Date: Fri 11-Apr-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A11

Quick Words:

Girl-Scouts-Rosa-Ermisch

Full Text:

Girl Scouting's Legacy- In & Around Town: Early Scouts & Young Leaders

(with photos)

In a continuation of a series started in The Newtown Bee last week, the

following are stories of Girl Scouts past and present, in observation of the

85th anniversary of Girl Scouting in the United States.

BY SHANNON HICKS

Anne Rosa can easily pick out three things Girl Scouting taught her:

independence, sharing and volunteerism.

As a Girl Scout from Brownie to the senior level, and quite possibly one of

the two youngest Girl Scout leaders Newtown has ever seen, the former Anne

Meyer says she and her friend Donna Cain (now Donna Kroha) had "a bit of a

plan" when it came time for the two of them to step into very adult roles at a

young age.

Today a resident of Newtown with a family of her own, Anne looks back at her

days in Girl Scouts and says she feels it was that responsibility - guiding

fourth and fifth grade girls along part of their Girl Scouting path - that

taught her the importance of being a volunteer to help others.

When Anne Meyer and Donna Cain were Senior Girl Scouts during the mid 1970s,

there was a shortage of Girl Scout leaders in Newtown. Claire Nordman, who was

the leader at that time for Anne and Donna's Seniors troop, spoke to the two

girls about the problem and talked them into becoming Girl Scout leaders. At

this point, the two girls were sophomores in high school, but they were

willing to take on the challenge.

"We went for training to be Girl Scout leaders," Anne said recently, "and we

had our meetings in the small building at the side of Hawley School. There

used to be kindergarten there.

"We would have a parent there, as the adult supervisor," she said, but it was

Anne and Donna who were considered the leaders of the troop. After the 1974-75

school year, Anne had to leave for a year, but Donna continued with the same

troop the following school year.

"I think we were probably the youngest Girl Scout leaders in the state," Anne

said.

Anne and Donna went in with a plan, and while Anne admitted it was hard at

times to keep the group focused - "At that age, there was a lot of running

around and playing," she said - the troop did not earn as many badges as other

Brownie troops in the area, but, "We did have fun," Anne said.

"We did what we could," she said.

"Both of us really enjoyed Girl Scouts. It's added a lot to our life. I think

it helped shape us, who we are now. We certainly learned how to volunteer."

Anne and Donna remain friends today, and both live with their families in

Newtown.

Anne is a member of Junior Women's Club and a driver for Newtown's Meals on

Wheels program. Donna volunteers much of her time to PTA-associated events,

and instructs the after-school basketball program at Head O' Meadow School.

Additionally, Anne was an area host representative for ASSE, an international

student exchange program; she has been secretary and membership director

during different years for Winterset Ski Club; she volunteers for some Newtown

PTA events; and even in college, she was assistant to her school's religious

education teacher.

Although they did serve a stint as leaders of Girl Scouts, Anne and Donna also

had their time as Girl Scouts, and Anne recalled some camping trips her troop

took that turned out to be a little more exciting than anticipated.

The girls' leader, Claire Nordman, loved skiing, Anne said, so she would

coordinate a lot of trips for her Scouts to head north to go skiing.

One trip saw the troop visiting Kings Ridge in New Hampshire, and on their

trip home, they ran into, Anne says, "a major blizzard."

"I remember we stopped at a church, and they took us in. I don't know if we

slept. We probably just hung out at the church, waiting for the snowstorm to

subside," she recalled.

The bus driver was very courageous, she remembered thinking, and once the snow

had slowed down enough for the troop to get back on the road, the girls headed

back toward Newtown.

"We ended up back at the middle school in the wee hours of the morning."

Between Brownies and Senior Scouting, there were other days and nights of

camping - her first campout was at the little cottage between St Rose and the

Taunton Press property on Church Hill Road. The cottage is no longer there,

but Anne's memories of the ghost stories live on. She also remembers learning

how to start camp fires, tie knots and make sit-upons, all longstanding Girl

Scout traditions. She fondly recalls singing Girl Scout songs, and volunteer

activities done as a troop, like singing Christmas carols for senior centers

or cleaning up area cemeteries.

Anne credits Claire Nordman with teaching the girls how to be thrifty, Mrs

Frawley for teaching the girls how to sew (for their sewing badges), and Girl

Scouting's principles for instilling volunteerism and sharing.

A Lifetime Member

Lillian Ermisch, today a resident of Brookfield, grew up in Newtown and was

one of eight girls who were members of Newtown's first Girl Scout troop. As

Lillian Canfield, she was a member of Troop 37, Tenderfoot Scouts who were

organized by Mrs Paul (Agnes) Cullens in 1929.

Mrs Ermisch, now 78, recalled recently some of the events from her Scouting

days while growing up in Newtown. Her youngest daughter, Marilyn, followed in

her mother's footsteps, participating in scouting as well.

Mrs Ermisch wrote down some of her memories recently. Among them:

"After meeting the Tenderfoot requirements, we were registered in New York on

April 2, 1930. Rev Paul Cullens was the leader of the Boy Scouts, and I can

remember at least one encampment of both boys and girls. We slept in pup tents

and vied with each other in knot-tying contests and fire-building.

"The summer of 1930, I attended Camp Trefoil in Stepney, and fell in love with

camping. It was a wonderful experience. I especially loved the campfires and

their songfests.

"I have other memories, of cooking pancakes on a tin-can stove, playing jacks

in free time, doing everything to bugle calls, bringing our cots out of the

tent and sleeping under the stars, learning about wildflowers and

participating in arts and crafts.

"Our troop even had a special song sung to a popular tune of the day. I still

have my original Scout handbook, published in 1930, and had written the song

in the back to preserve it:

"Girl Scouts of Newtown, Laurel Troop so true

Working and smiling, never, never blue.

"Be prepared" our motto - some good deed each day.

All day long we are singing, this is what we say .

After we've left our girlhood and the world we meet

All of our lessons in scouting will help make our lives more sweet.

Many a heart will be lifted, many a home full of cheer

By the many friendships made in Scouting among the girls we love so dear."

"I spent four years as a Girl Scout," Mrs Ermisch continued, "and then, as

Lillian McCarthy, became involved again as an adult leader in 1960 when my

oldest daughter was a Brownie. Both of my daughters were Scouts.

"I was a Cadette leader for seven years, camping, doing a stint as a day-camp

leader at Camp Candleberry and serving on the Southwestern Connecticut

Council's Public Relations Committee.

"My last interaction with girls was in 1971, when I accompanied Barbara

Wadleigh and Barbara Johnson's troop to Nantucket for a week of camping, bike

riding, swimming and enjoying the island atmosphere. My youngest daughter,

Marilyn, was along as a senior Scout assistant.

"It was a glorious experience."

Mrs Ermisch never stopped loving the Girl Scout organization, nor the

opportunities it provided her throughout her life.

"Because I love Scouting and believe it is a great organization, I have

maintained my membership all these years," she said.

"In 1989 I joined the alumni group - The Trefoil Guild - and in 1995, I became

a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts."

Next week: A Newtown Gold Award-winning Scout, and mother-daughter scouting

stories.