April 2004 Volume 30 Issue 4  

Council Puppetry Troupe and History Committee team up

by Evelyn Vittone, Council Puppetry Troupe Coordinator

What do Juliette Gordon Low and puppets have in common? Did she create a puppetry badge when she started Girl Scouts back in 1912? No, but recently two Council groups joined hands to teach the story of Juliette Low through the use of puppets.

Cynthia, a five-year member of the Council Puppetry Troupe, worked with the History Committee to produce a new skit, called “It Started With Daisy” to be performed for younger Girl Scouts. The skit takes place when a Brownie falls asleep before her troop meeting, dreams that she visits a troop meeting in the past with Juliette Low, learns all about Juliette Low and how she started Girl Scouts, and is then awakened by her current leader to take part in her troop’s Juliette Low birthday celebration. The skit debuted at Brownie Magic at Camp Agnes Arnold in November with Council Puppetry Troupe members Cynthia and Elizabeth bringing the puppets to life. The Brownies at the event loved seeing Juliette Low brought to life through the puppets.

Linda Cacciotti, Susan Wier, Margaret Smith, and Nancy McGuire were the seamstresses from the History Committee who sewed and clothed puppets from the Council Puppetry Troupe’s Neighborhood Crew in puppet-sized reproductions of the type of uniforms worn by Juliette Low, a current Brownie Girl Scout, and a current leader. Sewing for the small puppets may have been a challenge, but they are all eager to sew more uniforms to be used in future skits.

Cynthia worked on this skit as part of her Silver Award. She interviewed History Committee chair, Margaret Sheriff to see what stories about Juliette Low might be interesting to younger girls. She then wrote the skit in the style she learned from the already popular Kids on the Block, Inc. puppets used by the troupe. Cynthia said, “Writing a skit was harder than I anticipated, but I loved the end result!” The Council Puppetry Troupe thanks the History Committee for this new partnership between the two groups.

The Council Puppetry Troupe is open to all girls in fifth grade and above and offers the opportunity to perform with the variety of puppets owned by GSSJC. Girls are encouraged to write skits for use at events and to perform skits already available. Several girls in the troupe have used their involvement and skills to earn a variety of Girl Scout awards. The History Committee has already said it would like more girls to work with them on other stories from our history that could be told with puppets. The next Council Puppetry Troupe training will be September 12 at the Girl Scout Center.

History comes alive with help from dedicated volunteers

by Laura Leonard

Have you ever thought about what Girl Scouts was like when your mom was a Girl Scout, or maybe even your grandmother, or maybe even your great-great grandmother. Well how about instead of sitting around thinking about it you go out and see what it was like.

Located in Room 104 at the Girl Scout Center on Southwest Freeway in Houston, you will find all the answers to your questions with exhibits that date back to the early 1900s. These exhibits change three times a year so there is always something new to look at. You can take troop tours of the center and visit the mini history museum.

Back when the museum began in 1992 there was not enough in the collection to have an exhibition so the History Committee had to borrow from various Council members’ personal collections. Through the years the History Committee has collected enough donations to rarely have to borrow for their exhibitions these days.

There are many themes that the exhibits showcase, but one of the girls’ most favorite is the vintage uniforms. Troop leaders can check out treasure chests from the History Committee. These chests contain games, pictures, stories, activities, and a replica of an old camp uniform of black bloomers and white middy blouse.

Do you know what swaps are? The History Committee has a hat a lady donated from when she was a Girl Scout. It is decorated with swaps she gathered while traveling to different states.

There are many displays located throughout the Girl Scout Center. Margaret Sheriff explains, “There are many pictures of Juliette Low, our founder, displayed in our lobby. On the second floor, Girl Scout dolls and the WAGGGS World Centers are featured in separate exhibit cases. The Claire Schlumberger International Room, Room 315 on the third floor, features photos of Council members who where among the first to take Girl Scout trips out of the USA.

Portraits of the Council founders hang in the boardroom where they ‘supervise’ all meetings in that room. Other photos and posters hang throughout the building.”

Not only is there history about Girl Scouts at the Girl Scout Center, but also there is more to be seen at the Girl Scout camps. Camp Agnes Arnold has Treasured Time, which showcases the history and legends of the camp. Camp Casa Mare showcases history of the USS Juliette Low. Camp Misty Meadows has exhibits with memorabilia from the first equestrian camp, Peach Creek Ranch.

Everything at the camps and in the Girl Scout Center are all donations from people’s private collections. No Girl Scout money funds these collections. Anyone who has Girl Scout items that they would like to donate should call program