”
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ping venues knowing that they are likely to
experience real pain after a full day of shop
ping.
“All too often, people try to wear the same
size shoe they wore when they were 20,” said
Miller. “Now, they’re 40 and their feet have
expanded, both wider and longer.”
The podiatrist said that another considera
tion is changes in the foot as they walk.
“The length of the foot when you are seated
can be an inch to an inch and a half shorter
than when you are walking,” he said.
Foot problems associated with ill-fitting
uncomfortable shoes are not an exclusive
domain of women.
“I had a male patient who had at least 10
pairs of shoes that cost upwards of SSOO a pair.
They included a pair of shoes made from alli
gator hide. I told him that he needed to get a
wider and longer shoe. He did and it worked
fine.”
Forsyth County News—Sunday, December 14,2003
He said that the footwear best suited for
concrete based floors is a well-made running
shoe. “Newer technology is more rigid and the
shoes will flex at the appropriate places. The
foot doesn't bend in the middle, it bends at the
toes.”
In addition to the style of the shoe, Miller
said that fit is important.
“The average store clerk does not fit shoes
properly,” said Miller, adding that many shop
pers will simply grab a pair off a sales rack and
not pay attention to fit. He said that the best
time to try on new shoes is at the end of the
day, to allow for the swelling of your feet.
For some shoppers and holiday travelers,
the prospects of pain does not stop at the feet
and legs.
Dr. Kurt Meininger, a chiropractor with
South Forsyth Chiropractic, said that most
See PAIN, Page 2B
Above, ‘Queen
Mum’Jean
Goggin wears the
red hat and pur
ple clothing
whichs shows
she is a member
of the Red Hat
Society, founded
in 1998 for
women over the
age of 50. Left,
members of the
Red Rascals
chapter meet for
lunch in
Cumming.
Photos/Audra Perry
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Community Editor
Kid show stars
were heroes of
a simpler time
When I was a kid, there were basically
three television stations, Channels 2, 5 and
11. There was also
Channel 8, which we jflMHk
called “educational televi-
There was no cable. We
didn’t have an outside
antenna. We had a set of 'IB
rabbit ears, two telescop- Lm|||h-,
ing pieces of chrome-plat- IKBHBEk
ed metal that extended from the back of the
set.
At times, changing the channel also meant
adjusting the rabbit ears to improve the sig
nal. If that didn’t work we would add a little
flag of aluminum foil to improve the signal.
Afternoons were the time of great kids
shows. The king of them all was Officer Don
and the Popeye Club. Don Kennedy, who
now hosts a syndicated nostalgia radio show,
was Officer Don, who had a puppet friend
named Orville the Dragon. There was a
campy looking clubhouse set and bleachers
filled with scout troops and birthday party
guests.
Today, the outcry is “Jer-ry, Jer-ry.” But
then it was “Five, Four, Three, Two,
One Zeeero.” This was the signal of the
start of a great Popeye cartoon.
There were games, including a lazy Susan
which had three bags filled with goodies and
one filled with some kind of nasty mush ...
the Ooey-gooey bag. Kids would be blind
folded and Officer Don would spin the lazy
Susan and the kid would reach in and find
either neat stuff or Ooey-gooey.
I got to attend the Popeye Club and it was
an incredible experience. The fancy television
studio with all the bright lights was a dreamy
experience for a boy of 8.
Many of the commercials were live and
hosted by Officer Don. We would eat Kahn’s
hot dogs and eat Wise potato chips because
they were Officer Don’s favorities.
Another local favorite was Buddy Farnan
and Minnie Quarts, sponsored by Irvindale
Dairy. I found Farnan by phone and he is
now 69 and living in Greensboro, N.C.
Farnan came to Atlanta to work for a
bowling company which owned the old
Funtown amusement park on Stewart Avenue.
Among his accomplishments was the integra
tion of Funtown, which gave young blacks
the first taste of amusement rides and shows
once enjoyed only by whites.
Buddy Farnan was a magician and a ven
triloquist and was the voice of Minnie, a cow
who reminded us of the importance of drink
ing milk. v
There were numerous other kid shows.
Dave Michaels, who later anchored on
Channel 11 and CNN was Mr. Pix, who
would draw all sorts of neat pictures. Paul
Raymon, who was the longtime general man
ager of Channel 5, was Pinto Paul, host of a
cowboy themed show.
There were kids shows all across Georgia.
There was Trooper Terry in Augusta and
down in Albany there was Captain Mercury
of the Planet Zeus.
I worked with the Captain long after he
hung up his space suit. His real name was
Grady Shadbum and he was a great guy.
Grady was a sales manager at WALB-TV.
I never saw an episode of Captain Mercury,
but as a beginning television reporter, I still
held those afternoon guys in awe. I used to
lobby the programming folks to bring back
Captain Mercury to the afternoon lineup.
They opted to give a chance to a young
woman named Oprah Winfrey. “That’ll never
catch on,” I thought to myself.
I always thought that at the very least they
should have had a reunion for fans of the
Captain. I thought that like another captain,
Captain Kirk, that Mercury should have been
promoted to Admiral.
Grady Shadbum died last month. He had
• been sick for a while. lam told that he had
been confined to a wheelchair in the last
days. I was saddened to think that the Captain
had been reduced to an invalid.
There was really nothing fancy about
those shows. A guy in an old flight suit or a
police uniform. A cowboy or a magician.
They told us to do good in school, mind your
i folks, and drink milk. They didn’t have terri
fying monsters or flashing lasers or any of the
1 effects that seem to be a requirement for kid’s
t shows today.
I hope that in heaven there is a special
place for kid’s show hosts. There are decrip
, tions of heaven as a land of flowing milk and
t honey. I hope one day to scoop up a glass and
sit down and watch a few cartoons with those
i guys who made afternoons really special,
t Harris Blackwood’s column appears each
Sunday. His e-mail address is
j Harrisb@forsythnews.com.
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