CHARACTERS:
Juliette Gordon Low (Daisy)
Elinor Gordon, her sister
Mrs. Gordon
Mr. Gordon
Lord Robert Baden-Powell
Narrator
Katie
Janet
Cindy
Cathy
(Scene 1) Juliette Low's Living Room; Mrs. Low and Lord Robert
Baden-Powell chatting as Mrs. Low works on clay figure.
NARRATOR: The scene is a castle in Scotland, the time, several years after
the death of Juliette Low's husband. When Mrs. Low's husband died, she
felt that everything was over for her. She tried to do the things that she
and her husband had done, but she didn't enjoy the riding, the hunting or
the parties. Her friends told her she needed a new interest. One weekend
one of her guests was Lord Robert Baden-Powell. At this moment they are in
Mrs. Low's living room. Lord Baden-Powell is admiring the figure Mrs. Low
is sculpting.
JULIETTE: Oh, it's good enough. But my heart isn't in it. How I wish there
was something new to do!
LORD POWELL: New things are not always easy and pleasant. I've discovered
that in my work to establish the Boy Scouts in England.
JULIETTE: Oh, I've heard about the program, Robert. People are calling it
a great game for boys. Tell me about it.
LORD POWELL: You are really interested?
JULIETTE: Very much. I love young people and this sounds like such a
splendid thing for boys.
NARRATOR: Lord Baden-Powell told Juliette how the idea had come to him
when he was in the army stationed in South Africa. The new soldiers he had
to train knew little about nature or outdoor living, and could not stand
the hard life. He described the games and activities he used to teach the
boys how to be self-reliant and resourceful. He explained how his program
would build character, promote friendship and an understanding love for
the outdoors. Juliette is obviously very interested. Suddenly she
interrupts Lord Baden-Powell.
JULIETTE: Robert, why should a program of this kind be limited to boys?
Girls could benefit from the same program. I would like to begin such a
program for Scottish lassies here!
LORD POWELL: Funny, my sister Agnes felt the same way. She has already
organized the sisters of the boys in our troop. They call themselves Girl
Guides.
JULIETTE: That's splendid! I could start a troop here in Glen Lyon.
Robert, I could even take Scouting across the ocean to America. I know
eight or nine little girls in Savannah who would adore it.
(Scene 2 ) The Gordon Living Room. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon and Elinor,
Juliette's parents and sister, reading letter.
NARRATOR: Our scene changes to Savannah, Georgia, Juliette's hometown.
When Juliette announced her plan to her family, they wondered if she would
be successful in carrying it out.
ELINOR: But Daisy is so impractical.
MRS. GORDON: She isn't really impractical. She just does things
differently than most people.
ELINOR: Won't her deafness be a handicap in such a project?
MRS. GORDON: I don't think Daisy's deafness has been a handicap to her
when she has wanted to complete a specific task. Anyway, she will never
hear the word "no" even when it is shouted very loudly.
MR. GORDON: Daisy's always been willing to give a great deal of herself to
make young people happy. I think it is a splendid idea for her to start
this work with girls. We mustn't discourage her.
(Scene 3) Juliette with a group of girls at tea,
NARRATOR: On reaching Savannah, Juliette wasted no time getting her plans
underway. First she phoned several of her friends, told them what she
wanted to do and asked for their assistance and support. A few days later
she invited the girls from a nearby school to tea. She showed them
pictures of the English Girl Guides and told them about the organization
as she had seen it working. The Savannah girls were enthusiastic and eager
to form a troop. So many girls asked to join Juliette Low's Girl Guides
that two troops were formed on that afternoon of March 12th, 1912. Soon
there were 6 active troops in Savannah. That fall it became necessary for
Juliette Low to return to England. While she was gone, the Savannah troops
worked hard.
(Scene 4) A Girl Scout meeting
JANET: Do you suppose this is the right blue for our uniforms?
KATIE: No, I think this is closer to the blue in this picture.
CINDY: I really like this color best, and I think the material would make
a better looking uniform.
CATHY: All right, let's get material and try to make a uniform just like
the one in the picture.
NARRATOR: So with the help of the picture given them by Juliette Low,
uniforms were made. They also used the English Girl Guide handbook to plan
their meetings.
KATIE: We can start our meeting by saying our Promise and the Girl Guide
Laws.
CINDY: We can plan to go on hikes, as the English girls do, and I'd like
to keep a notebook of the birds we see on our hikes.
JANET: Maybe we can meet with some of the other troops once in a while.
This handbook has some games that would be good for us to try with other
troops in Savannah.
NARRATOR: The girls had a great deal to report when Juliette Low returned.
She attended their meetings and with great interest she watched the
activities of her first troops of Girl Guides. She saw that they had their
first experience at camping out --- five days of sleeping under the stars,
cooking over open fires, fighting mosquitoes and avoiding poison ivy. In
1913, Juliette Low changed the name to Girl Scouts. Soon girls from other
parts of America heard of the Girl Guides and asked Mrs. Low for
information to start troops. Other people who had learned about Scouting
in England brought Girl Scouting to their neighborhoods. A national
Headquarters was set up in Washington, D.C. and the name, Girl Scouts of
the United States of America, was adopted. So Juliette Low's dream of
bringing Girl Scouting to the United States came true.
