Tag: Our Chalet

Happy Birthday, Lady Baden-Powell!

Girl Scouts and Girl Guides in 146 countries celebrate February 22 as World Thinking Day. They learn about their counterparts in other countries and study one theme worldwide. For 2018, the theme is “Impact.”

Impact World Thinking Day square 2018Thinking Day was established in 1926 as part of the Fifth World Conference held at Camp Edith Macy in New York state.

 

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The Baden-Powells and Juliette Low at the Fifth World Conference

 

 

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The date was chosen because it was the birthday of Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts, and his wife, Olave Baden-Powell, the world chief guide. (Different years, though; they were born 32 years apart!)

I recently learned that between 1930 and 1970, Lady Baden-Powell flew 487,777 miles across the globe. That’s a pretty impressive feat, and I’d definitely like some of those frequent flyer miles!

These trips included the opening ceremonies for Our Chalet, Our Cabana, and Sangam, as well as to Washington DC for the 50th anniversary of Girl Scouting celebration in 1962.

 

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This Thinking Day greeting card, from 1968, seems particularly appropriate for this enthusiastic ambassador of Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting.

 

1968 WTD Card
Thinking Day card from 1968 (Girl Guide History Tidbits)

 

Happy Birthday to Lady (and Lord) Baden-Powell!

©2018 Ann Robertson

Scanner Pro: My Favorite Archival Resource

I am a huge fan of Scanner Pro, which I use to capture documents while I am working in archives. Scanner Pro is an application from Readdle and is available for the iOS platform.  It works on my iPhone, but I mainly use it on my iPad Mini. The app uses the device’s built-in camera to scan documents ranging in size from receipts to newspaper pages.Scanner Pro

Documents can be scanned individually or in batches.  After taking the initial image, Scanner Pro suggests image borders, which the user can adjust.  Next, the user can define the image size (A4, Letter, Legal, Tabloid and more) and type (color photo, black and white text, or grayscale).

Images are saved on the device and can be uploaded as JPGs or PDFs to Dropbox, Evernote,  emailed, or printed.

Scanner Pro is also ideal for documenting the bulky scrapbooks in our council collection. For example, we have a delightful scrapbook assembled by Mrs. Pansy Gregg when her Senior Girl Scout troop toured Europe in 1964. She preserved photos and dozens of souvenirs, especially of daily life aboard the H.M.S. Queen Mary, the ocean liner that carried the troop across the Atlantic.

The app makes it easy to capture the full two-page spreads in her scrapbook.

The inside front cover of Pansy Gregg's scrapbook.
The inside front cover of Pansy Gregg’s scrapbook. I enlarged this to poster-size and have it hanging in my office.

 

An elegant luncheon served aboard the Queen Mary on July 30, 1964
An elegant luncheon served aboard the Queen Mary on July 30, 1964
Senior Troop 1027 boards the Queen Mary en route to Pax Lodge and Our Chalet.
Senior Troop 1027 boards the Queen Mary en route to Pax Lodge and Our Chalet.

 

For screenshots of the app in action, see AppStorm’s review of Scanner Pro.

Apple Computer named Scanner Pro one of its Amazing Productivity Apps of 2014, and slashed the price from $6.99 to $2.99.

Thinking About the World Centres

In honor of World Thinking Day on February 22, the Nation’s Capital Archives and History Committee has created a display highlighting the four World Centres.  (Since the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is located in London, “centre” is the official spelling.)

Many committee members have visited one or more of the centres and shared some of their souvenirs.  (Alas, I haven’t been to any…yet!)  Most of the items came from Sandra Alexander, a member of the Friends of Our Cabana, and Joan Paull, who was the WAGGGS liaison in Washington, DC, for many years.

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Committee members Joan Paull (left) and Ginger Holinka select items for display.
Committee members Joan Paull (left) and Ginger Holinka select items for display.

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Our display highlights four original pen and ink sketches of the World Centers. They are signed “Chris Bachofer,” but I’m afraid I don’t know the story behind them, or how they came to be part of our collection. (Please let me know if you do!)

For more on the World Centres, see their websites: Pax Lodge, Our Cabana, Our Chalet, Sangam.