Back when Troop 20 was made up of wee little Brownies and Juniors, Mrs. Vickers said she would take us to Europe if we stayed in Scouts and earned our Gold Award. Well, not PAY for it, but plan and arrange it and all that stuff. And this was a big deal for Mrs. Vickers, because she was deathly afraid of flying. She did get on a plane to go to Our Cabaña before that trip, but flying overseas was a much bigger deal for her. Continue reading

Did You Know?

Hikes & Outdoors No Comments big boy mountain, camp wabak, cats, geocaches, hiking

Did you know that the real name of Camp WaBak’s Big Boy Mountain is really Cedar Rock Mountain? I was looking up geocaches in the area and found it on the map:

Big Boy and Osborne — Click on the map to see a larger view.

August 16 2015

A RECENT Newspaper Clipping!

Experiences as a Leader No Comments badges we don't need no stinkin badges, city slickers, juniors, newspaper clippings, service unit, summer camp, upstate sc

Enough of this living in the past! I received a welcome surprise this morning when I opened up the August issue of our local city’s newspaper. The Simpsonville Sentinel featured an article about our service unit’s City Slickers summer camp and our Juniors’ work with the Fountain Inn Garden Club. I can’t say enough good things about the work they did with our girls. So if you’re in the Golden Strip of SC area, please contact them for projects! They were extremely enthusiastic about working with us. Continue reading

August 14 2015

Another Favorite Newspaper Clipping

Reminiscing No Comments barbara, mrs. vickers, newspaper clippings, stories, troop 20

Here’s another favorite newspaper clipping from Troop 20. I don’t have a date for this one, but I’m guessing it’s from 1984 or 1985 since Barbara is in it. And how she got to be the one dressed up, I don’t know. She must have drawn the short straw or something. Mrs. Vickers was always big on publicity and submitted our picture to the newspaper whenever possible. (Thanks Mrs. Vickers! Memories!) As you can read from the newspaper caption, we created a costume that was sent to the J-Low Birthplace for one of their sessions. Sometime I’ll share the time when I slipped and was knocked out at the J-Low house. No joke! Continue reading

August 10 2015

Happy National S’mores Day!

Traditional Stuff No Comments camping, comics, gsusa, history, traditions

August 10th is National S’mores Day. Yay! Here’s an excerpt from a GSUSA article that also features some more s’mores (see what I did there) recipes:

National S’Mores Day is August 10, and as we all know, s’mores hold a special place in Girl Scout history. Did you know that the first-known recorded version of a “s’mores” recipe can be found in an official Girl Scout publication from 1927? So cool! The recipe is credited to Loretta Scott Crew, who reportedly made s’mores by the campfire for a group of Girl Scouts. Originally called “some mores,” it is unknown when the name was shortened to “s’mores,” but recipes using the longer name can be found in various Girl Scout publications up through 1971.

August 8 2015

World’s Fair Pictures

Reminiscing No Comments caroline, marla, sonja, trips, troop 20, world's fair

I went through some of our family pictures and pulled a few pictures of our World’s Fair trip. I must have really made a big deal about the van not being in the newspaper’s photo, because here’s one that somebody took. Wasn’t it awesome? Just like the A-Team!! Continue reading

August 6 2015

Poison Ivy Info

Hikes & Outdoors 2 Comments camping, outdoors, tips

We’re nearing the end of summer, but with the start of troop meetings, you may still be getting outside to do some activities. Poison ivy is still out there waiting to getcha! It’s always kind of funny to me how girls (and some adults) back up or refuse to even go any further on a trail or path if I point out poison ivy on the side. I always say, “It’s not going to jump out and bite you! Just don’t walk through it and you’re fine.” Continue reading

August 4 2015

Alien Biscuits – The Story, The Myth, The Legend

Reminiscing 3 Comments alien biscuits, barbara, comics, ingathering, inside jokes, jenny, mrs. vickers, northeast georgia council, patches, skits, stories, troop 20

I believe of all of my Girl Scout memories, this has to be my favorite one. I hope you find it as entertaining as I do. I tell it much better in person than I do in writing, so just bear with me. Yeah, I know I said I wasn’t going to post as much before school started, but I got on a roll. Continue reading

August 3 2015

Tito’s PIZZA!!!!!!, Inside Jokes, and Rock Shops

Reminiscing No Comments city slickers, inside jokes, marla, mary lee flanagan, memories all alone in the moonlight, OFFICIAL scarf, redcoat band, stories, trip out west, troop 20

One of my favorite parts of being a leader is eavesdropping on girls’ conversations while I’m driving them somewhere. They may think I’m just passively keeping my eyes on the road and tuning them out, but au contraire girls! I’m listening to what you’re saying! (Don’t tell them.)

During our service unit’s City Slickers summer camp, we drove the girls to a couple of field trips. I loved hearing them repeat their inside jokes over and over again, because in my opinion, this is evidence that they are developing friendships and camaraderie with their fellow scouts. It’s fun too. It also reminds me of when I was a scout, because Lord knows we came up with plenty of inside jokes. Continue reading

July 29 2015

Cadette Video from City Slickers

The Grand Scheme of Things No Comments city slickers, girl led, summer camp

During our City Slickers camp, the Cadettes created a promo video for Girl Scouts. They did an awesome job!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKePdZ6bDME

Additional edit: Here’s the radio spot they created:

Girl Scout with a Cause

The Path to the Gold Award in the 80s