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.

Three for Three Recipe

 By: Jordan F.

Here are three easy three-ingredient recipe based on three places I have visited around the world.

CHINA – Chicken Won Tons

Ingredients: 
Won Ton Wraps, Ground Chicken, Salsa

Procedure: 
Cook and drain the ground chicken. You can add the salsa to the meat now or in individual won tons. Add some spices to the meat mixture. Place the won ton wraps down and fill them. Brush with butter and bake. Serve with soy sauce. If you’re like me you have a few packets in your refrigerator.

ITALY – Mozzarella Sticks

Ingredients: 
Puff Pastry Sheets, Cheese Sticks, Pizza Sauce

Procedure:
Cut the cheese sticks in half so they are shorter and will fit in the wrapping. Separate the pastry sheets, place them down and wrap them around the cheese. Brush with butter and bake. Use the pizza sauce for dipping.

AUSTRALIA – Lamingtons

Ingredients:
Cake, Chocolate, Shredded Coconut

Note: You can use pound cake found in the frozen foods section or individual sponge cakes found in the bakery section. You can melt chocolate chips with a little canola oil or use a prepared microwavable dipping chocolate that you just heat up.

Procedure: 
Cut the cake into pieces. Melt the chocolate. Dip the cake pieces into the chocolate then roll them in the coconut. Chill.

Make one or make all. Enjoy!

The Life of Juliette Gordon Low

By Lizzie W.

Although the beginning of the New Year marked the end of The Year of the Girl, the 100^th anniversary of Girl Scouting, there is always cause for celebrating the Girl Scout movement. Here’s a brief look at the life of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scout movement.

Juliette was born in Savannah, Georgia on Halloween in 1860 to parents William and Eleanor Gordon. The second of six children, she was a playful, rambunctious, creative girl who enjoyed writing plays and poetry for her family. Her family dubbed her “Daisy,” a nickname that stuck her entire life. As a teenager, Juliette attended boarding schools in Virginia and New York; later, as a young adult, she traveled extensively throughout the US and Europe.

She married William Low, a British man, in 1886. The couple divided their time between Britain and the United States. However, Juliette moved back to the United States at the beginning of the Spanish-American War to aid her mother in nursing soldiers.

Soon after the war, Juliette’s husband died, leaving Juliette feeling purposeless. For six years, she searched for a worthwhile cause to devote her life. Her search ended when she met Lord Baden-Powell, an Englishman who founded the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. Immediately, Juliette knew that Girl Guides was the program through which she could influence the world. She said to a friend, "I've got something for the girls of Savannah, and all of America, and all the world, and we're going to start it tonight!"

With those words, the first Girl Scout troop was formed in 1912 in Juliette’s Savannah, Georgia home. The troop consisted of just eighteen girls, with the first official Girl Scout registered being Juliette’s niece.

Photo Courtesy: Juliette Low Birthplace

Girl Scouts quickly became a revolutionary program for young women; it became one of the first programs that taught girls life skills, rather than just standard “women’s tasks.” An athlete herself, Juliette encouraged girls to get outside, explore, have adventures.  More than that, Juliette made sure Girl Scouts was accessible to all girls, a novel idea at a time when girls with disabilities were largely ignored. Juliette helped disadvantaged girls believe in themselves, for after all, being almost entirely deaf and having breast cancer never stopped Juliette from doing what she wanted.

Juliette died of breast cancer at the age of 67 in her Savannah home. She is buried in Savannah.

Juliette has left a lasting legacy, and in recognition of her contributions to the nation and world, she has received many awards, including having her image on a postage stamp. Most significantly, just last year, in April 2012, President Obama posthumously awarded her the highest award given to a civilian, the Medal of Freedom.

Girl Scouts and Spring Break

By: Allison B.

            For most girls, Spring Break is finally a time for you to relax and visit fun places. A lot of us go to the beach, visit family, go hiking, swimming, or just tour a different state or country. This is a time of year when the weather is nice for just about everything, and we can almost smell summer. There’s a feeling of cheerfulness in the air. But what if you don’t have a trip planned? What do you do and where do you go?  So come along on an adventure to find out what you can do far away and close to home to celebrate Spring Break!

A lot of people think vacations away are the only fun way to spend a Spring Break. But what happens when you realize you have to stay home for the week? Stay-cations can be just as fun as va-cations. Spending time with your family right at home is a really good way to relax and bond with a game night, movie night, or a family cook-off.  But you don’t always have to stay inside even if you don’t have a lot of dough! You might find that you love doing as much where you live, than where you don’t.

            Stephanie Paupeck of the Georgia Department of Tourism knows that stay-cations, when you stay in your state or hometown, can sometimes be more fun and less expensive, than any faraway vacation. The Georgia Department of Tourism created a list of the top 100 inexpensive or free things to do in Georgia including:

• The scenic- touring Georgia’s many beaches, lakes, rivers, canyons, and mountains.
• The historical- visiting President Jimmy Carter’s hometown in Plains.
• The quirky- a photo-op with the world’s largest peanut in Ashburn.
• The cultural- taking in the latest art exhibits and musical performances at UGA in Athens.

Why sit around doing nothing when there’s so much to explore right outside your door?!  For even more ideas, visit the Georgia Department of Tourism website at http://www.exploregeorgia.org/.

Now that you know all about fun ideas for staying at home and going away, I bet you have a simple question in mind: how do other Girl Scouts like to spend their Spring Breaks? After a survey of local Girl Scouts, DING, DING, DING “Survey says!...: 50% of girls surveyed liked to go  to places that were in Florida for vacations. Also, 90% of girls surveyed enjoyed going to places all over Georgia for their stay-cations, whether it be Six Flags, the coast, World of Coke, and many others. And about 60% of girls enjoyed their favorite vacations ever outside of Georgia like Hawaii, Cayman Islands, and Mexico. With all these ideas, get your maps out and let your imagination be your tour-guide!

Unknown Badges

By: Savannah F.

Don’t you just love those popular and pretty badges! I know I do, but I love a lot of those unknown badges too. I wonder how many of you know them? If you don’t know some then you are about to learn more,

           One badge that is super fun is What if I couldn’t badge. It is available to any age level. It’s about showing girls that even if they have a disability they can still join Girl Scouts. It also helps girls understand that just because they have a disability, it doesn’t mean that they cant do things other people do or that they different.

           Another badge is Getting to Girl led – and loving it. Any level of Girl Scouts, other than Girl Scout Daisies can do the badge just in different ways. It teaches you how to lead or how to help lead. If you are dreaming of being a teacher or any type of leader then this will help you to be better.

           If you’re from Georgia then this one is for you! Have you ever felt like you don’t know much about your beautiful Georgia? Well Georgia On My Mind will help. You will learn all sorts of things like people, places, history, food, and other amazing facts about Georgia.

I hope you are interested in some of these unknown badges that you can earn. There are other badges that aren’t in the book. To find them go to the GirlScouts of Greater Atlanta’s website.