Ours is a Circle of Friendships

Over the summer, one of my recently graduated Ambassadors (Emma) and her mom (Jen) sent me a text stating that someone from Jen’s work had given them some of her family’s Girl Scout memorabilia and insignia from different eras, and they wanted to know if I was interested in any of it. Of course, I emphatically said YES as I always do when I’m offered the chance to look at Girl Scout memorabilia and insignia.

The two of them came over one evening and brought two full bags of badges, patches, and insignia. I poured everything out onto the kitchen table and began to sort through the piles. One sash looked like it came from the 1960s and another one was from the 1980s. I also identified more Junior badges from the 1990s. There were also lots of random patches from legacy councils. While sorting through the patches, I came across three from the Old 96 council, which was the name of one of the three legacy councils that made up my current council and the one that covered the area I live in now. I’m not originally from Old 96 (I grew up in the Northeast Georgia council), but I collect patches from it anyway since I have an affinity for it due to the research I’ve done for Camp WaBak and this council’s history project.

Much like what is done today, when a girl went on a Wider Opportunity trip (now called Destinations), she could take either SWAPs or patches with her to trade. Many times, she would stick an address label on the back of the patch with her name and address in the hopes of gaining a new pen pal. I have a few of these from various councils from when my troop visited National Center West back in 1987.

After I pulled these three Old 96 council patches to the side, I flipped them over to find address labels on the back with a name that seemed familiar and featuring an address of Greenville, SC. I took a closer look and realized it was the maiden name of a current leader in my council that I know very well. I yelled out loud and began to laugh crazily which startled Emma and her mother who probably thought I was having a breakdown. I was completely blown away by this massive coincidence. I pointed to the label and exclaimed, “I know this person!!!” Emma responded, “Mrs. Amy, you know EVERYBODY in Girl Scouts!”

I immediately sent Danice a text with a picture of the patches and her labels, and she was just as dumbfounded. She believes she brought those patches on her Wider Opportunity trip to Boston in 1987 and would have traded them with girls from other areas of the country who were there.

I’m not sure exactly how this all fits together with Jen’s coworker, but we finally pieced together that some of this collection was from a girl in Arkansas who must have gone on the same Wider Opportunity trip that Danice took in 1987, and 36 years later, those patches somehow made their way back to Greenville, SC (and will eventually get back to Danice the next time I see her).

After my mind finally stopped exploding, I thought of one of J-Low’s famous quotes: “Ours is a circle of friendships united by ideals.”

Truly, this story is a vivid example of these circles of friendships that reach through the decades.