girl scouts of historic georgia Archives - Girl Scout History Project

Four Years in Savannah

Last week my daughter graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design. (Summa Cum Laude in scriptwriting, I know you want to ask.)

When she opted for SCAD, I knew we wouldn’t get to see her very often, as the SCAD campus is some 600 miles away.

But I’m glad we made the effort to visit this beautiful city. My husband and I became regulars at a Hampton Inn near SCAD, and only partly because of their free waffles.

Husband (left) and daughter at commencement

Over time we walked around the historic district enough times that we no longer need a map.

2014
2019

As we drove over the Savannah River and into South Carolina and back to Maryland, it was easy to review what I’d learned these past years. Most are connected to Girl Scouts, which began in Savannah in 1912.

1. I was already familiar with the bridge when the Girl Scouts of Georgia lobbied (unsuccessfully) in 2017 to have it named for founder Juliette Gordon Low.

2. My daughter had the coolest college job ever, as a docent at the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace. I learned a lot from her about how to bring former residents “alive” in a house museum. After all, tours are just another form of script.

3. I was lucky to have a peek behind the curtain to see Birthplace operations, including the renovated library.

4. I learned more about museum strategies to humanize artifacts. Instead of just showing a uniform, add details about who wore it and what she did while wearing it.

5. I had a fancy dinner in the Birthplace dining room with two of JGL’s great-nieces. They were just as warm and friendly as you’d expect.

6. I learned that shrimp and grits are nature’s most perfect food.

7. And yes, Leopold’s ice cream really is that good.

8. I participated in a GSUSA Task Force on the future of the Birthplace.

9. I didn’t spend nearly enough time at the Girl Scout First Headquarters museum. I don’t remember how many rounds of phone tag the director and I had, but we seldom connected.

10. I learned that if you stand on a street corner and yell “It’s Girl Scouts of the USA” every time a tour guide says that JGL founded the “Girl Scouts of America,” tourists think you’re just a weird Girl Scout vigilante and ignore you.

I deliberately decided not to visit the Andrew Low House or Laurel Grove cemetery. I’m saving them as the reason to return in the future.

Farewell to the Birthplace!!
(and, yes, passing tourists stared)

These four years in Savannah were unforgettable. And yes, I got the patch. All of them!

Hurricane Awareness from the Girl Scouts

Hurricane Matthew is on track to slam into Savannah, Georgia, early tomorrow morning (October 8). Who knows what damage the “holiest” city in Girl Scouting will suffer.

I am extra anxious about the impending storm because my daughter is a sophomore at the Savannah College of Art and Design. In fact, her dorm is on the same street as the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace, about two blocks west.

She evacuated Tuesday night and is home safe in Maryland, but we have no idea when she will return.

But never fear, the Girl Scouts are ready for anything, including hurricanes.

hurricane_prep_ti — Hurricane Preparedness

Several years ago, the Girl Scout Council of the Florida Panhandle issued Hurricane Preparedness Council’s Own badges for Brownies and Juniors. While these badges are no longer available, they contained lessons that are still valid today and that can be applied to many disaster scenarios.

There is also a similar patch program developed by Nation’s Capital and FEMA.

They all teach the same basic lesson: have a plan and review it often. Don’t waste time wondering what you should do, BE PREPARED!

To all of my friends at the Birthplace and First Headquarters, stay safe! We will be thinking of you.

Hurricane Preparedness, Florida Panhandle

Do 5 activities including one starred:

1. Look at a map or globe of the earth. Look for the horizontal lines called latitudes and the vertical lines called longitudes. Any spot on the globe can be pinpointed by the intersection of latitudinal line and the longitudinal line that the town falls on or near. The intersection of these two lines is called coordinates is measured in degrees. Find your city on a hurricane tracking map. Know the coordinates of your city. Learn how to use a tracing map to follow the path of a storm by using the coordinates.

2. Learn the terminology of the storms. Know the difference between a tropical wave, a tropical depression, a tropical storm and a hurricane. Be able to explain “hurricane watch” and “hurricane warning”.

3. Hurricanes are grouped together according to the strength of the storm. A hurricane will fall into one of five groups called categories. Learn the difference between the categories of a hurricane. Find out what categories of hurricanes have affected your area and how each category affected your area in relation to the damage and long term effects felt.

4. Make a hurricane checklist for your family. Include how to decide whether to stay or evacuate. If you evacuate, show on a map what route you would take and where your destination would be. Also indicate what items you would take with you.

*5. Help you family prepare a hurricane preparation kit. Make a list of supplies that you have prepared. Where are these items stored? How do you prepare the house (windows, water supply, outside items) for the storm?

6. Once a storm reaches the strength where it is classified as a tropical storm, it is given a name. What is the history behind naming hurricanes? How are names decided on? Are any names not used anymore and why? Make a chart of hurricane names for 2 different years.

7. Discuss with your troop your personal experience with hurricanes or hurricane warnings. Discuss how you feel before, during and after the storm. Do you and your family feel that you made the best decision whether to stay or evacuate? How do you feel now when hurricane season begins?

8. Invite an emergency management official to visit or take a field trip to the office of a local government, military, or college campus hurricane preparedness department. Learn how information is received into the office and how it is dispersed to the public.

9. With your troop, plan games and activities to do during a hurricane. Discuss what kinds of activities are better that others and why. Share what activities you may have done during a hurricane. Have supplies ready in your hurricane preparedness kit for these activities.

10. Find out about the shelters in your area. Where are they located? How do you decide whether to stay in your house or go to a shelter? Are shelters designed for specific needs such as the handicapped, medical needs, or the elderly? If anyone in your group has ever gone to a shelter during a hurricane, ask them to share their experiences.

11. Find out how hospitals, nursing care facilities, and prisons prepare for hurricanes. What special preparations do zoos, animal shelters and aviaries have to take?

To Savannah We Go

This week we’re taking our daughter, Erin, to college.

As much as I’d love for her to enroll in GS University* full time, she will be attending SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design. At least she’ll be in Savannah.

Every Girl Scout compass points to Savannah, birthplace of our founder, Juliette Gordon Low, and site of the First Headquarters. Both museums are within easy walking distance of the SCAD campus.

But I was delighted to learn that SCAD is forging strong ties with the Girl Scouts.

GS Historic Georgia-SCAD Preservation Patch

SCAD and the Girl Scout Council of Historic Georgia, which runs the First Headquarters, have collaborated to create a patch program on preservation.

Earlier in 2015, SCAD students created a new exhibition and library space at the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace: Girl Writing the World: A Library Reimagined. According to the Birthplace website,

From the 1913 Interpreter badge to today’s Netiquette badge, proficiencies in reading, writing and speaking have played fundamental roles in the growth of Girls Scouts — fostering curiosity, exploration and intellect, as well as in developing their full potential. Tracing the arc of female writers and speakers from the beginning of time to the present, and inspired by muses, goddesses and heroines, the framework for this installation focuses on the themes of Memory, Knowledge, Imagination, Poetry and Wisdom. As a room of their own, this library provides girls of all ages a space in which to see themselves reflected and to find their own voices. Nourishing the senses, it can inspire them to remember, know, imagine, rhyme and reason, and from it, to grow wise — writing the world and making it a better place.

Here’s a look at the process of setting up the exhibit:

I’m glad that she’ll be attending SCAD, a university that realizes the value of Girl Scouting.

I’m also glad that even though Erin will be far from home, Savannah is a warm (as in friendly) welcoming city.

We’ve already found our favorite Italian spot, Fra Li Gourmet, where Lisa is a gracious host and incredible chef. They even provide pasta for several SCAD eateries. At least I know Erin will eat well.

*and what’s up with GS University? The website looks abandoned.