The National Council Session in the 1950s

Last year, I was doing research using Leader Magazines looking for recap articles about past National Council Sessions.  Because you know, doesn’t everybody do that?  Anyway, I found some neat nuggets that I thought I’d share.  Here’s a NCS checklist from 1957:

Wives in the 1950s were much more on the ball than I am. 

Also, here’s a picture from the 1955 NCS:

My favorite movie of all time is Back to the Future, and Marty McFly travels back to 1955 on November 5th.  So just for the heck of it, I thought I’d look up the date of the NCS that year.  It was November 1st through the 4th!  Marty missed it by one day!

Then I wondered, what would a conversation between a 1955 National Delegate and a 2020 one sound like?  Maybe like this:

1955: What are you voting on?
2020: Well, there is this big battle over membership dues and the National Board claims they can set dues and wants it to be OFFICIAL.
1955: What do you mean the National Board thinks it should set dues? They aren’t the coordinating head of the Movement – the National Council is!  Who do they think they are?
2020: I know, right?
1955: Well I hope you don’t let them have authority. By the way, will you get to the convention in your flying car?
2020: We don’t have flying cars in the future.
1955: <<disappointed>> Oh.
2020: But there’s a big pandemic going on and we’re having it virtually.
1955: What do you mean “virtually?”
2020: We won’t be in person. We’re holding it over our laptops and smartphones.
1955: Umm….
2020: Yeah, that’s what I said. I don’t know how this is going to go.
1955: You’re doing this over the phone?
2020: No… well kinda. We’re going to vote on our phones and hold the meeting over our computers.
1955: Can you see each other?
2020: When we speak, yes.
1955: Is it like a television?
2020: Well kinda. But you can talk back and forth.
1955: 😮
2020: I guess that is kinda cool now that I think about it.
1955: Do you have robot butlers?
2020: No, but we have Roombas.
1955: What is Girl Scouts like in the year 2020?
2020: Well, we’re girl led and girls love the outdoors and gain new experiences and grow up to be leaders.
1955: It’s nice to know some things don’t change.

See you next week!  Don’t forget Aunt Jane’s birthday!