Before There Were OFFICIAL Scarves….
National Governance, Random Things That Don't Fit Anywhere Else Kinda Like Me 2 Comments 
history, national board, national convention, national council, OFFICIAL scarf
We’re less than a month away from the 2020 National Council Session, so I thought I’d change things up and write a lighthearted entry. If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know that the worship of OFFICIAL scarves is a main tenet here. The OFFICIAL Scarf Showcase! is one of my more popular posts. I mean, who can go wrong with an OFFICIAL scarf?
I do plan on dressing up in my navy & OFFICIAL scarf for this year’s NCS even though I am not a delegate and will not be seen on camera. Because I’m nerdy that way. Well, I take that back about being on camera. I plan on doing some Facebook Live videos just like I did at the 2017 NCS. Sigh. I am still depressed about not having it in-person this year. 2023 seems so far off and who knows what the future might bring?
But anyway, where am I going with this? I would like to share a couple of things I’ve come across here and there regarding National Council Sessions while doing research. If you’ve visited the OFFICIAL Scarf Showcase!, you’ll know that the OFFICIAL scarves first showed up in 1968. But was there something before then that commanded as much serious consideration? YES!
At the 1926 NCS, the National Council, “with due regard for its position as the coordinating head of the Girl Scout Movement in the United States,” had an intense debate and discussion topic around… OFFICIAL Hats!
Here’s a blurb about the April convention from the June 1926 GS Leader Magazine:
This is serious stuff, y’all. But at the same time, the National Council did fulfill its duties per the Constitution “by giving guidance to the National Board upon general lines of direction of the Movement and program.”
For what it’s worth, here’s what the OFFICIAL hat looked like in 1926 (thanks to the GS Catalog website):
Want to know what the NCS picked out? From the 1928 catalog:
Sad to say, this year’s edition of the NCS will not be discussing such exciting topics such as OFFICIAL hats OR scarves. Just boring ole membership dues. One day in the future, a blogger (or whatever the equivalent is at that point) will look back at the 2020 NCS and make the same jokes about membership dues as I am about hats right now.
Next up in the apparel department, the National Board OFFICIALLY approved camp shorts according to this blurb in the May 1931 edition of the Index Journal (Spartanburg, SC):
I’m not sure which I’m more amused by – the fact that the National Board was the one who decided this or that it made the newspaper. No word if there was an uproar about the National Council believing it had authority over shorts and the National Board doubling down on its claim.
Watch for more to come about the NCS! I’m not sure what I’m going to write about once this is all over. I’ll have post-NCS depression like I did back in 2017.
Thank you for your green blood passion. I am so grateful for such a kindred spirit.
I agree with Patsy. I’m a democratic process nerd like you. When I was board chair people told me I must have our council bylaws memorized. Well, not quite. I’ve been a NCS delegate 7 times, alternate once and visitor twice. I’m a visitor this year and it just kills me that I won’t be able to get in the virtual cue to make comments. I’ve done extensive delegate trainings, was even asked to do it for another council. I was a member of a GSUSA task force on how to use delegates during their three year term – and most of our recommendations were ignored. Anyway, I am so thankful that you are doing the research and blogging about the current issues. Please know that my green heart appreciates what you are doing.