A Fall Product Sales Surprise!

In case you’re unaware, Girl Scouts sell more than just cookies!  We also run a fall product sale involving nuts, candy, magazines, and whatever knick knacks are in the catalog.  Every year there’s a collectible tin filled with chocolate mints (that I must say are very good).  I’ve gotten one each year that I’ve been a leader, and I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do with all of them.  Some I use for SWAPs and others for patches that I haven’t sewn on yet.  The rest go up in the attic for some later use (aka collect dust), much to the chagrin of my husband.  This year’s featured a Brownie uniform.

I ordered one of the tins from my daughters, and after the fall product came in, I left it in the box for a while after we delivered the other orders.  The other day I pulled it out, and when I went to take the cellophane off to eat the delicious mints, I noticed something.  The troop number of the Brownie uniform is… TROOP 20!!!!!!!!! 

(In case you have no idea why I’m going nuts, it’s because Troop 20 was my troop number growing up.)

Now the sash shown doesn’t reflect my time as a Brownie since I participated during what’s called the “pre Try-It” period.   I had the colored wedges (called Brownie Bs), but not the triangular Try-Its.  But I did earn some round patches that I now have on my patch blanket.  So what were they?  This whole time I thought they were OFFICIAL, but turns out they weren’t.  Thanks to the Vintage GS Online Museum for sharing these with us:

You can read more about these pre-Try-Its here.  Note this statement at the bottom:  “This brief period of the Brownies after the introduction of the Brownie sash in 1977 and the introduction of the Try-it’s in 1986 is sadly being lost and forgotten.”  Alas, Generation X is once again ignored.  That’s okay.  We’re used to it.

Now that I think about it, I’m not sure I ever had a sash.  I joined Troop 20 for the last year of Brownies, thanks to my 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Vickers who also served as my troop leader!  I still write and talk to Mrs. Vickers on a regular basis and print out blog posts about my troop’s adventures for her since she doesn’t go online much.

Here’s a picture of Troop 20 at our bridging to Juniors back in 1982.  I’ll let you figure out which one I am.  If you know me, it’ll be pretty obvious.  😂