Last week I presented a piece of Rockwood National Girl Scout Camp memorabilia to the current owners of Elenore Hoover’s home.
Not related to Lou Henry Hoover, Elenore had a profound affect on the Girl Scout movement, not only in Pennsylvania but for campgrounds across the United States.
Who Is Elenore Hoover?
Elenore was born and raised in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, which is slightly west of Gettysburg and just across the Maryland border.
The only child of a prominent local family, Elenore earned degrees from Goucher College, in Baltimore, and Columbia University, in New York City. She returned to her hometown and taught English at the local high school.
In 1934 Elenore established an exchange program between Waynesboro High and McKinley High School in Honolulu, giving her a reason to spend a full year in Hawaii and to return often.
Hoover and Pennsylvania Girl Scouts
Elenore resigned from her teaching post in 1937, at age 36. With a comfortable inheritance from her father, she became a full-time Girl Scout volunteer. She was elected president of the Waynesboro Girl Scout Council when it formed in 1940. Two years later, Waynesboro became part of the new Antietam Girl Scout Council, and Elenore was again selected president.
Elenore served as Region III camping chair from 1943 to 1945, overseeing camps in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington DC. She then supervised all volunteers in Region III from 1945 to 1950. Elenore was elected to the GSUSA Board of Directors in 1950, where she chaired the national camping committee.
She also became chair of the staff/volunteer committee that managed Rockwood National Girl Scout Camp, located in Potomac, Maryland.
Miss Hoover’s Camps
Elenore hoped to be actively involved in Rockwood’s operations, as the camp was just 70 miles from Waynesboro. Her trips were infrequent, however, as a chronic heart condition kept her bedridden for months on end. She was hardly idle, though. Elenore was a prolific letter writer, carrying on lengthy correspondence on Girl Scout matters. She also used the time to write a history of Waynesboro.
In 1951, Elenore led efforts to purchase a camp for Waynesboro Girl Scouts. It was renamed Camp El Wa Ho (ELenore WAynesboro HOover) after her death. It was replaced by a new facility in 1958, purchased in part through Elenore’s estate, and the name was carried over to the new camp. Today it is known as Camp Liahona and owned by the Latter Day Saints.
Elenore Hoover Shelter at Rockwood
Elenore died of a heart attack at home in 1954, at age 52. Her Region III colleagues wanted to create a significant memorial for her, and they raised $2,620.
Rockwood served as a model camp and often tested new facilities, standards, and products. In 1953, camp consultant Julian Salomon had an idea for a structure that could extend the primitive camping season into the spring and fall. His design featured a large wood pavilion, with a stone fireplace, water spigot, and latrine. With a paved floor and large canvas curtains, the structure could block rain and wind. However, GSUSA had no funds to realize the project.
That’s where Region III came in. Everyone agreed–Salomon’s shelter could be built–must be built–for $2,620 or less. With a combination of donated funds, supplies, and professional services, the project came in on budget. Dedicated in 1960, the new Elenore Hoover Shelter featured a bronze tribute plaque.
When GSUSA sold Rockwood in 1981, part of the 92-acre site transformed into a new county park. The Hoover Shelter, however, fell just outside the park’s boundaries. Instead of trying to move it into the park, the shelter was abandoned, the plaque removed. Neighborhood developers opted to keep the shelter for community use, finally tearing it down around 2004.
The bronze memorial plaque eventually wound up in the custody of the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital in 2000. I’ve been tripping over the 40 pound plaque since 2015 and have hoped to find it a good home.
Historic 1912 Hoover House
Elenore Hoover’s home and its contents were auctioned off in 1954. The house changed hands many times, serving as a restaurant once and even as a nursing home. Now it is a gorgeous bed and breakfast owned by Pamela and Steve Barry.
Pamela, a former Girl Scout herself, was delighted to accept the plaque.
I think the sign has finally found its forever home. It only took 50 years!!
© 2025 Ann Robertson, writer, editor, Girl Scout historian, but NOT a Girl Scout employee.