Happy Birthday To The Girl Scouts of America!

Hey it’s Leslie Harris. Happy birthday to the Girl Scouts of the USA, founded on March 12th of 1912 by Juliet Gordon Low.

Juliet was born in Savannah Georgia in 1860. She was nicknamed Daisy, which eventually became the name of the youngest Girl Scout troops.

Juliette Gordon-Low came from a wealthy family, and as a child learned art, poetry, acting, journalism, sewing and more. She was considered eccentric since she was always trying something new.

She eventually fell in love with and married William Mackay Low, and moved to the United Kingdom with him. There, she learned woodworking and metalworking. The marriage was not a happy one, and the Lows separated.

William died before the divorce was settled, and Juliet received a large settlement. A few years later she met Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts, and was impressed with his work, teaching boys to be self sufficient.

She returned to Savannah in 1912 and founded the American Girl Guides Patrols, which eventually became the Girl Scouts of America, teaching many of those skills to girls.

I’m proud to say that I was a Girl Scout leader for 8 years. It’s still a wonderful organization, and I think every girl should at least check it out.

The first cookie sale by a Girl Scout troop was in 1917, and the first official cookie sale by the Girl Scout council was in 1934. The cookies sales raise money for troop activities, and help teach girls financial literacy.

Were you or a family member involved in Girl Scouts? Also, what’s your favorite Girl Scout Cookie? Let me know in the Facebook comments.