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.”
Thinking Day was established in 1926 as part of the Fifth World Conference held at Camp Edith Macy in New York state.
The Baden-Powells and Juliette Low at the Fifth World Conference
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.
This Thinking Day greeting card, from 1968, seems particularly appropriate for this enthusiastic ambassador of Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting.
Thinking Day card from 1968 (Girl Guide History Tidbits)
Happy Birthday to Lady (and Lord) Baden-Powell!
©2018 Ann Robertson
