In 1973, Caroline Engel donned her Brownie vest and marched to save the Fox Theatre from demolition.
Just 8 years old, she joined other concerned residents who fought to preserve the Depression-era architectural landmark from being torn down to make way for Southern Bell’s new corporate headquarters.
The Girl Scouts taught Engel, now a 46-year-old mother of two daughters, two lessons: the importance of preserving history and standing up for what you believe in.
Monday, on the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts, Engel’s proudest scout memory will be recorded and entombed in a time capsule as part of the centennial celebrations.
In the next several months, thousands of Girl Scouts will flock to Savannah, the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, the Girl Scouts’ founder, to mark the 100-year milestone.
In metro Atlanta, the centennial festivities include a Green Gala this month and a GirlaPalooza festival at Piedmont Park in September.
As it begins its next century, the Girl Scouts remains an influential organization for millions of girls and young women.
But the organization has also had to broaden its mission to remain relevant; the Girl Scouts recently unveiled its first new badges in 25 years.
And the group, long immune from controversy, is facing competition from other organizations for girls, including a conservative one with a strong presence in metro Atlanta that believes the Girl Scouts is too permissive.
Changes over time
Born in Savannah at the end of the Civil War, Low started the first Girl Scout troops in 1912 with 18 girls.
Although she believed it was important for young women to know how to cook and sew, she also encouraged the girls to enjoy activities that were unconventional for her time, including archery, hiking and basketball.
The grass-roots movement grew into what is now the largest girls organization in the country. The vests, the badges, the Thin Mints have become part of the American girl experience, a tradition passed on from one generation to the next.
There are now 3.2 million Girl Scouts (2.3 million girl members and about 900,000 adult members working primarily as volunteers) in the United States. The Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta claims 42,000 members in 34 counties.
The Girl Scouts continue to evolve. Earlier this year it began offering 136 new badges — the first since 1987 — that scouts can earn and sew onto their uniforms.
Girls wanted more challenge, creativity, technology and “fun with purpose,” according to Michelle Tompkins, a spokeswoman for Girl Scouts USA.
The new badges include everything from digital photography and science of style, to social innovator. They deal with critical life skills that weren’t around when Low started the movement, such as learning how to apply good manners on the Web.
Competition for girls
But today’s girls also have other choices.
Girls on the Run, a program combining exercise, self-esteem building and character development, was launched in Atlanta in 2000 and is now available at dozens of local schools.
Meanwhile, the Girl Scouts’ long-standing neutrality on religious faith and homosexuality is causing some girls and women to leave.
And some of them are joining a rival organization, the American Heritage Girls, founded by a Cincinnati woman in 1995.
Patti Garibay decided to create an alternative group because she didn’t like that the Girl Scouts allowed local councils to substitute the word “God” with another word such as “my creator” in the Girl Scout promise.
“For me, as a Christian woman, that didn’t sound right,” she said.
Last year, membership jumped 40 percent — from 13,000 to now 18,000 girls, she said. The group includes 650 girls in metro Atlanta.
A controversy involving Planned Parenthood may be helping to fuel the group’s recent surge.
The Girl Scouts’ critics have seized on a videotaped interview with a former Girl Scout CEO explaining that the scouts sometimes partnered with outside organizations, including Planned Parenthood.
Although the interview was several years old, it resurfaced recently on YouTube and has become fodder for critics.
In February, Indiana state Rep. Bob Morris, a Republican, called the Girl Scouts a “tactical arm” of Planned Parenthood. He said his daughters were switching from Girl Scouts to American Heritage Girls.
The Girl Scouts and Planned Parenthood publicly denied any connection, and other members of Congress ridiculed Morris for his comments.
Marilyn Midyette, executive director of the Greater Atlanta Girl Scouts, also said in an interview that there was no official relationship with Planned Parenthood. She said it’s possible “one of the 1 million volunteers across the country” could ask someone from Planned Parenthood to speak at a Girl Scout event, but parental signatures would be required for troop members to attend.
In some ways, American Heritage Girls is much like the Girl Scouts. The girls wear vests and earn badges. They go camping and complete service projects. They always meet in churches and private schools so prayer can be a part of the meeting.
On a recent evening, girls clad in red and blue vests and handkerchiefs worked toward getting a cinematography badge. They looked at the effects of lighting and made a video.
One by one, girls took turns saying parts of the American Heritage Girls promise in front of the camera: “I promise to love God, cherish my family, honor my country and serve in the community.”
Ties to tradition
Stacy Cordery, author of “Juliette Gordon Low: The Remarkable Founder of the Girl Scouts,” expects the 100-year-old organization to remain prominent, despite the growing popularity of American Heritage Girls and other groups.
“From the leadership opportunities and female bonding to the trefoils and the songs and uniforms, these traditions link mothers and daughters, friends and friends. And I expect 100 years from now, it will still be thriving,” she said. “And let’s not forget the Girl Scouts is every girl. ... The message of Girl Scouts goes way beyond the middle class and offers all sorts of opportunities. Girls who are very poor, girls who could be from the worst part of Chicago can put their money together and could go on a trip to a foreign country.”
The Girl Scouts has remained a constant in Trudy Rudert’s life.
The Duluth woman joined Girl Scouts as a child and has been a troop leader since 1979.
A middle school math teacher, Rudert, 63, said Girl Scouts opened travel and camping opportunities for her. She made lifelong friends and honed leadership skills. She now enjoys leading a new generation of girls taking charge. Recently, she proudly watched her troop organize a “World Thinking Day” event. Her troop led the flag ceremony and made passports for participating scouts.
Rudert celebrated the 50th anniversary at a special event at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. She traveled to Washington to celebrate the 75th anniversary. And for this next historic anniversary, she’ll take her troop to Savannah, where it all started 100 years ago.
She’ll wear her Girl Scout uniform and a special 100th anniversary scarf.
“Maybe I will be able to celebrate the 125th anniversary of this marvelous organization,” she said.
Centennial celebrations in metro Atlanta
Green Gala
A black-tie fundraiser for the Girl Scouts.
Saturday. Tickets $250. 200 Peachtree St., Atlanta. www .gsgatl.org for more information.
Top Cookie Chef Competition
Local chefs bake cookies with Girl Scouts.
May 17. Puritan Mill, 916 Lowery Blvd., Atlanta.
GirlaPalooza
A daylong festival for the entire Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta. More than 20,000 expected to attend.
Sept. 8. Piedmont Park, Atlanta. For more information, go to www .gsgatl.org.
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