Girl Scout Fashion: 1950-Today

By. Nicole R.

Whew! Fashion has changed a lot over the last 50 years and the Girl Scout uniform has survived all the changes. In the 1950’s women and girls dressed fancy and wore charming clothes with bows, flounces and frills. They even wore gloves, hats, and tailored suits but in the swinging 60’s, those traditions were broken. The frilly dresses were replaced with culottes, go-go boots and pillbox hats. Stiletto heels and mini skirts were popular. Clothes were no longer pale, tone shade colors (like the men) but were bright and colorful. 

            In the 1970’s, women had the freedom to wear what they wanted. Popular items were the micro mini dresses, maxi dresses, halter necks and catsuits. We can’t forget the disco fashions – like hot pants, spandex tops, bell bottoms, trouser suits and platform styled shoes.  

Then, came the 80s & 90s with loose shirts, fitted trousers, shoulder pads, leggins and dancewear.

That leads us to today which really brings back a lot of the previous styles like the “hippie look” and even the vintage look. Girls wear everything from high tops, skinny jeans, and hoodies to pea coats, knee high boots and preppy polo shirts.  As they say, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Such is true for fashion in the last 50 years, and for the classic, chic and prestigious Girl Scout uniform!

photo credit: Girl Scouts of Gateway Council volunteer, Deanne Dunlop. Neptune Beach, Florida.  

Rise of the Female Archers

By: Emily S.

From Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games to Merida of Brave, girls all over the United States are trying their hands with a bow and arrow. After watching the hail of arrows, girls of all ages are eager to head for the archery camps to show or find their shooting ability. According to the informal survey I did at my school, 80 percent of students have a female sibling that has become hooked on archery. It isn’t because of Hawkeye from Avengers or Robin from Robin Hood that’s for sure!

The obsession over archery has even hit the newspapers! The Atlanta- Journal Constitution states that “Camps all over the state have seen a dramatic increase in the registration for archery camps.” Some of the campers are even younger than expected. The newspaper states in one article that “A second grader that was interviewed during archery practice stated that her love of archery came from her dead-center bulls-eye that she got with her first time handling a bow.” “People started calling me “little Katniss” after that.” The girl said grinning.

Girls have also been portrayed as archers in some book series. Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson has mentioned that Artemis, goddess of the Hunt, uses a bow and arrows as her weapon. The books three and five in the Percy Jackson series state that Artemis recruits young girls to be in her “Hunters of Artemis” group. These girls hunt monsters in packs with bows and arrows as their weapons. Basically, it is an eternal girls’ club with no one underestimating you. Cool, right?

Female archers don’t have to be myths or movie characters to have mad skills with a bow. Take the female Olympic archers from the London games as examples. They put Robin Hood to shame.

Guys all over the state sometimes underestimate us girls at sports. However, if there are guys reading this article you should know that we kick butt!! One thing’s for sure. This truly is the rise of the female archers.

An Olympic Dream

Jessica C.

Lena in a match. She is on the right.

          Every girl has a dream. Some girls dream to be doctors. Some dream to be singers. But for Lena Johnson, her dream is to be an Olympic athlete. This dream is now becoming a reality as Lena prepares to tryout for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

          Lena started fencing when she was eight years old. She grew more serious with it in middle school and within one year of fencing, she had become the U.S.A. national champion for her age division.

         Fencing is a sport where two opponents use swords to fight against each other to earn points to win.

         Not only is she able to stay in shape with her fencing (she simultaneously plays soccer), but she has the opportunity to travel the world for competitions. She has been to Poland, Germany, France, Italy, and Hungary with her fencing.

         The idea of being able to compete in the Olympics came when many of her friends went to London on the U.S.A. fencing team. Lena knows that making the team won’t be easy, but she’s willing to work hard. She’s spoken to Daryl Homer, 2012 fencing Olympic athlete, about her chances, who has reported that her chances of making the U.S. Olympic team are extremely good. She keeps a picture of Daryl Homer on her binder as well as pictures of the Olympic rings. This is a meaningful symbol to Lena, who states, “Every time I drive past the Olympic rings that hang next to the Braves Stadium in Atlanta from the 1996 Olympic Games, I think to myself "One day that will be me." I just want to show that it's possible.”

Left Over Girl Scout Cookie Recipes

 

By: Peyton Lea H.

Wondering what to do with those left over Girl Scout cookies?

Well, here are some creative recipes to help you enjoy those extra cookies even more!

Tagalong Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons shortening
1 box crushed Tagalongs

Directions:

1. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, confectioners' sugar, and finely crushed Tagalongs with hands to form smooth stiff dough. Shape into balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each ball. Place on prepared pan, and refrigerate until firm.
3. Melt shortening and chocolate together in a metal bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water. Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat.
4. Remove balls from refrigerator. Insert a wooden toothpick into a ball, and dip into melted chocolate. Roll the balls in crushed Tagalongs or add Tagalongs into the melted chocolate. Return to wax paper and remove toothpick. Repeat with remaining balls. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set. Makes sixty balls.

Samoa Cupcakes

Cake Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
1 pkg Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares Milk & Caramel
1 box finely crushed Samoas

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk; beat well. Stir in the finely crushed Samoas. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full.
3. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Frosting Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup half-and-half cream

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

Sweetened coconut flakes

16 whole Samoas

Directions:

Combine the butter, half-and-half and brown sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and stir in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Set the pan over a bowl of ice water and whisk or beat with an electric mixer until fluffy. Frost cupcakes when they are completely cool. Sprinkle sweetened coconut flakes on top and garnish with a whole Samoa. Makes 16 cupcakes.

Thin Mint Frozen Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups milk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 sleeve finely crushed Thin Mints

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

3 cups cubed ice

Directions:

Add the sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, Thin Mints, milk, vanilla extract, peppermint extract, and ice in a blender and turn on high. (crush Thin Mints in a food processor before you add them) Blend until frothy. Pour in cups and garnish with crushed Thin Mints, Marshmallows and/or whip cream, and a whole Thin Mint. Makes 4 cups.     

Famous Girl Scouts

By: Hayley P.

     There are so many famous people that used to be Girl Scouts! Just to name a few, there is Dakota Fanning, Taylor Swift, Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, and Abigail Breslin! See there are people just like you. There might be a girl at your school that is a Girl Scout who doesn’t tell anybody. Maybe that girl is you. Just be yourself even if that means you stand-alone.

Dakota Fanning

Hillary Clinton 

(right) Chelsea Clinton

Taylor Swift

Abigal Breslin

Unknown Sports

By: Savannah F.

We all know the common sports played in the United States on TV, but do we know the sports played in other countries? Most of you don’t look at other sports but there are millions out there. That’s why I’m going to explain three so you can try them out.

            The first is Octopush. It is played just like regular hockey but underwater. Each team has six players and they wear goggles, snorkels, and have hockey sticks. It is very popular in other countries, especially Belgium where they have many college teams and professional training as well.

            Another sport is wife-carrying. It originated in Finland in the 19^th century and was based on men stealing wives from other villages. Today men race each other with their wives on their backs. The winner is crowned. Traditional wife-carrying is only played in countries that have villages now. This sport is becoming more rare because countries are going away from the village type environment.

            This sport is last and for a good reason. It is my favorite! It is called Man vs. Horse Marathon. Men or women race against horses to see who is the fastest. In its 10-year history, the race has only been won by humans twice.

            That’s pretty interesting right? I didn’t know this wonderful world had so many interesting sports. I hope that you look into more of these sports and try them.

destination: Northern Rock-N-Wilderness Adventure

By: Hunter F.

In the summer of 2012 I travelled to Ely, Minnesota to Northern Lakes Girl Scout canoe base.  My trip lasted two weeks. The trip I went on was called Northern Rock-N-Wilderness adventure, a Girl Scout destination. A Girl Scout destination is when Girl Scout goes on a trip inside the United States or goes to other country on a trip without her troop to other Girl Scout bases. Mostly younger girls like me can only go to domestic or US destinations but that doesn’t stop me from having great bunches of fun! 

The main part of my trip was canoeing but we did a lot more stuff than you would think we did. On every trip you have a choice. You can rather drive or fly to your destination. I always pick flying. Saves gas and it’s just a whole lot of fun taking off! On this trip I had to take two flights: one to Minneapolis and then from there to Duluth. Both flights were fun and I could see beautiful scenery from my window on the plane.

When I landed in Duluth, cheery faces and girls from all over the US greeted me. I met girls from the following states: Georgia, California, Wisconsin, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Arkansas, and Maine. There were 13 girls. Three from Georgia, three from California, one from Wisconsin, one from Virginia, two from Pennsylvania and one from New Jersey and Arkansas and Maine. All of the girls were very cheerful and bright.

When we left the airport and went into Duluth all I could see out my window was a city on the shoreline of a mini ocean called Lake Superior. We visited Lake Superior and took some photos. It’s such a beautiful thing to look at. We also got a chance to swim in Lake Superior and I learned how to skip rocks! After that we went to the cabin where we would stay at for a few days.

At the cabin all we had to sleep on were mattresses on the floor but it was fun because the floor was very creaky. After a few days we went to Ely, Minnesota. We kayaked at camp Wolf Ridge where we learned how to get out of a kayak safely if we flipped over. Then we went rock climbing on Ely’s Peak. That was so beautiful. We all had to climb a hiking trail up to the peak where we met the instructors who taught us how to belay and climb. Once I got to the spot where I am in the picture to my left I could see across Ely’s beautiful forest and mountains. After we went climbing we made it to our canoe base. We spent a whole day learning how to portage, where you carry a canoe across your shoulders on trails, swamp, and how to paddle. Then the next day we became female voyageurs without the beaver fur hats though.

For the rest of the trip we saw bears, ate around a campfire, slept in the tents we set up every night, ran from mosquitoes (because apparently they are immune to bug spray), saw ancient Indian paintings, and paddled under the stars while listening to the Loons call. When we got back we all had something in common. We all were mosquito bitten, tan, muscular and very dirty and we were all family.

                                Even though this trip sounds like it may be hard I promise you it was the most fun I have had in a long time! I loved this trip and you will to. If you don’t want to go on this trip there are always many options to choose. I just hope you all get the chance to go on a destination in the future. Click here to learn more about Girl Scout destinations.