Girl Scouts of the USA created the Lou Henry Hoover Memorial Forest program in 1944 as the movement’s official national tribute to former First Lady Lou Henry Hoover.
A devoted Girl Scout, she is the only person to serve as both national (1922-1925, 1935-1937) and honorary national (1930-1933) president. Among her many initiatives, Mrs. Hoover promoted day camps to provide opportunities for girls who cannot go to resident camps.
Mrs. Hoover once told a group at Camp Edith Macy:
Everything in nature has its work to do. We may not always know what that work is, but as conservationists we make every effort to find out. To needlessly kill any form of life, to be unmindful and careless about the condition of any of the natural resources of this country,
is not living up to the spirit of a Girl Scout’s promise of duty to her country.
A Great Need on the Homefront
Following Mrs. Hoover’s death on January 7, 1944, staff at the national Girl Scout headquarters considered several ways to honor her. National Board members also focused on Mrs. Hoover’s fondness for the out-of-doors and camping. They established a Lou Henry Hoover Memorial Fund to collect donations for future commemorative projects.
Mrs. Hoover’s death coincided with emerging threats to nature in the United States. According to Girl Scout naturalist Marie Gaudette, US forests had been
dangerously depleted … by fire (because of the lack of watchers and fighters) and by lumbering. [World War II] has made a great demand on our lumber firms to find new places and produce more lumber.
Marie Gaudette, June 6, 1944
A Popular Subject
Gaudette also noted, “For ten years, the subject of trees, land animals, and birds, have been the most popular nature subjects” across all age levels. GSUSA already had published a popular pamphlet on “How to Make Your Camp Site a Wildlife Sanctuary” and had begun a Ranger concentration for Seniors (high-school-age) Girl Scouts in 1943. Gaudette also wanted to promote appreciation of wildlife. She frequently complained that “We [the USA] are still a nation of snake killers, spider squashers and hawk exterminators.
By building on these initiatives and interests, Gaudette argued, “the project outlined below should take root.”
Lou Henry Hoover Memorial Forests and Wildlife Sanctuaries
Gaudette created a challenging program to designate living memorials to the former first lady. Girl Scouts would help rebuild American forests through careful assessments of existing conditions.
The program had two components: memorial forests and wildlife sanctuaries. Councils could apply for one designation or both, depending on available land. An urban council, for example, might not have access to a forest, but they could plant wildflowers in a city park. The terms are used interchangeably in many publications.
Councils had to submit a detailed, two-part application package to be considered for a Memorial designations:
Part 1:
- Formal resolution by a council’s board of directors of intent to make a specific area a memorial.
- Girl participation in analyzing, planning, developing, and managing the memorial.
- A ten-year development and maintenance plan made in consultation with recognized experts in ecology, forestry, geology, and related subjects.
- Use by the council membership and the council’s community.
- All or part of the memorial kept in an unmanaged area.
- A clear title to the land or a comprehensive agreement with the land owner.
“Girl participation” usually meant assigning troops to survey relevant natural areas and create an inventory of all flora and fauna located within. The survey must take at least one year to complete.
Part 2 required a creating a ten-year plan for improvement, maintenance, and use of the land.
Only then could a council be considered. Once approved, councils had to submit a five-year report and create a new plan for subsequent decades.
GSUSA awarded certificates to approved sites, using money from the memorial fund.
The first certificate was granted to the Dade County Council in Florida in May 1945. Camp Azaela Trails dedicated their Hoover Memorial in California’s San Jacinto Mountains in 1950.
National Memorial Forests, Too
Three National Girl Scout properties gained Hoover Memorial status as well. Camp Macy (1946); Rockwood National Center (1955); and National Center West (1982).
I can’t speak about the registration of Macy and National Center West, but the Rockwood designation was fast-tracked.
On May 24, 1955, Rockwood National Center’s ballroom (yes, this camp had a ballroom, another reason I like it so much) was dedicated as the Lou Henry Hoover Memorial Room.
Evidently President Hoover was irked with the Girl Scouts at that time, because GSUSA had abandoned the Little House in Washington, DC, one of Mrs. Hoover’s signature programs.
Amorita Copeland, director of GSUSA’s development office, hoped the memorial room might somewhat compensate. Barely a month before the dedication, she decided that Rockwood should become a Memorial Forest. Camping and program staff objected. “The Lou Henry Hoover Memorial Forest is a long-term project,” camping director Lee Beckhard tried to explain. “A certificate is awarded after several years of hard work to any camp that qualifies.” (Memo, February 14, 1955)
Undeterred, Copeland arranged to have a certificate ready for presentation at the dedication.
GSUSA left the certificate behind when it sold Rockwood in 1978. Former staff member Lucy Knox found the document and held onto it for eight years. When Montgomery County, Maryland, officials dedicated the new Rockwood Manor Park in 1986, Lucy presented the framed certificate to Rockwood’s new owners. The last time I checked, the certificate was hanging in one of the post-Girl Scout bunkhouses.
Sixty Years Later
GSUSA discontinued the Memorial Sanctuaries project in 2004. By 2004 very few councils were still submitting the required five-year management plans. A few Gold Award projects created Memorials in the 1990s, but the project had essentially become dormant.
The Lou Henry Hoover Memorial Forest and Wildlife Sanctuary program lasted for 60 years. During that time 66 Memorial Sanctuaries were established, protecting 9,266 acres. However, working with lists from GSUSA’s archives, I have only been able to identify 61. I’ll update if I find more.
The Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast has their own program patch that carries on the spirit of the Memorial program.
For further reading: “Eco-Action to Save Natural Areas,” Leader (November 1970): 16-17.
© 2024 Ann Robertson, writer, editor, Girl Scout historian
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