Some of my best memories come from being a Girl Scout – as an adult. I was never a Girl Scout as a child, but several of my classmates were, so I had an idea of what scouting was about.

When my own girls were old enough, I registered them for scouting – but – there were no leaders in my daughter’s school. So, I did the only thing I could do – become a leader. And that started a new in interesting chapter in my life.

I gained many skills through my years as a leader and the other positions that I took on as well, but, more importantly, I saw my daughters learn new skills and be afforded opportunities to do things.

Responsibility

As a Brownie (there were no Daisy scouts back then), the leaders did most of the planning and organizing. As the girls moved through the levels, the leaders were encouraged to let the girls do more of the planning.

As Cadette (middle school), they could plan a weekend campout, complete with the list of what to bring, the menus, and the grocery list. I remember one campout where they planned pancakes for breakfast. Everything was going smoothly until someone asked for syrup. Oh no! No one put it on the list! This trip was saved, I did check the list and had the syrup in another box. But they learned to check, recheck, and be thorough when planning meals after that.

Safety

Leaders are provided with guidance for doing things safely, but the scouts need to learn as well. Fire building is one of the skills that is taught. As a leader, we get trained on the safe and proper way to build, maintain, and put out a fire. Then, we teach these skills to our scouts. My daughters still pride themselves in their ability to start a fire with one match and a fire started made of wax. I still teach fire build via Zoom, but with pretzels instead of wood. Safety about fire is always emphasized.

Scouts are also taught how to be safe whether they are camping in the wilderness or exploring the city in a crowd. Today is so different from those years, but some of the safety precautions still hold. The one that stands out the most is NOT putting the child’s name on their clothing. Especially the back of a jacket or shirt. That makes the child very vulnerable to strangers who could call out their name and try to befriend them as if they were someone who knew them.

Opportunities

Travelling is one activity most scouts enjoy. We visited the World’s Fair in Tennessee one year. I still have those pictures somewhere – one of those pictures show an electric car of the future. It seemed very futuristic then, but not today. One of my daughters took her first plane trip to Wyoming to The Girl Scout National Center West in Ten Sleep. My other daughter participated in Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. Other scouts in the troop got similar travel opportunities that could only come through scouting.

One hundred and eleven years ago Juliette Low began Girl Scouts to give girls the opportunity to get out of the house and involved with their community and the outdoors. Well done, Juliette! Your legacy lives on and girls all over the world are experiencing and learning skills that will prepare them to take their place responsible adults when they are grown.

Linda Watson-Call is a life member of Girl Scouts and is still active by providing scouts horseback riding opportunities at her riding facility – Pretty Pony Pastures. She also coaches scouts in earning their outdoor and nature badges  virtually.