The men were dressed in button-down shirts and dress slacks. The ladies donned flamboyant red hats and by candlelight dined on rib-eye steak, shrimp cocktail and ate fruit drizzled in chocolate from a fountain.

The dining hall at Jo-Lin Health Center in Ironton on Wednesday was transformed into Restaurant Jo-Lin. Residents ordered from a menu and dinner began with salad and ended with orange delight. It was the first-ever Red Hat Ladies and Men’s Club Candlelight Dinner and Betty Reibesehl, 75, was enjoying herself.

“It’s really nice of them to do things like this for us,” she said. “Before this I hadn’t gotten to wear my red hat in years.”

Jo-Lin Activities Director Melissa Garris often plans special events for Jo-Lin residents and earlier this month threw a Super Bowl party.

“This dinner is just something new for them to do,” she said. “One one of the girls who works here suggested it and with Valentine’s Day coming up it seemed like the perfect time.”

A dinner of such magnitude can’t be orchestrated alone, however, so Garris received help from coworkers and one very important volunteer. Jo-Lin employees Wendy Wilson, Kayla Carpenter, Connia Eicher and Georgia Vaughn all assisted one another in the endeavor and volunteer Greg Hern prepared the steaks and helped serve food.

More than 20 residents ate by candlelight and Garris said several more planned to attend but were stricken with the flu.

“We have many more fun things planned,” Garris said. “No matter what we do we make sure it’s done right and everybody has fun.”