On November 11, Edith “Jackie” Ronne
attended Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council’s Power of
a Promise Breakfast. A former Girl Scout and Sea Scout, Jackie
was the first American woman to set foot and winter on the Antarctic
continent. She accompanied her husband, polar explorer Finn
Ronne on his fifteen-month Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition.
The expedition left the Port of Beaumont on January 25, 1947.
It was the last private volunteer expedition from the United
States of America.  As
Expedition Recorder-Historian, she wrote news releases for the
North American Newspaper Alliance, and kept a daily history
of the expedition’s accomplishments. She has served as
president of the Society of Women Geographers and is the recipient
of a special Congressional Medal for American Antarctic Exploration.
She has recently published a book, Antarctica’s First
Lady, about her experiences that includes excerpts from her
personal diary describing daily life and the challenges the
explorers faced. |
Jackie's
book describes her experiences as an Arctic explorer. |
|  After
the breakfast, Cora Ann Blytas presented Jackie with a proclamation
from Houston Mayor Bill White, marking November 11 as Edith
“Jackie” Ronne Day. Jackie took time to sign copies
of her book for fans. Later in the afternoon she traveled
to the Clifton Steamboat Museum Complex in Beaumont to celebrate
the opening of the Ronne Museum Exhibit.Edith “Jackie”
Ronne exemplifies the ideals of the Girl Scouts founder, Juliette
Gordon Low. Her pioneering spirit, intellectual curiosity
and sense of adventure represents the best of what Girl Scouting
is about. It was a truly memorable day.
|
