Hi Girl Scouts!
It is a bright sunny day in the
South of England today. My first post will introduce you to Juliette Low's work
with the Girl Guides, the British equivalent to the Girl Scouts, and two of the
people that helped Juliette Low make American Girl Scouts possible. We don't
hear a lot about them these days but they were very important friends of Juliette
Low and taught her how to be a Girl Scout.
The Girl Guides, organized in
1910 in the UK, were the sister movement to the Boy Scouts and the idea of Sir Robert
Baden-Powell. His sister, Agnes Baden-Powell, was the first President of the
Girl Guides, and wrote the Girl Guide handbook with her brother.
Did you know? Guides and Scouts around the world call Sir Robert
Baden-Powell, 'B-P' or 'The Chief'. He is dearly loved and Thinking Day is set
on his birthday to honor him.
Robert Baden-Powell with Juliette
Low
The Baden-Powells though Juliette
Low would be a great help for the Girl Guides and in 1911 convinced her to join
them. They were right! She organized Companies of Girl Guides in Scotland,
England and the United States. She also recruited some of their best volunteers
for them, including Rose Kerr who wrote several books about the history of Girl
Guiding. Rose Kerr mentions her friend, Juliette Low, in all of her books.
Did you know? In the beginning, no one wanted to
help Agnes Baden-Powell with her Girl Guides. People thought it was scandalous
to let girls romp around in the woods and compete with the boys. But she
never gave up on the girls. We owe Miss Baden-Powell a lot for believing in girls
enough to keep going on her own.
Agnes Baden-Powell with
her Girl Guides
Juliette Low first worked with
Guides in Scotland and is remembered there as the first to organize a Guide
Company in Perthshire. She later became a Guide Commissioner for London. While
she was still a Commissioner in London, she decided to start Guide patrols in
Savannah.
Did you know? Juliette Low's Girl Scouts were first
organized as part of the British Girl Guides and wore the same navy blue
uniforms as the British girls. The material and color was just too hot for
Savannah and soon it was agreed they needed to change the uniform.
In the next few weeks, I'll tell
more about Juliette Low's work with the Girl Guides and her friends, the
Baden-Powells. I'll post some pictures of the village in Scotland where
Juliette Low organized her first Girl Guide company and the Scottish castle
(yes! a real castle!) where she lived.
YGGGS!
Dr D-
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