Date: Fri 04-Apr-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A11

Quick Words:

Girl-Scouts-Juliette-Low

Full Text:

Brought To The US 85 Years Ago, Girl Scouting Lives On, 4/4/97

(1st of series)

(with photos)

Make new friends

but keep the old,

one is silver and

the other's gold.

-A traditional Girl Scout song

BY SHANNON HICKS

March 12, 1997, marked the 85th anniversary of Girl Scouting in the United

States; it was founded as a nationwide movement in 1912. Girl Scouts and their

leaders, past and present, observed March 12 with myriad ceremonies, special

meetings, and commemorations across the Connecticut, and the country. In the

next few weeks, The Newtown Bee will present stories about the origins of Girl

Scouts, along with memories of Girl Scouts and leaders.

While Juliette Gordon Low is credited with founding the Girl Scouts of

America, it is important to know Mrs Low actually adapted a program, British

Girl Guides, which in turn was an offspring of Boy Scouts.

A Georgia native, Juliette Magill Kinzie Gordon was born October 31, 1860, in

Savannah, into a large family of two brothers and three sisters, as well as 20

immediate cousins with whom she grew up. When Juliette was born, an uncle took

one look at her, and said, "I bet she'll be a daisy!" and the nickname stuck.

(Ironically, the newest group of Girl Scouts to have been formed are the Daisy

Scouts, which are younger than Brownies.)

Always an active young girl, Daisy would spend hours outdoors every day while

growing up in Savannah. She enjoyed climbing trees, racing through the woods

around her home, riding and swimming.

At a young age, Daisy formed a club called Helpful Hands Club, of which her

sisters and cousins were members. Daisy said they should learn to sew and make

clothes for the poor, and she would be their sewing teacher. Unfortunately,

Daisy herself did not yet know how to sew. Consequently, the club was not a

huge success, and when projects began falling apart on the girls, Daisy's

brother Arthur dubbed the club Helpless Hands.

Once she outgrew the small school in Savannah, Daisy was sent to Stuart Hall,

a boarding school in Virginia where she would learn, among other things,

French and German. At age 16, Daisy then transferred to Edge Hill School, also

in Virginia, where her younger sister Alice also studied. Her outgoing, plucky

personality made her an easy friend for many of the girls she schooled with.

Always adventurous, Daisy was imaginative and a happy girl.

At Edge Hill, Daisy joined Theta Taus, a club which held secret meetings, had

special feasts, and had club pins. A precursor to what Daisy would develop for

other girls later in her life? It is very possible.

The following year, Daisy began studies at Charbonniers, a finishing school in

New York City. At this school, Daisy was exposed to singing and drawing

lessons, trips to museums, evenings at the opera, plays or concerts. On

Saturdays, girls would have lessons at Dodsworth Dancing Academy, where they

learned not only dancing but also ballroom manners including how to curtsy and

sit gracefully in a ballgown, never crossing their legs, with feet resting

gently on the floor.

Many accounts describe the young Daisy as something of an ugly duckling. This

could be attributed in part to a "brain fever" she caught when her family had

been forced to leave Savannah for a few years during the Civil War. The long

recuperation period for Daisy with her extended family in Chicago left the

four-year old's tiny body very weak.

Doctors feared she would die, and it took months for her to recover. Daisy's

health in general was always very poor, and she lost a sister, Alice, to

scarlet fever soon after Christmas 1881.

However, Daisy's wit and developed good looks made her very popular in

Savannah when she returned home for her coming out. Soon after, Daisy met a

young man named William Low, the son of a very wealthy family. They were wed

December 21, 1886, when Daisy was 26 years old.

William's father died shortly before William and Daisy's wedding, leaving

millions of dollars, the family business and four homes to his son. Now a very

wealthy couple, it was at this point William and Juliette Low moved to

England, where Mrs Low led a very active and social life. It was also during

the time she was living in England Mrs Low met Lord Baden-Powell, who had

founded the Boy Scout movement in England in 1907, and Miss Agnes

Baden-Powell, first president of the Girl Guide movement in England. Through

their friendship, Mrs Low learned about scouting.

She started her first company of Girl Guides in Scotland in 1911, then two

Guide companies in London later that year. It was when she returned to the

United States in 1912, after the death of her beloved husband, that Mrs Low

began her monumental work which resulted in the first Girl Scouts in this

country.

On March 12, 1912, Juliette Low invited 24 girls to the Louise Porter Home in

Savannah for tea, to talk about Scouting for Girls. Two troops were formed at

that meeting. Daisy Gordon, Mrs Low's niece, was the first registered member.

The Beginning Of

Girl Scouting

Juliette Low did not want girls to feel that by joining Girl Scouts they had

to be exclusive of any other clubs. On the contrary, she encouraged girls "who

belong to any kind of existing organization, such as school clubs, factories,

social or charitable groups, YWCAs ... [to] also take up, in addition to their

other work or play, the Girl Scouts' training and games," she wrote in 1913.

Girl Scouting combined elements of Boy Scouting - outdoor survival, games,

camaraderie - with some female additions - keeping a house and home, having

good manners, respecting yourself and everyone else, respecting God and

America. Mrs Low, in having Girl Scout leaders teach girls how to dance and

encourage craft times, also incorporated many of the same traits she had

learned while a student at Stuart Hall, Edge Hill and Charbonniers.

A troop of Girl Scouts was originally called a "patrol," and its leader was

the "Captain," who was at least 21 years of age. Scouts were usually between

the ages of 10 and 17, with patrols made up of girls within a few years of

each other, and at least eight girls to make up a recognized patrol.

When Mrs Low sat down to adapt the American Girl Scouting program, one of her

first publications was called How Girls Can Help Their Country . In putting

her thoughts into writing, Mrs Low's book became the first in a long line of

Girl Scout manuals, which have been re-written and updated for over eighty

years.

Some of the guidelines may seem foolish today (older handbook chapters cover

topics such as "beauty sleeping and waking"), and some of the ideas of what a

woman should learn and represent are outdated by today's standards (how to

keep a clean house, how to set a table for individual service vs buffet

service), but much of what Mrs Low expressed in 1912 still holds true today.

The Girl Scout Promise asks a girl to promise on her honor to try to do three

things: 1. To do your duty to God and to your country; 2. To help other people

at all times; and 3. To obey the Laws of the Scouts.

When recited, the Girl Scout Promise went like this: "On my honor, I will

try;/ To do my duty to God and my country,/ To help other people at all

times,/ To obey the Girl Scout Laws."

The Girl Scout Law held ten proposals. Girls had up to six months upon joining

Girl Scouts to decide whether they felt they could promise to live up to the

Promise, which in turn includes the Laws.

The Girl Scout Laws

1. A Girl Scout's honor is to be trusted.

2. A Girl Scout is loyal.

3. A Girl Scout's duty is to be useful and to help others. "She is to do her

duty before anything else even if she gives up her own pleasure, safety or

comfort to do it," wrote Mrs Low. "She should do at least one good turn to

somebody every day."

4. A Girl Scout is a friend to all, and a sister to every other Scout no

matter to what social class she may belong. "Thus if a Scout meets another

Scout," according to Mrs Low, "even though a stranger to her, she may speak to

her, and help her in any way she can, either to carry out the duty she is then

doing or by giving her food, or as far as possible anything she may want."

5. A Girl Scout is courteous.

6. A Girl Scout keeps herself pure ("in thought and word and deed," clarified

Mrs Low).

7. A Girl Scout is a friend to animals.

8. A Girl Scout obeys orders. "Under all circumstances, when she gets an order

she must obey it cheerfully and readily, not in a slow, sullen manner. Scouts

never grumble, whine, or frown.

"In time of danger even a smile or a song will cheer and hearten up the

wavering," offered Mrs Low.

9. A Girl Scout is cheerful.

10. A Girl Scout is thrifty.

Along with their promises and laws, Mrs Low felt Girl Scouts had certain

duties. Among them, Girl Scouts would always be expected to be womanly ("No

one wants women to be soldiers," she wrote. She sounded much more contemporary

when she followed a few sentences later with, "Girls need not wait for war to

break out to show what heroines they can be."), be strong, be handy, be able

to look out for themselves and others if they find themselves far away from

"civilized" help, be good mothers, be observant, campaigning (in the sense of

being taught to put up tents and woodsman's camps for themselves, build and

keep up a fire to cook over it, and find the way by night and day), be able to

tend the injured, help others, and be patriotic.

The American flag plays a large role in Girl Scouting. Early Girl Scouts not

only saluted the American flag, but knew its history - that the "Stars and

Stripes" design came from George Washington's family Coat of Arms; that Betsy

Ross, whom Mrs Low described as "among the pioneer mothers of America," not

only made the first flag, but lost her husband when he was defending a

Colonial storehouse against the British; when the flag was adopted as the

national colors (June 14, 1777); and what the five-pointed star stands for

(the seal of King Solomon, it is the sign of infinity).

It is important to note, however, that while Mrs Low believed in showing

respect to the flag and honoring America as a country, she stated clearly in

How Girls Can Help Their Country that: "The Girl Scouts' Corps belong to no

party, no politics and is non-denominational."

Girl Scouting, then, was a form of teaching girls how to become good citizens,

how to grow into young ladies their parents would be proud of.

Requirements To Move Up

The Girl Scout Ladder

Girl Scouts were broken into three grades. Accordingly, as the class levels

increased, girls were challenged with more responsibility and knowledge.

A Tenderfoot, or Third Class Girl Scout, had to be at least ten years of age

(although sometimes younger girls would be admitted). Before making the Girl

Scout Promise, a Tenderfoot had to have been able to tie four different knots,

selecting from the reef, sheet-bend, clove hitch, bowline, fisherman's and

sheep-shank styles; must know the governor of her state and mayor of her city;

and know the history of the flag and how to fly it.

To become Second Class Girl Scouts, a girl must have had at least one month's

service as a Tenderfoot. She must also pass a number of tests, including make

a drawing or cut out and make in cloth the American flag; know how to cook one

simple dish; lay a fire in a stove or light a fire in the open with two

matches; know the eight points of the compass; know the remedy for poison ivy,

or what to do to prevent frost-bite; and know how to work a buttonhole, or

knit, or crochet.

A First Class Girl Scout had 13 requirements, among them how to lay a table

for breakfast, dinner and supper; have an elementary knowledge of first aid;

have elementary knowledge of signaling and of semaphore code, or Morse

alphabet; and be able to dress and wash a child of two years of age or

younger.

The oldest girls also needed to have 50 cents in a savings bank, earned by

herself; be able to describe how to get to a place and walk two miles in one

hour; bring a girl trained by herself in tests for Tenderfoot Class Girl

Scout; know the simple laws of sanitation, health and ventilation; swim 50

yards in her clothes or show a list of 12 satisfactory good turns; and show

the points of a compass without a compass, and must give correctly the Scouts'

secret passwords.

For Girl Scouts, there were originally 29 proficiency badges available. The

Captain of each Patrol could recommend a girl who had attained the Second

Class Rank when she deserved a Proficiency Badge in areas such as Attendance,

Boatswain, Dairy Maid, Electrician, Horsemanship, Laundress, Matron

Housekeeper, Pathfinder, and Rifle-Shot. As is still true today, girls were

awarded badges once they completed a number of requirements. Their Captains,

or Leaders, would then apply to Headquarters, who would in turn send out the

necessary badges for each girl.

A Message From

Juliette Gordon Low

On October 31, 1924, her 64th birthday, Juliette Low wrote the following for

Girl Scouts. It is another example of Mrs Low's timelessness in some of the

ideas and messages Girl Scouts - and anyone - can continue to live by today...

Hallowe'en, 1924

Dear Girl Scouts:

I hope that we shall all remember the rules of this Girl Scouting game of

ours. They are:

To play fair,

To play in your place,

To play for your side and not for yourself.

And as for the score, the best thing in a game is the fun and not the result,

for:

"When the Great Recorder comes

To write against your name,

He writes not that you won or lost

But how you played the game."

Girl Scouts, I salute you.

Your friend,

Juliette Low