Birthplace of Girl Scout founder
NEW ORLEANS (February 8, 2006)— For many Louisiana residents, Mardi Gras is all bout the local parades and festivities. But this year over Mardi Gras, west St. Charles Parish Cadette Girl Scout Troop 923 has plans for an exciting new adventure, a trip to the Girl Scout founder’s birthplace, Savannah, Georgia, one the troop has been planning for two years. According to troop leader Jan Barbee, a trip to founder Juliette Gordon Low’s birthplace is considered a pilgrimage to all Girl Scouts, but is especially meaningful for the girls because they not only selected the location and all the activities but also raised the funds for the trip entirely themselves, through participation in the annual Girl Scout Cookie Sale, candy and nuts sales, bake sales, garage sales, and assembling and selling recipes in a jar and beverage bags during the holidays.
Troop members include Savanna Barbee, Megan Barrios, Brittany Bourgeois, Katelyn Cancienne, Chelsea Chiasson, Kayla Dufrene, Kate Induni, Melanie Induni, Kimberly Kittchner, Anne-Marie Laque, Hannah Songy, and Keeley Townley-Smith.
“I’m very proud of these 12 girls and their parents,” said Barbee. “It was awesome to see the joy the girls expressed when they reached their trip goal, seeing their self-esteem shine as a result of their grand accomplishment.”
The girls have planned a full schedule of activities including a side trip to Tybee Island, Georgia which will mark the first time for many of the girls to see the ocean. They’ll tour the Tybee Island Lighthouse and Museum, Fort Screven, and Marine Science Center as part of a Coastal Georgia patch program.
“At the marine center we will participate in a two-hour Cadette/Senior Girl Scout program, including a ‘Touch Tank’ presentation of live marine animals, and a guided beach walk,” said Barbee. “We’ll spend an hour in the Tidal Marsh, finding and observing fiddler crabs, periwinkle snails and coastal birds. In addition to these activities, we will visit a marsh hammock and salt flats, and take a short hike through the maritime forest featuring various barrier island geology exhibits.”
In Savannah the girls will visit the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace for a house tour and pinning ceremony, as well as participate in a Victorian Venture special session and a little shopping.
“We are dining at Lady & Sons, Paul Deen’s (from the Food Channel) restaurant. Following dinner, we will meet our tour guide for “Scouting for Spirits” walking ghost tour. Our guide will take us throughout the district, past many different places such as inns, restaurants, museums and private homes, where spirits are reputed to still dwell,” said Barbee.
Other sightseeing excursions will include riding the Old Savannah Tours trolley for a tour of Savannah’s historical district. The Andrew Low House, Telfair Museum of Art, Savannah History Museum, Ships of the Sea Museum, Riverfront, and Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room for lunch are just a few planned stops.
“We’ll also go to the Girl Scouts’ First Headquarters and participate in the Moving Forward: 1930-1959 program which focuses on skills and badge work the Girl Scouts of the period worked on,” said Barbee. “It includes learning how to make and use bandages, art, learning about girls from other countries to include uniforms, reading and correcting diary entries from the early years, paper quilting, period games and more.”
The girls, most of who have been in the Girl Scout troop for at least six years, are very excited about their upcoming trip and want to thank the community for its support.
For more information about Girl Scouting in southeast Louisiana, call the Girl Scout Council of Southeast Louisiana at (800) 644-7571 or (504) 733-8220. The Girl Scout Cookie Sale is going on now through March 19. Customers may order cookies by calling the Cookie Hotline at the above numbers or going on their website at www.girlscoutssela.org. Orders will be fulfilled by local troops.
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