Memorabilia

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Gifts for Girl Scouts

This month’s history exhibit comes straight from the pages of vintage Girl Scout Christmas catalogs.

 

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1930 catalog

 

Starting in 1928, Girl Scouts published holiday-themed catalogs in addition to annual uniform and equipment catalogs. Leader magazine, when it existed, also had full-page ads with gift suggestions.

The National Equipment Service, which publishes the catalogs, sells the basics: uniforms, handbooks, badges, and camping equipment. But it also sells a range of other products: jewelry, casual clothing, books, and accessories.

Unfortunately, these trinkets often wind up in the trash when a girl decides she’s “outgrown” Girl Scouts. Sometimes the cheapest items become the rarest collectibles.

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The Archives and History Committee has many of these gems in our collection, but we rarely have the opportunity to show them off.  We decided to take a few pages from these catalogs and match up the items included.

 

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Brownie play clothes, pennant, dictionary, stationery, and records.

 

 

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Penguin sweater, headbands, trash can, wool cape, and gloves.

 

 

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Yes, that’s Girl Scout wrapping paper at the bottom!

 

 

What’s on my wishlist this year? This stylish housecoat from the early 1940s.

 

1941 Robe

Vintage Girl Scout Online Museum

Don’t forget the matching slippers, too!

 

1941 Slippers

Vintage Girl Scout Online Museum

The display will be at the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital main office, 4301 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC, through January. Items are also on display year round at our Archives and History Program Centers.

©2017 Ann Robertson

 

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Meeting Minnie: Crowdsourcing History

Minnie Hill Uniform

Minnie Hill’s uniform

I knew it would be fun to share Minnie Hill’s uniform with everyone. Writing that post became even more exciting as I discovered details about her life. What I didn’t expect, was how many readers would join the search for more about Minnie.

Readers jumped into Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com, and more. Different facts were posted on different platforms, so I’ll gather them together here.

First, readers asked about the uniform’s provenance. They came from the family of Janet McIntyre of Chevy Chase, Maryland. Janet had been an active Girl Scout leader beginning in the 1950s. Like many leaders, she accumulated many, many, GS materials over the years, and troops could borrow items, such as these vintage uniforms, for meetings and ceremonies. Janet passed away in June 2015 (age 94). Her children discovered the uniforms as they prepared to sell the house and contacted the council to inquire about donating. They aren’t sure where or when their mother acquired this uniform–one of many.

Biography

Minnie Mosher Hill was born September 30, 1903, and died August 25, 1988. She never married and lived first with her mother, and later with a sister, Eleanor. After attending college, she initially worked as a secretary in a Washington law firm. She then spent 20 years working at the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf.

Her obituary shows Minnie’s interest in history and genealogy. She was an active member of the Colonial Dames Society, serving as regional chairman and on the national board.

Picturing Minnie

Several readers fired up PhotoShop to try to digitally repair our one confirmed image. Not only is the original torn, it is partly stuck to a plastic cover, which makes it difficult to get a clear image to work with. The brownish version is from Mel Squiers, the reddish one from Merena Cadorette.

 

 

Yearbook

But the prize for the best contribution goes to Stan Myles, from my own Service Unit. Several people had suggested looking for Minnie in old copies of the Central High School yearbook, but I haven’t had time to go to the DC Public School Archives.

Stan took the search a step further and discovered that, like his own daughter, Minnie is a graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park. He sent this page from Minnie’s senior yearbook:

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Minnie Hill in the 1925 University of Maryland yearbook

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Historian Stan Miles, without Minnie

I had hoped to take a picture of Stan with Minnie’s uniform at our council’s Back to Troop kickoff last weekend, but I decided against displaying the uniform when I couldn’t arrange appropriate security for it. (The hotel wouldn’t let me build a moat.)

This photo will have to do.

Thank you to everyone who helped tell Minnie’s story!!

Minnie is buried in Washington’s Rock Creek Cemetery.

©2017 Ann Robertson

 

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Letters from Camp #2

Today’s camper missives come from Rockwood, a national camp outside Washington DC from 1938 to 1978. These young ladies used picture postcards purchased at the Rockwood Trading Post.

 

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Rockwood Manor Postcard (GSCNC Archives)

 

Dear Aunt Elsie,

I left Wed. after lunch and should be back Friday night. While here we will see the FBI, National Archives, Bureau of Engraving and all the monuments, we will go to the Wax Museum and eat there. This is the place we are staying at and it’s as beautiful inside as it is outside.

Much love,

Barbara

October 1966

 

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Weston Lodge, Rockwood National Camp (GSCNC Archives)

 

Dear Mom and Dad,

We’re having a great time. We heard about the tornado, it sounds like a bad one.

We’re going into Washington now and I can’t write very good. This is a picture of the lodge we are staying at. Well, I’ll write soon.

Nancy

April 1965

©2017 Ann Robertson

 

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Pittsburgh’s Troop 47

Being a Girl Scout archivist is always an adventure. Donations come in bags and boxes, via the mail or literally left on a doorstep. We know to go through the donations carefully. We get lots of old uniform socks, the occasional 20-year old cookie box (with the cookies still inside!), not to mention the potentially hazardous old first aid kits.

One recent donation included a shopping bag full of assorted papers: flag ceremony diagrams, permission slips, the typical troop records. But among the packing lists and kaper charts was this photo:

 

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Captain Irma Gorton and Troop 47 of Pittsburgh, c. 1923

 

At first I thought it was a photocopy,  but no, it is the real thing.  There is some damage to the photo, but it is in remarkably good shape for being nearly 100 years old.

According to the caption written in pencil on the back, this is Troop 47, sponsored by Latimore Junior High School in Pittsburgh. Irma S. Gorton was captain, and the date is estimated as 1923.

But wait…there’s more! These documents were in an envelope in the same bag of random papers:

 

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Irma Gorton’s membership card

 

 

Gorton Certificate

Irma Gorton’s appointment certificate

 

The appointment certificate needs some preservation attention. It has been folded for decades, all four borders are present but delicate. You can also see the official stamp/seal in the lower left corner.

It is only fair to send these items to the Girl Scout Council of Western Pennsylvania, but I wanted to share them first!

©2017, Ann Robertson

 

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Don’t Buy Cookies from an Aardvark

I found this treasure in one of our cookie boxes at the GSCNC Archives & History Program Center in Frederick, MD. (An archival box of cookie sale materials, not a box of actual cookies, although I could use one right now…)

It is a letter-size sheet of paper, folded and printed as a booklet, that tells the story of Girl Scout cookies:

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(GSCNC Archives)

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(GSCNC Archives)

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(GSCNC Archives)

The back cover, in tiny print, reads “J. Moore, 51-4 GSCNC.” I assume that this is the work of Jean Moore, who was once an active member of Nation’s Council (and a plaintiff in the Rockwood case).

I suspect there’s a good story behind this delightful tale.

If it has made you half as hungry as it’s made me, try out the Girl Scout Cookie Locator to find cookies close to your location. Look for the girls in green, blue, brown, or khaki, and beware any aardvarks.

©2017 Ann Robertson

 

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Girl Scout Shoes, Part 2

When I wrote about vintage Girl Scout shoes, many readers shared their memories of various sturdy, sensible oxford shoes.

But one Girl Scout historian emerged as the supreme arbiter of Girl Scout footwear: Merana Cadorette.

Check out what’s in her closet:

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Part of Merana Cadorette’s Girl Scout shoe collection (photo courtesy Merana Cadorette).

Look at those adorable Brownie slippers!!  I am SO jealous!

©2016 Ann Robertson

 

 

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Shoes? Girl Scouts Had Shoes?

Here is another quirky eBay find that wound up in the Nation’s Capital Archives and History Program Center: a sign advertising Girl Scout shoes.

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Get your Official Girl Scout Shoes!! (GSCNC Archives)

Shoes?  Girl Scouts had shoes?

Yes siree, we did. And we’re talking about some very sturdy, very sensible footwear.

In 1921 the national Girl Scout leadership signed an agreement that allowed outside vendors to produce and sell “official” Girl Scout shoes. Each pair sold raised 25 cents for the national organization. Most shoes featured a Trefoil on the sole.

The shoes were available through the National Equipment Service catalog and through the hundreds of stores across the country authorized to sell Girl Scout uniforms, books, and other equipment.

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From Girl Scout Collector’s Guide. Note the address; GSUSA today is located at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. 

Several equally practical designs appeared in the annual catalog over the decades, including green rain boots and canvas sneakers. Some were for “official” wear with uniforms, other were intended for casual outfits. None would make Carrie Bradshaw or any other shoe aficionado swoon.

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Alas, none appeared in the catalog after the mid-1960s.

For more pictures of Girl Scout shoes (even shoe boxes!) stroll over to the Vintage Girl Scout Online Museum.

©2016 Ann Robertson

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Vintage Patriotic Girl Scout Pin

I recently found an interesting Girl Scout pin on eBay, and it turns out to be perfect for marking  Veteran’s Day.

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The Tri-Color pin was described as a way to “add your country’s colors to your trefoil.” It was intended for the collar or lapel and was not considered official insignia.

The 2″ pin first appeared in the Girl Scout catalog in 1944 and sold for 35 cents.

Made out of enameled aluminum, the Tri-Color pin was discontinued in 1948.

©2016 Ann Robertson

 

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Seeking the Silver Fish

“I found a bunch of silver fish!” I recently announced to my family.

“Call the exterminator,” my husband replied.

Then, as a good Man in Green, he corrected himself. “Oh, you mean the other one.”

Indeed, this is what I found in the bargain bin at Jo-Ann Fabrics:

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It’s a string of silver-colored, fish-shaped beads. Each is about 1″ in size. I thought they would be perfect additions to a Juliette Gordon Low costume or a Daisy-themed Kim’s Game.

The Silver Fish was the highest award available to Girl Guides. It could be considered the first highest award for Girl Scouts, because it was listed in the 1913 handbook, How Girls Can Help Their Country, along with the list of the 20 badges needed to earn it. But no Girl Scouts ever did. In fact, some of the “required” badges were not even available in the United States.  Instead, Daisy created a US equivalent: the Golden Eagle of Merit.

In October 1917 Girl Guides redefined the Silver Fish as an adult-only award recognizing outstanding contributions to the movement.

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Helen Storrow (Wikipedia)

Originally the award depicted a whiting with its tail in its mouth. It changed to a swimming fish on a dark blue/light blue striped ribbon in October 1917.

Today the fish is an Atlantic salmon. According to the Girl Scout Collector’s Guide, Lord Baden Powell suggested this species, “a salmon swimming up a river, overcoming every water fall, boulder, and other obstacle in order to reach a quiet place in which to spawn.”

Lady Baden Powell received a specially created golden Silver Fish in 1918.

Three Americans received the prestigious Silver Fish. Lord Baden Powell personally presented the first to JGL at the 1919 national convention in Washington, DC. Anne Hyde Choate and Helen Storrow received theirs at the 1921 national convention in Cincinnati. Choate, JGL’s goddaughter, was national president from 1920 to 1922. Storrow led the effort to build Our Chalet.

 

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Anne Hyde Choate (l) and Juliette Gordon Low wear their Silver Fish (Harris & Ewing photo)

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Anne Hyde Choate’s Silver Fish at GSUSA

Daisy was buried in her Girl Scout uniform, including her Silver Fish, at Laurel Grove cemetery in Savannah.

Anne Hyde Choate’s Silver Fish was donated to GSUSA. Earlier this year, it was on display in the lobby of the 17th floor of national headquarters, 420 Fifth Avenue in New York.

Today Storrow’s fish lives at the Cedar Hill Museum in Massachusetts. 

Thank you to the Cedar Hill staff and volunteers who confirmed the location!

©2016 Ann Robertson

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Who’s That Girl Scout? Virginia Hammerley

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Virginia “Ginger” Hammerley, ca. 1932

Virginia Hammerley is one of the most important women in the early years of Girl Scouting in Washington, DC.

“Ginger” wasn’t one of Juliette Gordon Low’s debutante friends. She wasn’t a wealthy socialite who could donate buildings with a single check.  She didn’t organize troops in poor neighborhoods.

She was simply a Girl Scout; a teen-age girl who loved her sister scouts and the activities they did together. But she preserved her memories in a series of scrapbooks that provide some of the most extensive documentation of Girl Scout troop life during the Great Depression.

About 10 years ago, a relative of Ginger’s contacted Nation’s Capital. They had five of her scrapbooks; would we like them?  You bet we did!

These five albums are chock full of newspaper clippings, photos, holiday cards, invitations to friends’ weddings, and souvenirs of all kinds.

She was an active troop member, taking part in events held around Washington (click images to enlarge):

 

Earning her Golden Eaglet award:

Visiting the Little House, attending a national convention, and buying a brick for a new national headquarters building:

Convention name badge for Virginia Hammerley, a staff member of the Girl Scouts of the District of Columbia.

Ginger was one of the first campers at Camp May Flather when it opened in 1930, attended regular camp reunions, and became a counselor herself.

 

Like any teen-ager, she also saved holiday cards, celebrity photos and more:

Born in 1913, Virginia Hammerley was the only child of Charles and Mabel Hammerley. She grew up at 1819 Ingleside Terrace, NW, Washington, DC.

After graduating from McKinley Technical High School, she took a job with the Girl Scouts of the District of Columbia, but she apparently was let go in 1941.

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Hammerley ObitI did a little research to find out what became of Ginger and was so sad to discover that she did not live happily ever after.

After the Girl Scouts, she took a clerical post with the Department of Agriculture.

Her father passed away in 1935 and Ginger and her mother moved. first to Iowa Avenue NW, then into an apartment together at 721 Fern Place NW. Mabel died in 1953.

Two years later, on the night of October 17, 1955, Ginger locked her front door, engaged the night chain, picked up a pistol, and took her own life.

I can only imagine what circumstances led to that fateful night in 1955. After spending so much time reading and handling hundreds of items that she carefully clipped, pasted, and preserved, it feels like losing a dear friend.

Ginger likely had no idea that her memories and mementos would still be around decades later, treasured records used by Girl Scouts and historians. Just this summer a graduate student spent days viewing scanned copies of the scrapbooks for a research project.

Virginia Hammerley may be gone, but she is hardly forgotten.

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©2016 Ann Robertson