“I thought it was very worthwhile and I was honored that they acknowledged her,” said Johnson, who lives in Uniontown.” I wish my mom had been here to receive the award herself.”

Barbara L. Ruffin Johnson passed away on March 12, 2008. She was a supervisor with Mon Yough Mental Health and Retardation before her retirement. She was also a former director with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit.

IN MEMORY OF BARBARA JOHNSON (1937-2008). Members of the Johnson family with Barbara Johnson’s award.

When I found out that I would be afforded the opportunity to meet the man who designed the hat that Aretha Franklin wore to the inauguration, I was excited.

The meeting took place at the beautiful home of Ritchie Scaife, honorary chair of the fab Spring Hat Luncheon. He and I spoke briefly and I shared that I planned to be in Detroit on the upcoming weekend. Of course he invited me to his store. I couldn’t wait to get there. Mr. Song Millinery was located in Downtown Detroit, however, due to his newfound popularity, he moved to a new location in Southfield (think Monroeville, Pa). The store is a hat lover’s dream with hats covering every available space; there were big hats, portrait hats, berets and fedoras. I wanted to try them all. Luke Song also had a display of his ultra dressy headbands and if you didn’t see something that fit, he would design a hat for you.

Family conference

JUNE 9—The Lord’s Church, 2517 Haymaker Rd., Monroeville, will host the International New Life Conference 2010 at 7:30 p.m. at the Monroeville Convention Center, 101 Monroeville Mall Blvd., Monroeville. The theme is “Back to Basics.” There will be special sessions and nightly praise and worship with Rev. Henry Davis Jr. Guest speakers include Apostle John Eckhardt, Rev. Harriet Dennis, Deacon Paul Scott and Bishop Clarence McClendon. The conference will run through June 11. Registration is $25. For more information, call 1-877-842-7922, ext. 313 or visit www.inlfc.org.

May 1 was a beautiful sunny day and there was a notable “Song” in the air, not a lyrical song but the many designs of hat designer Luke Song were spotted among the flowers and trees. Many of the hats worn in Highland Park at the 12th Annual Spring Hat Luncheon presented by PNC and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy had that Song touch and had been purchased when Song was in town in April for the Patron Party hosted by Ritchie Scaife (hat luncheon honorary chair).

TRIO IN BLACK AND WHITE—Allyson Wynn, Candi Castleberry Singleton and Angela Arrington.

Song is based near Detroit and designed the gray chapeau that Aretha Franklin wore to President Barack Obama’s inauguration. Song donated a portion of all Pittsburgh hat sales made between the party and the luncheon to the conservancy. More than 600 arrived at the tents just off Highland Avenue to mix and mingle and get a good look at all the other ladies’ hats and to parade their hats in front of the Pittsburgh paparazzi.