Next up, Girl Scout history from the 1980s. Five Great Moments from Girl Scout history in the 1980s. How many do you remember?
Daisy Program Introduced
Starting in 1984, kindergarten-age girls could become Daisy Girl Scouts. Daisies wore simple blue smocks. They did not sell cookies and did not have earned recognitions. Daisy petals were introduced in 2002, petals in 2011.
Brownie Try-Its Introduced
Before 1986, the only recognitions for Brownies were patches for well-rounded troop years. Fifteen Try-Its were offered the first year, with more to follow. The triangle-shaped Try-Its were designed to be non-competitive and encouraged trying new things. Girls had to complete four of six requirements to earn the recognition.
Cookie Sales Turn 50
In 1984 Little Brownie Bakers marked the 50th anniversary of commercial cookie sales with a new cookie: Medallions.
Thirty-three years later, in 2017, Girl Scouts celebrated 100 years of cookie sales.
50 + 33 = 83?
Maybe the Math Whiz badge needs to return.
Teen Uniforms Take Preppy Turn
New uniforms for Cadettes and Seniors (no Ambassadors until 2008) were introduced in 1980. For the first time, both levels shared the same skirt, pants, vest, and sash. They were distinguished by plaid blouses. The Cadette plaid was predominantly green, the Seniors blue. Catalogs described the green pieces as “apple green,” but it was more like Girl Scout guacamole.
I Earned the Gold Award
The Gold Award was introduced in 1980 as the highest award available to Girl Scouts. I volunteered at my local council office, and they handed me the guidelines. Staff said, “We know you’re going to earn it. We’re also going to send every question about the process to you.”
I earned my Gold Award in 1983. Today, I am still mentoring future golden girls as a member of my council’s Gold Award Panel.
This was my era too, and I earned Gold in 1989. Thanks for pointing out the discrepancy in the cookie year patches. I have a 50 Yrs of Cookies patch from when I was a girl on my patch blanket and was very confused when the 100 Yrs of Cookies patch came out a few years ago. I wondered if volunteering for GS had really aged me that much.
And those Cadette unis were HEINOUS! We HATED wearing them. We couldn’t wait to move up to Seniors with its blue colors.
About the cookie years discrepancy: there isn’t a discrepancy in the numbers. The earlier patch marked 50 years of commercial production (1935-1984, inclusive). From 1917 to 1934, Scouts made their own cookies. The second patch marked 100 years of cookie sales (1917-2017). There is text indicating what is being celebrated on both the LBB ad and the 2017 patch.
The only mathematic error is on the 2017 patch: the first sales were held in 1917, so the 100th year was 2016.