Jeannette Olson has written some of her Girl Scout story relating to the celebration of our 100th Anniversary for all of us to enjoy this week. Thank you, Jeannette, for sharing your first hand experience!
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| Jeannette Olson former Service Unit Volunteer Ames, IA |
I have many things to be grateful for. One of them is that my mother took the time to be my Brownie leader in the 1960s. She introduced me to a wonderful organization that has had an untold influence on my life, and now I am able to share this experience with my daughter and her friends in Senior Troop 601.
This Spring Break, while half of our troop was in Orlando for Band trip and the other half went to the 100th Anniversary Celebration at the Mall of America, my spouse and I traveled to Savannah to celebrate my birthday and Girl Scouts 100th Anniversary. (Yes, I was born on March 12th.)
Savannah was teeming with Girl Scouts everywhere we went. It was delightful to see Girl Scouts, young and old, exploring the town where Juliette Gordon Low started this organization a century ago. Sure there were lines as we waited to see the first headquarters of Girl Scouts and Juliette’s birthplace, but we were able to meet girls and women from across the country who had gathered to celebrate this special occasion and we heard their stories about how they worked to be able to participate in this once in a lifetime adventure.
It was fun to see how the local businesses joined in the centennial celebration. For example, Leopold’s, an ice cream parlor that has been around almost as long as the Girl Scouts (It opened in 1919), had Savannah Smiles ice cream as one of their flavors.
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| Candle Lighting Ceremony Anna Maria Chavez |
On the 12th, there was a Sunrise Ceremony at Forsyth Park. The color guard dressed in uniforms from different time periods. Two members of a Savannah Girl Scout troop from the 1940s led us as we said the Promise, and Anna Maria Chavez, the current CEO of Girl Scouts, spoke about Juliette’s legacy and the call to continue the work to develop girls who become women who work to make the world a better place. The event closed with a candle lighting ceremony as we sang some traditional, as well as some new Girl Scout songs.
That evening several women from the Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana Council sponsored a “Promise Circle.” At 1912 military time, we made a circle of girls and women from different corners of the United States to say the Promise and sing some favorite songs. This was followed by a reception with juice and Girl Scout cookies, of course!
- Jeannette Olson
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