In March 2018, the Boy Scouts of America agreed to allow girls to join the Boy Scouts. After months of planning, three of us attended our first meeting as a girl troop linked to Marblehead Troop 79. Over time, we have grown from a group of three Scouts to seven, but we are still looking to expand our troop. Over this past year, we have had wonderful experiences both in town and out of town. In January, we went to the Klondike Derby in Topsfield, where we camped, cooked, and did team-building and skill-building activities like building a stretcher to carry a member who pretends to be injured and using a compass to find our way. At our meetings on Tuesdays, we often join the boys’ troop to do more skill building activities that are not only fun but also help Scouts earn rank by completing the requirements for each rank. Each rank–Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Life, Star, and Eagle–has requirements like first aid, cooking and camping that teach Scouts life skills and encourage team bonding.
At the beginning of the year, we watched and followed along with what Troop 79 was doing, but we learned quickly about the path to scouting. Our first meeting, we stayed with the boy troop and participated in their activities. Two weeks after our first meeting, we went on our first camping trip. Only two of our group of three went because we didn’t have enough younger girls to go with our third member. For this particular trip, we stayed in a cabin, which turned out to be a good idea because it was our first camping trip as a troop and it rained a lot in the night. This trip was great for building friendships with other Scouts as we hiked, ate, and just hung out around camp. This first trip was mostly run by adults, while some of the older Scouts helped with the cooking. Our second trip, the Klondike Derby, was primarily run by Scouts in the sense that we did all the cooking, pitched all the tents, and planned everything for our troop (besides the activities and overall event, which was planned by adults. The point of having Scouts plan and execute events such as the Klondike is to teach leadership to Scouts so that in future endeavors outside of scouting, Scouts will have the skills needed to take charge.
Recently, BSA has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Meanwhile, our local troop will continue as usual, and I hope that the national organization will be able to reemerge with a plan that allows me to continue with scouting, and to participate in even more exciting activities such as hiking the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. If any girls are interested in building leadership skills, participating in scouting adventures, and enjoying strong comradery, we meet at the Clifton Lutheran church every Tuesday night at 7:00 pm.