Crown Jewels of Canada Society visit Baldur area

As we get older, many of us forget to have fun. Why is that?

Last week, a group of women travelling from south of Baldur stopped for lunch at the Baldur Bar and Grill before carrying on to Grund Church.

Many people have taken the same trip, stopping for a meal before moving on to their destination, but this group of extraordinary ladies was different, and they wanted everyone to know it! They are a part of the Crown Jewels of Canada Society.

I spoke with the current Queen, Cheryl McKitrick, who was one of the Crown Jewels, also known as the Crystal City Crazy Cats, who was on the road trip to Grund Church.

“We are a group of ladies from Mather, Clearwater, Crystal City and Pilot Mound, MB. We have been a Chapter for 15 years. We started 18 years ago as Red Hat Society, but when the Crown Jewels of Canada Society was formed by 2 ladies in BC, we decided to be Canadian, and therefore we wear red, purple and white, and wear lots of sparkles! People see us as “Red Hatters”, however we are “Crown Jewels of Canada”.

Our chapter meets monthly, every chapter has a Queen and Vice Queen. I am the Queen and we have 22 members, so every November I put all names in a hat and assign 2 Jewels a month to plan our outing. Jewels attend if they are able, we have no commitments, we do not volunteer, donate or have to work. It is totally fellowship and fun.

We have 4 rules:
1. Pay dues, $25/year, on time;
2. Wear any combination of our colours, red, purple and white;
3. Wear something on our heads, a hat, a fascinator, a barrette, a flower, a tiara;
4. HAVE FUN! We have no meetings, just monthly outings.

Crown Jewel members can be any age, but most chapters are retired ladies. We’re not affiliated with any other groups.
We are just ourselves.”

The Crown Jewels of Canada Society is 100% Canadian and is a federally registered Canadian National non-profit that was formed in Canada in 2009. “It is just for women and it is all about having fun.”

(Cindy Lauper’s smash hit, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” should be playing in your head right now.)

How did we all not hear about this fantastic Society before?

I went digging for more information on this happy-go-lucky group that is based on having fun and connecting, and found their website.

The Society was founded by Lynda Millard, who wanted “to create a supportive and engaging community for women across Canada, emphasizing inclusivity and camaraderie. The Crown Jewels of Canada Society serves as a space for women to enjoy their time together, celebrate life and support one another.”

The circle of friends created within the Society now stretches from one coast to the other, and keeps growing.

“Jewels gather yearly for a national convention hosted each year by a different Province. Throughout the year, there are smaller Provincial gatherings or conventions, spa weekends, Jalopy Jaunt Car Rallies, Fashion Shows, elegant teas, pool parties, Murder Mystery parties, lunches in local restaurants and gatherings in member’s homes. It doesn’t matter what they are up to, the one thing you know is that wherever they gather, you’ll hear much laughter and see smiles on their faces.”

In September 2025, the Crown Jewels will be celebrating their 16th anniversary, with the National Convention being held in Leduc, Alberta.

After reviewing the website, it seemed appealing, but when I clicked on the “Why Join” tab, everything changed, revealing how critically important this group truly is on many levels.

This Society is more than meeting people and having fun; this Society is deeply significant.

Here is the information shared as to why you should join the Crown Jewels:

Why Join?

As the song in Dirty Dancing starts out:

“Now I’ve had the time of my life;
No I never felt like this before.”
There couldn’t be truer words perhaps, but not for the reason as in the song.

Today I am going to write about WHY WE REALLY NEED THE CROWN JEWELS.

I just got off the phone with a friend, the husband of a girl I’ve known since high school.

She is very ill and they don’t know why. She’s going through very thorough medical testing in New York. Her husband asked me to call her and hold her hand as she needs me. We all need friends.

The Queen of one chapter is going through a nightmare with a husband who is critically ill, Her days are consumed with getting him to and from the hospital for treatments and appointments with Doctors as they prepare for surgery.

Several Jewels are presently fighting cancer and other ailments. Some struggle quietly while others reach out to friends, family and Jewels for support. We all handle stress and illness differently, in our own way, the way best for us.

I’ve had my own medical battles the past five years. My husband too and recently both our sons have undergone surgery and each has his own very young family to care for but they will be laid up for some time. We are there to help as often as we can. The stress is overwhelming and it makes us realize how silly it is, some of the things we normally worry about.

We don’t need “things” at this stage of our life. We need friends and family.

This is our life now.

We’re at that age, when the most important thing is to have family and friends, companionship; to not feel lonely or forgotten.

This is why WE NEED THE JEWELS and why it is important to look around at our friends and encourage them to join too.

We need friends. We need support. We need to know someone cares.

Women in a large city are often “lost” – people just assume they haven’t seen them lately because they are busy with their own life but all too often they are sitting at home, lonely, afraid, or just plain numb. We all need friends. We all need someone who checks in periodically to see how we are doing.

Belonging to a CJCS chapter means you are invited to an event at least once a month and someone reaches out to tell you the plans and hopefully, if you don’t respond, someone will be in touch to ensure you are okay and just busy that month.

Aging isn’t easy. It gets lonelier each year that we get older.
Let’s do it together!

Please, call a friend today and invite her to join your chapter.

She needs you, she needs us.”

PHOTO CAPTION: The “Crown Jewels” a.k.a. the “Crystal City Crazy Cats” made a stop in Baldur last week for lunch and then included a visit at the Historical Grund Church. PHOTO BY SUZANNE PADDOCK