Childhood Girl Scout Memories

This past week, on March 12, Girl Scouts celebrated their 100^th birthday.  In honor of this special day, I posted some old Girl Scout photos on my Facebook page which elicited plenty of comments from old friends.  Such wonderful memories we all have!  I became a Brownie Girl Scout in 2^nd grade, at that time the youngest age that a girl could join.  I continued in Girl Scouting through my senior year in high school.  In fact, I rejoined Girl Scouts as an adult to be a leader for my own girls, and then later I also took on the role of Service Unit Director.  However, the childhood memories are the ones that returned this week. 

In those days our troops were big; my photo of our Junior troop shows 32 girls in 4^th-6^th grade and I’m sure some girls were missing (and I thought I had a big troop as a leader with 22 girls).  Nearly everybody wore a Girl Scout uniform, complete with accessories, to school for our after school meetings.  We were proud to wear them.  Girl Scout cookies could not be preordered.  We would go out in pairs, ringing doorbells in our neighborhoods.  We carried cookie boxes in a cardboard box with handles.  I remember that I could never get enough thin mints to sell.  I have wonderful memories of taking a bus to day camp and doing fun activities like making crafts out of eucalyptus bark and pods.  I attended week-long Girl Scout camps and had wonderful adventures.  We learned to canoe and I acquired an appreciation for backpacking which carried into my adult life.  One year as a young teenager, a friend and I went on a burro pack trip into a wilderness area.  We learned how to pack and handle our burros, very stubborn animals.  This turned out to be more of an adventure than we expected—an unusual summer snowstorm forced us to hike out a week early. 

My biggest Girl Scout adventure was our trip to Europe.  When my friends and I were in 8^th grade we were talking about how some of their older sisters had gone to Our Cabana, the Girl Scout/Girl Guide house in Mexico.  We decided that we could do better than that—we should visit Our Chalet, the Girl Guide house in Adelboden, Switzerland.  This discussion led to the formation of a travel group from girls in our Cadette troop, in grades 7-9.  We worked hard for 3 years to earn money by doing newspaper collections, a spaghetti feed, a fashion show, and many other fundraisers.  There was plenty of time to decide where we would go—the final itinerary included not only Switzerland, but the Netherlands, England, France, Italy, and Austria plus a split with us going in different directions (my group went to Ireland).  The big day came after my junior year in high school.  Our families all went to see us off at the airport—it was the first airplane flight for many of us.  There were 17 of us plus four mother chaperones.  We were so excited.  If I remember correctly, our trip was only 21 days, so we never spent more than 2-3 days in one place, with the exception of Switzerland.  Oh the Alps, how beautiful they were.  I felt like Heidi, walking through the wildflowers with the snow covered peaks always in view.  We met girls from different countries at Our Chalet, but we were surprised at how many were from our own country.  I could go on and on with stories about our travels (and my friends could add more), but I would have to say that my favorite country was Italy because the people were so friendly.  Now 17 girls did attract a lot of attention, especially from men (and Italian men are notorious).  I especially remember a group of Italian nurses who tried to communicate with us—they didn’t know English and we didn’t know Italian.  However, they managed to tell us they were nurses by pantomiming a hypodermic needle.  And when we indicated we were from San Francisco (the closest large city to us), they broke into a chorus of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”  Such delightful memories. 

As I look back on these memories as an adult, I realize how much Girl Scouting influenced my life.  At the time, I was just having fun with my friends.  I learned valuable leadership skills and how to make plans and organize.  I learned how to live, work, and play with others.  I developed a love for the outdoors which sustains me today.  My appreciation for other cultures was nurtured through folk dances, music, programs celebrating the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, and of course, my trip to Europe.  I am not afraid to try new things, to be adventurous, and to be curious about the world around me.  Through Girl Scouting I gained confidence in myself.  I thank Juliette Gordon Low for that first troop she started in Savannah, Georgia, 100 years ago.