Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Girls Scouts: 100 Years and Nostalgia

One hundred years of Girl Scouting and I have lived over half of those years.  Both facts make me ponder.


Over 50 million girls have been Girl Scouts since Juliette Low founded this opportunity and organization for girls to grow and mature into contributing world citizens.  The oath:
I will do my best to be Honest and Fair, Friendly and Helpful,Considerate and Caring, and Responsible for what I say and do, and to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout
Being a Brownie myself in the '50's and a Girl Scout in the '60's, then going through the years with my daughter Heidy as a Scout through the 80's and 90's leads to this post.

Skirting the controversies of selling cookies door-to-door (which was the first no-no that I recall) and going all the way to transgender scouts, this post focuses on the positive aspects that scouting brought to our family.

Janet Macpherson, (1941-2011) The Girl Scout troop leader for my daughter's years in scouting, had a profound effect on many lives.  Janet was the mother of our younger daughter's best friend Melinda.  She was a good friend and a strong support to our family during difficult times, and Heidy spent many a night at the Macpherson home while I was at Children's Hospital with Julie.

Janet and I also shared many a good book and glass of wine during the years we commiserated over our young families during book club evenings and family dinners.

As families, Janet and we traveled to Washington, DC together to share an historic view of the city and to visit the Smithsonian Museums in the mid '80's.

Then there were Girl Scout activities Janet and I and our daughters shared, including two overnight trips to mountains and one to the Air Force Academy and a long ... very long... weekend in the mountains using three llamas as pack animals for the girls' gear.  And throughout it all, Janet was a good humored role model for all the girls whom she shepherded.

So for all those years in Scouting which brought us together, I am extremely grateful.  Her family, friends, beloved dogs and the bees she kept over the years are all so proud of you.  Janet kept the Girl Scout Promise and Law  close to her heart and acted accordingly.

Thank you, Janet, for your friendship and rest in peace.

5 comments:

  1. I was a Girl Scout myself, and so glad that it continues to this day!

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  2. What a sweet post to honor this fine lady! I know that she is smiling down from Heaven! Have a blessed day dear Nancy!

    HUGS!

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  3. This is a wonderful post! I was a Brownie and Girl Guide in Britian, but for the short years I spent in the USA I was also a Brownie and a Girl Scout! I still have many of my badges and also a Daisy Gordon Lowe cushion I sewed and embroidered in 1979. My years in the Girl Scouts and Guides were really formative ones - thank you for reminding me of them, and thanks also for your comment on my Lent post.

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  4. A beautiful tribute to a wonderful lady! I was in BlueBirds and then Campfire Girls for quite a few years...until I was actually the only one left. And I adored our leader. I buy at least one box of Girl Scout Cookies each year, and enjoy them. It's great that this wonderful organization that really does offer opportunities is still around.

    Have a nice week Nancy. I appreciate your memories and loyalties to this great group.

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  5. Beautiful post Nancy! I have great memories of my Brownie days in the 60s. My mom was Tawny Owl :)

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