Girls Scouts celebrate 85th anniversary

This article submitted by Linda Stelling on 03/18/97.

The Paynesville Girl Scouts joined Girl Scouts across the country as they celebrated the 85th anniversary of Girl Scouting. On Monday, March 10, the Girl Scouts held a potluck supper to celebrate the anniversary. Awards were handed out to various troops as well as troops leading the group in skits and singing.

It was announced during the awards program, the Girl Scouts sold 786 cases of cookies during their annual fund raiser which equals 9,432 boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

Girl Scout membership in the Paynesville area at the end of 1996 surpassed Land of Lakes Girl Scout Council’s overall average of 11.2 percent of available girls serviced. Membership in the Paynesville area is at 14.7 percent, which represents the number of girls ages 5 to 17 who are registered Girl Scouts.

Paynesville has a total of 94 Girl Scouts divided into five groups: daisies, kindergarten; brownies, 1st to 3rd grade; junior, 4th to 6th grade; cadet, grades 7th to 9th; and senior scouts, 10th through 12th grade.

The Paynesville Girl Scouts attend camps, do service projects and various other activities throughout the year. As fund raisers the Girl Scouts hold bake sales, Girl Scout cookies and in June at Town and Country Days this year will be selling tacos.

Paynesville is a member of the Land of Lakes Girl Scout Council which serves 20 counties in north and central Minnesota. This area has about 6,100 Girl Scouts divided into 675 troops holding group meetings in 120 communities.

In looking through Girl Scout scrap books (1939 to 1945 records), they held camp at the Latterall cottage on Lake Koronis, had a rummage sale as a fund raiser, and toured the New London Fish Hatchery,

In 1955 Paynesville had 58 Girl Scouts. They hosted parties for Mother’s Day, made tray favors for residents at the Good Samaritan Care Center, went on toboggan parties, held get acquainted parties with troops from other towns and bicycle hikes.

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