State senator Rotundo owes it all to mom
Before her death two years ago, my mother paid for a lifelong membership for me in the Girl Scouts. Her very generous gift meant the world to me, because my mother had been a Girl Scout all her life and scouting had been very important to me as a girl and young woman.
In my life I have belonged to many Girl Scout troops, have had the opportunity to attend Scout camps during the summers, attended a Girl Scout “Roundup” in Idaho one summer while I was in high school and worked as a counselor at Girl Scout camp. Scouting has had a major impact on my life.
It helped me to believe in myself, and the role models of strong women (like my mother) that I found in scouting helped me to believe that, as a woman, I could grow up to do anything I wanted to do. Scouting builds confidence, independence and resilience in girls and young women, giving them a sense of their competence and nurturing leadership skills in them. Scouting taught me important lessons in civic and personal responsibility as well as teamwork.
Finally, my camp experience gave me a love of the out of doors and instilled in me the importance of stewardship for our environment. I wish every girl could enjoy the wonderful experience I had in scouting.
Hurray for Juliette Gordon Low!
Long live Girl Scouting!
Peggy Rotundo, Lewiston

“Scout laws are stilla part of my life” It is with great pleasure that I recall my years as a Brownie, Girl Scout and leader and how it became a seamless part of my life.
I was so proud to wear that uniform to school in preparation for our after-school meetings at the Universal Church in my city.
Our meetings started off with the Pledge and recitation of our laws and then to learning new skills, games and songs. Those skills, games and songs I passed on to the children I taught and to my own children.
The Scout laws are still part of my life and I have referred to them for over 60 years. They reinforced my parents, school and church.
Some memories are very strong. I remember a lovely white haired matron opening her immaculate home to us for tea. Mrs. Hoffman laid out beautiful china and silver for a group of clumsy, awkward girls who probably had never seen such beautiful things. I hope she knew how much we later appreciated that. It taught me the importance of being a good hostess no matter who is being entertained. I think of her whenever I go by the street she lived on.
There were winter carnivals, parades, planting trees on Arbor Day and, yes, going door to door to sell cookies. I remember my neighbors welcoming me and eager to buy those cookies. We had cook-outs and wrapped sticky dough around sticks — the fire enjoyed that treat more than we did!
I invited my troop to come to my house for a cookout and when I told my father he was pretty upset since we did not have a fireplace. I assured him that he had time to build one — he did!
I must have forgotten the scolding I got because a few years later I volunteered him to be the Scout leader at our church. It was 25 years later that he gave up that position.
Our budget never allowed me to go to camp and how I wanted to go. I got my wish when I became a councilor at Camp Wayaka here in Maine. I worked there for three summers. I can still smell the pines, see the boxes of cookies in the closet in the rec room and hear the clatter of dishes as the girls learned to clean up after their meals. My memories of that place go on forever.
Later I became a den mother and a Girl Scout leader with my daughters.
Girl Scouts helped to make me a better teacher, wife and mother. It filled my life picture in a creative kaleidoscope of colors. Those colors are the colors of joy, love, adventure, learning, citizenship and honesty. Those colors are brown and green.
My Dutch friend summed this all up when she told me that when the Americans came to liberate her town in Holland she ran home to put on her Scout uniform so she could properly greet them.
Juliette Low did a great thing.
Janice Mennealy Nutting, Lewiston

“Thankful for such a wonderful organization”
Oh, what wonderful memories I have of my Scouting years. I was just nine years old in 1963 when I moved to a new neighborhood in New York City. I signed up to join a troop that held their weekly meetings in my new school, and a whole new world was opened up to me.
Selling cookies for fifty cents a box was easy. I had my little order book and I went door to door selling thin mints, trefoils, do-si-does and samoas. To this day I think of Girl Scout cookies as a rite of spring.
One night, parents were asked to attend a meeting regarding summer camp. My troop was planning to spend two weeks that summer at Camp Henry Kalfman in Upstate New York. Unknown to myself, my mother signed me up for the two week summer adventure. That in itself was the start of my camping career. My dad, a sailor during World War II, helped me pack my duffle bag, Navy style.
I was a little nervous boarding the bus, but I settled in nicely making fast friends with another girl who was also going camping for the first time. Our summer uniform was green shorts, yellow shirt, green knee highs and yellow flashers. The mornings in the mountains were so cold when we were woken up for the flag ceremony. We ate our meals with the other troops at Cookie Hall. Each girl had a chore to do. Setting the table, being the hopper (that meant getting up for anything that was needed during the meal), the dish washer, the post scrubber, the dish dryer. We would all take turns at each job.
During the day there was swimming and boating. At night campfires, sing-a-longs, making s’mores and making new friends. We also got to sign up for different activities after dinner. Volleyball, archery, and wood carving were just some of the choices.
Just as each morning started with the raising of the flag, each evening ended with Taps. I remember cleaning the latrine and using newspaper to clean the soot from the oil lamps. We would make peanut butter sandwiches for the raccoons at night, so that they wouldn’t trash our garbage. Oh, and how could I forget mail call and the canteen?
Scouting was such a wonderful experience for me, that I made sure that my own children had the same opportunity as well. I have three grown sons who are Eagle Scouts. When my daughter was born, I knew that I would start a troop for her and her friends.
I worked with my girls from Brownies to Seniors, a total of eight years. We had great camping adventures, went on field trips and earned merit badges. Together we did community service projects, sold cookies and learned life skills that we would keep forever.
When I look back on my Scouting years, I am thankful for such a wonderful organization. Juliette Low had a vision of nurturing young girls’ physical, mental and spiritual development. Juliette Low’s dream lives on in every girl who’s life was touched by Scouting. May her dream continue to grow.
Linda Castagna, Turner

From sliding parties to pancakes
I was a member of an Auburn local Girl Scout troop which was headed by Florence (Mrs. Kenneth) Connors.
We had many good times, such as sliding parties in their backyard and learning to cook pancakes in the bottom of a big tin can.
A contest was held to name the Girl Scout camp (in Otisfield). I went to the library and got a book that had Indian names. I won the two free weeks at camp for the name “Camp Wayaka,” which meant “See Beauty.” I certainly was excited about winning and had a great time at the camp.
Mrs. Leroy Greenlaw was also involved in Girl Scouts for years.
Elinor Hansen Brockway, Auburn

“Not all Girl Scouts sold cookies!”br /> I thought that you might be interested to learn that not all Girl Scouts sold cookies!
I now live in South Paris. My Scouting days, however, were in Auburn, Indiana, where we sold “Jell-O” in order to earn our way to camp each year!
I grew up in the Limberlost Council (named after Gene Straton Porter’s Girl of the Limberlost) Troop #518. My family did not have the resources to afford to send me to camp. However, the top salesperson was always granted full scholarship to summer camp. Our family worked together to see that it happened that my older sister was top salesperson, and I followed in her footsteps several years later. I don’t remember the exact cost of the Jell-O, but there was so many boxes for a dollar. That was our selling point! I remember sorting hundreds of boxes of Jell-O into customers’ orders and our home smelling like “tutti-frutti” for months go come, but it was a sweet smell of success when I was able to spend a week on the shores of Lake Webster at Girl Scout Camp.
I also remember that I was a Scout well into my junior high school years and we had the largest group ever to earn their curvebar award. In order to do this, we had the support of our moms. They took Juliette Low’s vision to a new level. Since there were so many of us, the cost of sending us to camp became overwhelming. It was at that point the moms organized themselves and decided to run their own camp. Two of our moms were already our leaders. They organized the badgework. Another mom became the camp nurse, another was the waterfront director, and my mom was the chief cook. It was amazing to see how smoothly it worked! I have such fond memories of the camps led by our moms. Truly, they nurtured our physical, mental and spiritual development. They taught us to be creative when faced with barriers. They also taught us to serve our community and to make our world better in little ways daily.
My Scouting days were a very important part of my childhood and youth. I was able to be a Cub Scout leader for my sons, but it was never the same.
So, I never hesitate to buy Girl Scout cookies. Somehow, they bring back memories of “tutti-frutti” to me!
Once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout.
Karen McComas Ellis, South Paris

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