(Riverton, WY) – The Riverton Museum, in partnership with the Girl Scouts of Montana & Wyoming, commemorated the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouts on Saturday, with “Girl Scouts: Past, Present and Future” as their theme.
Highlighted by a fashion show and displays of uniforms, items, books, and photo albums, local Girl Scouts of all ages attended and participated in contests and activities celebrating the history of Girl Scouts in Wyoming.
The event began with attendees reciting the Girl Scout Promise, followed by an honoring of past and present Girl Scout Leaders. Long-time Leader Susan Bronson acted as emcee of the uniform fashion show and gave a run-down of Wyoming’s girl scout uniform history.
The Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming began in 1922 in Casper. “At that time, most uniforms were homemade,” Bronson said. “In 1923, Juliette Low ordered the blue uniforms for the girls, and on special request, you could get a khaki uniform. The girls liked the khaki better than the blue, so in 1928 the blue uniforms went away, and the khaki came in.”
In 1938, they had three groups of Girl Scouts, going by age instead of by grade. Brownies were ages 7-9, Intermediates were ages 10-13, and Seniors were ages 14-17.
1944 brought about a lot of changes. “The girls could not sell Girl Scout cookies because there was an ingredient shortage, so they sold calendars,” Bronson said. “The Senior and Junior Girl Scouts wore green dresses with yellow stars. The Brownies wore brown dresses with short sleeves. Before 1960, badges were worn on the sleeves of their uniforms.”
In the 1960s, the sashes came into play, and there were four groups: Brownies, Juniors, Cadets and Seniors. In the 1970s, the green alpine jumper was introduced to the Juniors. In the 1980s, green blazers were introduced and are still used today.
“Green, white, and blue-striped blouses were worn,” Bronson said. “In the 1990s, Daisies became the next generation of girls, wearing blue tunics. In the 2000s, the Cadets and Seniors went to the khaki color that we wear today.”
After the fashion show, Bronson asked the models if they had a better appreciation for what they wore today, the response of which was laughter and a resounding “Yes!”
“I just can’t imagine girls being out setting a tent up and building a fire in those wool, long-sleeved outfits,” Bronson added. “I think it’s just…amazing.”
The show was followed by a craft activity and refreshments in the basement of the museum.
Information about the Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming can be found by visiting their website at: gsmw.org. More on the history of the uniforms can be found by visiting the Girl Scouts blog page.