SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 2012

Girl power
100 years ago, a quirky woman started a
group that changed 50 million lives

In

Savannah, Georgia, 100 years

ago, Juliette Gordon Low gathered 18
girls who she thought would enjoy
crafts, sports, the outdoors and just
being together.
That may seem similar to what
many of you do today, and it should:
That was the first meeting of what
would become the Girl Scouts of the
USA. But life was very different in 1912:
There were no computers, cellphones or
even televisions. Women and girls wore
more-formal clothes, and women were
fighting for the right to vote in elections.
But even though they lived in a different
time, these early Girl Scouts were
interested in doing community service,
being part of a sisterhood and having
fun, just as they are now.
Daisy helped girls blossom

Low,
who
was
nicknamed
Daisy, had grown up as a wealthy
Southern belle. She enjoyed painting
and performing in plays. Daisy loved
animals and had many throughout her
life, including dogs, cats and a parrot.
She met and married a handsome young
man named William Mackay Low,
whom she called Billow. Together
they moved to England in 1887, where
Daisy met Queen Victoria and the
couple lived an aristocratic life. But she
also had some difficulties.
When she was in her 20s, Daisy
became partially deaf in one ear when an
infection wasnt treated properly. Then,
on her wedding day, a grain of rice
became lodged in her other ear, which
eventually caused her to lose most of the
hearing in that ear as well. Later in life,
Daisy would use her deafness to her
advantage, often pretending to not
understand people when they said they
couldnt volunteer or donate to her
beloved Girl Scouts.
Daisys marriage started well but
became unhappy. Billow wanted to

divorce, but he died in 1905 before that

happened.
An idea is born
After Billow died, Daisy was lost.
They had no children, and she wasnt
sure what to do with the rest of her life.
Then one day, she happened to be
seated next to a charming man at a
luncheon in London. He was Sir Robert
Baden-Powell, whom everyone called
B-P, and he had founded the Boy
Scouts just a few years earlier. He had a
problem: Girls thousands of them
were trying to join the Boy Scouts. They
showed up at a big rally with homemade
uniforms and signed in with their
initials. He wanted there to be a group
for girls, but he needed help running it.
As Daisy and B-P talked, Daisy, who
was now in her early 50s, became
interested in starting a scouting group
for girls, not only in England but also in
the United States.
When she returned to Georgia,
Daisy telephoned her cousin and said:
(Continued on the next page!)

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SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 2012

Come right over! Ive got something for

the girls of Savannah, and all America,
and all the world, and were going to
start it tonight!
Daisys dreams for girls
The first Girl Scouts got to know
Daisy personally, and they thought of
her as a quirky, funny fairy godmother
type of person who would stand on her
head at meetings and tell spooky stories
around the campfire. Daisy liked to ask
the girls what they thought and what
they wanted to do, rather than telling
them.
From the beginning, Daisy
wanted the Girl Scouts to be inclusive,
meaning that it would be open to girls of
any race, background or financial
situation.
The
girls
would
be
encouraged to be independent, to make
their own choices and to develop their
talents and skills. They would also be
challenged to learn new things. Daisy
thought it was important for the girls to
spend time outdoors, so camping,
swimming and playing sports such as
basketball were early activities.
Some of the first Girl Scout badges
show that the girls also worked on

learning first aid, cooking, map-reading

and knot-tying. Badges were created to
show that a girl was proficient in a skill
or subject, meaning she had learned a lot
about it and had become good at it.
Badges there are 136 of them now
are then sewn or ironed on a Girl Scout
uniform.
Around 1917, the girls started
selling cookies, which has become an
important fundraiser for troops and the
whole organization as well, as a real-life
lesson in how money is earned.
Just as Daisy had discovered
herself by founding the Girl Scouts, she
helped the girls develop into stronger
young women. Since that first meeting
in Georgia, 50 million girls have become
scouts. Daisy died in 1927, but the group
she started 100 years ago means that she
will always be remembered.
Shannon Henry Kleiber

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