Random Things That Don't Fit Anywhere Else Kinda Like Me 2 Comments 
gsusa, OFFICIAL scarf, the 80s, uniforms
It’s April 22nd and you know what that means! HAPPY LEADER’S DAY! Party! And then get back to planning your next meeting and working on paperwork, pronto!
To celebrate Leader’s Day, I present to you the famous Bill Blass designs from the 80s (courtesy of gscatalogs.com):
National Operations, Opinions 2 Comments big boy mountain, camp wabak, gsusa, leader issues, mountain magic, surveys, troop stuff
A few weeks ago, the Girl Scouts Voices Count surveys were sent out. Both of my girls and I each received one. A few years ago my oldest got a t-shirt for completing one! Where’s mine? Maybe it could read, “I FILLED OUT THIS REALLY LONG SURVEY AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT.” Continue reading
Experiences as a Leader 2 Comments camp pisgah, camp wabak, cookie dough, patches, service unit, stem, troop 2562
We just wrapped up our service unit’s Encampment Weekend. It was a great one – albeit a little cold! I always get a little depressed after a big event has passed whether it’s a Girl Scout weekend or a church retreat. This song runs through my head for the next day or so until the melancholy passes. Really, it does:
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Reminiscing 2 Comments I get injured, j-low, memories all alone in the moonlight, mrs. vickers, newspaper clippings, savannah, sonja, the 80s, trips, troop 20
In 1983, Troop 20 followed our 1982 World’s Fair Excursion with the pinnacle of all Girl Scout trips – a visit to Savannah, GA to the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace. There are things I remember about our Savannah trip – like the boot glass I got from the Pirates’ House (that I still have!) and being creeped out during the tour after finding out that graves were buried above sea level and at one point floated away during a flood. I remember asking the tour guide later if that white thing floating out in the river was a coffin – which made the tour guide laugh but some in my troop scared to go to sleep that night. Continue reading
Hikes & Outdoors, Traditional Stuff No Comments camp mary elizabeth, history, outdoors, squirrel, tina, wildflowers
Camp Mary Elizabeth is known for its wildflowers. Well, I don’t know for sure if that’s true, because I bet the average leader in our council would have no clue about this – but they should! But as I stated in the previous blog entry, the fact that it is home to so many types of wildflowers is part of its charm.
The area around CME grew and developed throughout the years, and at this point, CME is an island of woods and nature surrounded by asphalt and concrete. There’s a stream called Holston Creek that flows through it, and unfortunately, a lot of trash that makes it way from the surrounding parking lots ends up on the sides of the stream. Holston Creek turns into Fairforest Creek which eventually grows into the Fairforest River. Here’s the progression to the Atlantic Ocean, in case you’re wondering: Fairforest River → Tyger River → Broad River → Congaree River → Lake Marion then EITHER → Santee River → Atlantic Ocean OR Lake Moultrie → Cooper River → Atlantic Ocean. Yes, I followed it all the way on Google Maps. I’m weird like that, but I was curious. I MEANT to only say that it’s part of either the Tyger or Upper Broad watersheds and stop there. What’s a watershed? I’m glad you asked. Continue reading
Traditional Stuff 5 Comments camp mary elizabeth, camping, history, summer camp, traditions
For those of you who are not familiar with it, Camp Mary Elizabeth is a Girl Scout camp located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It’s a neat little camp, and it has its own sweet charm. It’s one out of only two urban Girl Scout camps in the United States. I had my outdoor training there, and it’s where I took our troop camping for the first time. Our troop has participated in a few events there as well. It’s got a lot of potential. There’s also some drama in its past. Maybe we could even consider it a soap opera! But not one of those Telemundo novelas. We wouldn’t know what was being said anyway. ¡Qué terrible!
In January of 1947, Dr. W.S. Zimmerman left 28 acres in his will to the (then) Spartanburg Girl Scout council provided that the land always be called Camp Mary Elizabeth as a memorial to Dr. Zimmerman’s mother, Elizabeth Simpson Zimmerman, and her daughter, Mary Zimmerman Ward (Dr. Zimmerman’s sister). A memorial marker would always have to remain on the property as well. More acreage was added in 1952 and 1953. Continue reading
Experiences as a Leader No Comments juniors, leader issues
We finally finished our journey last week, and cookie season is now officially over. Our troop and I just have this left (in no particular order):
But I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Unless that’s a train.
Experiences as a Leader No Comments journeys, juniors, troop 2562
Today, we finished the aMUSE Journey that we started back during the Junior Journey Weekend from last October. FINALLY. WE FINALLY FINISHED. THANK YOU LORD. ::weeps tears of joy:: It was as if I could hear angels singing somewhere in the distance:
Opinions 4 Comments camping, comics, girl led, gsusa, leader issues, outdoors, samona, strongly worded letter, volunteers
Lately I’ve been doing my fair share of GSUSA bashing. But if you hang around me long enough, you’ll know that I am a huge proponent of Scouting. Sure, there are some things that I don’t like about the way things are going, but I still feel there’s value in it, and I’m hopeful that one day it’ll get back on track. I sincerely do what I can to try to “right the ship” if you will. Maybe not successfully, and I might even end up tipping the boat over, thereby dumping everyone out, but it is not my intention to do so.
It seems like Girl Scout bashing in the media has been the “in” thing for the past few years. Some of it is self-inflicted, sure, but some of it is just jumping on the bandwagon in my opinion.
In this case, it’s the article from this past October by Rachel Zurer called “How The Girl Scouts Failed Me.” It appears on the Backpacker website, which I’m assuming is an outdoor magazine or website. I know you are in awe of my powers of deduction. Samona posted this link on my Facebook wall back when it was first published and asked for my opinion. I’m finally getting around to it. Just a warning – I’m going to jump around the article, so quotes won’t necessarily be in order. I also start off by raking the author over the coals, but in the end I soften up. Consider this a strongly worded blog post. As opposed to a strongly worded letter. Continue reading
Experiences as a Leader No Comments cookies, leader issues
We interrupt this program for a brief announcement:
And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.