Willow Glen Resident
Cover Story
Photographs by Vicki Thompson
Thing Two: Schallenberger Kindergartners (from left) Anthony Santamaria, Sebastian Fernandez and Jack Carlson got into the spirit and all wore their Cat in the Hat toppers for Read Across America Cat in the Hat Day.
Smart Cookies
Today's Girl Scouts are more than just about baked goods
By Alicia Upano
Before women could vote in 1920, before Rosie the Riveter expanded women's role in the workplace during World War II, and before the women's movement of the 1960s and '70s, there were the Girl Scouts.
The Girl Scouts celebrated their 95th anniversary on March 12, including Girl Scout Service Unit 38, made up of girls living in Campbell, Willow Glen and Cambrian. The high school-aged troop presented a layette basket to the first baby girl born at O'Connor Hospital on March 12 in honor of the anniversary.
The anniversary reminds those in the organization about the time founder Juliette Gordon Low changed history.
Low, born in Savannah, Ga., in 1860, had helped her mother organize a hospital in 1898 for soldiers who were returning from the Spanish-American War. Low spent the following years searching for useful employment when she met Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of scouting in England, according to the Girl Scouts website.
On March 12, 1912, Low met with 18 girls and formed American Girl Guides. The name changed to Girl Scouts the following year.
For Low, the fledgling girl-centered organization was not only about preparing girls for their futures in homemaking. Girls, she believed, became self-reliant and resourceful through outdoor activities. She believed the organization would help young woman develop needed confidence and skills that would prepare them for more active lives outside the home, including professional careers.
Those 18 girls nearly a century ago began an international movement. More than 50 million American women are Girl Scout alumnae, including first lady Laura Bush, presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher chosen to ride in the space shuttle, even though her life ended tragically upon takeoff.
Almost 100 years later, nearly 15,000 girls in Santa Clara County are following in the same footsteps. One of the most visible ways people recognize the Girl Scouts is during their annual cookie drive.
The Girls Scout can be found in front of businesses with their popular cookies. Each troop chooses how it will use the money.
Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County Council CEO Joanne Neil says some scouts use the money for community service projects.
Girl Scout leader Rebecca Stamm, whose daughter, Stephanie Micatin, is a senior at Del Mar High School, says girls today are still participating in the historic organization because the group has remained relevant. Stamm leads a senior troop in Service Unit 38.
Stamm says when her mother was a Girl Scout in 1930s, the Girl Scout guide included skills for women of her era, mostly home skills such as cooking and ironing.
Today, the guide covers business and money management, Stamm says. Girl Scouts also have badges that reflect today's culture and the changing times, such as global awareness, adventure sports, stress less and environmental health.
"It exposes my daughter to more than I would have thought of as a mom," Stamm says. The girls, particularly the older ones, select and plan their activities. They have chatted with rocket scientists, helped build a Habitat for Humanity home on Willow Street, gone rock climbing, learned to handle guns safely, and are planning a trip to San Jose's forensics lab.
While Stamm leads the older girls, Leslie Torrance of Willow Glen leads a group of younger girls at the junior level. At a March meeting, the girls socialize and show off their colorful badges. Their vests detail their accomplishments. There is a star for every year in Girl Scouts and special patches for graduating from each level, which moves from daisy to brownie to junior to cadette and finally to senior. They wear their service badges on the front of their vests, and their participation badges on the back.
The juniors are fifth- and sixth-graders at Booksin Elementary School, Willow Glen Middle School, St. Leo the Great and St. Christopher's schools. Many of the girls have been involved since first- or second-grade, and have joined--and stayed--because of their friends, they say.
"If you ask the older girls what they want to do, they just want to sit and talk," Torrance says. "Kids are so busy now that they don't have the time to do it."
Along with spending time with their friends, the girls learn outdoor skills such as building a fire and handling a compass. During a March meeting, the girls discussed how to be a good friend. Torrance chose the discussion to quell squabbles outside of the troop. Some of these girls will graduate into Diane Hall's cadette troop. Hall has been leading the troop for 42 years.
"If you mention Girl Scouts, you run into someone who was in Diane's troop," says Stamm, who was Hall's co-leader before moving into the senior troop. "She has touched many lives."
Stamm says Scouts begin to drop from membership during the middle and high school years, but Hall keeps them engaged through hands-on, challenging activities. She also likes to provide a variety of activities so there is an appeal to a range of interests.
"I want my kids to camp comfortably. I expect them to be able to cook, particularly outdoors. I want some self-sufficiency," says Hall, who became involved with the Girl Scouts while studying junior high education at San Jose State University. "I think it affects other things they do. It gives them a sense of personal achievement."
Camping, and the marksman classes, is what Willow Glen Middle School seventh-grader Tzvia Cahn likes about Girl Scouts. After shooting a single shot from a .22 target rifle, Tzvia says Girl Scouts gives her leadership opportunities she doesn't get in school.
Her cousin Naomi Cahn, who attends Ida Price Middle School, says joining the Girl Scouts is a great way to meet new people and participate in different activities.
"I actually felt I belonged to something," Naomi says.
Neil pointed to research that confirms Tzvia's comments. An all-girl environment allows girls to thrive, Neil says.
"The Girl Scouts is a great equalizer," Neil says. "It gives girls of any background an opportunity to experience the single-gender environment where their skills are honed."
Tzvia's friend Jennifer Foreman says she's learned to be more resourceful. Jennifer, a freshman at Branham High School, says she taps into her Girl Scout-knowledge daily.
In 2005, the cadettes flexed their resourcefulness on a month-long trip to Southeast Alaska. Hall says the girls learned a great deal about compromise and negotiation, as they tried to balance the needs and desires of a large group.
"You bet it's character-building," Hall says.
Although they camped along the way, they also stopped in Ashland, Ore., for the Shakespeare festival and had tea at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, Canada.
"Even when you're camping, you still need to remember you're a lady," Hall says.
For more information on the Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County, call 408.287.4170 or visit www.girlscoutsofscc.org.
