Happy Hooker Club soliciting support throughout SW Iowa

RED OAK – Monday morning, a group of women at the Red Oak Rehab and Care Center were taught the finer points of being a hooker, stripper and bag lady.

Members of The Happy Hookers club came to Red Oak hoping to recruit help for their ongoing project of crocheting recycled plastic grocery bags into bed mats for the homeless.

Sponsored by the Hastings Methodist Church, the club formed a little over a year ago after Rachel Darby read an article about a similar group at a church near Missouri Valley.

“We just talked amongst ourselves and we thought it was something we could do,” Darby said of her fellow church members.

The group has since grown to about a dozen people who meet every Wednesday at noon to make the mats and enjoy each others company.

“We eat, we crochet, we laugh,” Gay Courter said. “We laugh a lot in fact. It’s a lot of fun.”

While the club may not have formal titles, Courter has assumed a leadership role, collecting bags and promoting the group throughout Southwest Iowa.

In addition to the group of women at Red Oak Rehab, the Hookers have taught their trade to 4-H groups as well as individuals in their homes.

Courter tells a story of a woman who is expected to undergo heart surgery soon. She recently learned how to prepare the bags and crochet them into mats.

“She plans on working on these after her surgery,” Courter said. “She says it will give her something to do.”

Courter’s husband died five years ago and as she states it, she was just “doing enough to get by” before joining the Hookers. She said working on the mats has given her a purpose while “re-energizing” her.

“It’s amazing. You forget what is bothering you when you sit down and start cutting or tying those bags,” she said.

The group has donated more than 50 bed mats to Mohm’s Place, a Council Bluffs homeless shelter.

Darby remembers the first time they donated the mats.

“The look on the faces of the people is something I will never forget,” she said. “The glow they had on their faces … you just don’t realize it would be that much help to somebody.”

Courter said it was a “smack in the face” when she walked into the shelter.

“You don’t have any idea what happened to these people or what they’ve lost or why they lost it all,” Courter said. “They come from all walks of life … but you know they all need your help.”

Trips to the shelter give Courter all the energy and passion she needs.

“It was really emotionally draining, but it sure provides you the motivation and drive to do this and make as many mats as fast as you can,” she said.

Alita Jones joined the group about a year after a demonstration at the Classic Café in Malvern. She’s doesn’t attend the Methodist church and said the group is anything but your stereotypical church group.

“They are a lot of fun,” she said. “You may think a church group is a little stuffy, but we laugh our butts off all the time.”

Her husband, Jesse, has been “hooked” into joining the group as well.

“It is fun just for the social opportunity. You just sit and talk like an old fashioned sewing circle, solve the world’s problems and drink a lot of coffee,” he said. “It’s something that is a simple thing you can do when you have time and it adds up to doing a lot of good for people who really appreciate it.”

Anyone interested in joining the Hookers is encouraged to attend the weekly meeting or to contact Courter by calling 712-624-8452, 712-310-3914.

She said she would be willing to demonstrate to any size group how they make the mats.

Bags can be donated at Hy-Vee, Broadway Styles and Berggren Jewelry in Red Oak.