Generations of Girl Scouts Celebrate 100th Anniversary

Girl Scouts past and present met at Centreville United Methodist Church on Monday to celebrate 100 years of service. 

It was March 12, 1912 when Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girls Scouts, held the first Girl Scout meeting with 18 girls in Savannah, Georgia. Centreville troop 3663 honored the anniversary by throwing a party for all current and former Girl Scouts to celebrate the beginning of the organization (the writer's daughter is a member of the troop). 

Troop #3663, an Ambassador troop of thirteen juniors, hosted the event. The troop started in 2001 and many of them received their 10-year pins last year. The girls are active in many other sports, choirs, clubs and work with the younger scouts quite a bit.

The older girls set an example for the younger scouts and teach them leadership, give them ideas, and encouragement. The troop has completed many service projects including making and delivering baby baskets to a shelter, greeting , working at local camps, etc.  Many have applied to be part of the Congressional Aide program run by the local council, GSCNC. The troop is part of Service Unit 54-11 which sponsored the event. Service Unit 54-11 consists of about 22 troops in the local Centreville area. 

Over 100 local scouts attended the celebration and some families even had three generations of Girl Scouts there. One family included grandmother Janie Hall, her daughter Melody Paschetag, who was a Girl Scout in Arlington, and granddaughter Laura Paschetag, a current Girl Scout in Centreville.

Janie Hall scouted during the 1950s in Charlestown, West Virginia, said the biggest thing she learned from being a Girl Scout was “to help others and to be a friend to your fellow scouts.”

Girls from the hosting troop said they enjoyed scouting for similar reasons.  Isabella Mate said, “I like to help people and spend time with other girls who like to do good for the community and I love our leaders.”

Juliette Low wanted girls to be able to get out of their homes to enjoy time outside with other fellow scouts hiking, camping, playing basketball, learning first aid and learning how to tell time by the stars. The goal of these activities, often reserved for boys, is to help the girls develop into well-rounded, independent young women. Today there are 3.2 million Girl Scouts, including Gabby Dagata, who said she scouts “to make the world a better place, to go green and for world peace.”

The events on Monday included a graffiti wall where girls could write their favorite Girl Scout memory, a cupcake walk, a song station where girls sang along some old favorites, a dance station and a swap (keepsake) making station.

There were uniforms from past years, Girl Scout handbooks, pins and other memorbilia on display. The oldest item was a Girl Scout handbook from 1933. A “traveling museum” was also on display on loan from the Girl Scout Council.