Good Citizens

Day 243: In an era when the two groups were almost equally popular, I was a Camp Fire Girl rather than a Girl Scout. My mother had been in Camp Fire, and it seemed that the basic tenets hadn't changed much over the intervening generation. The Scouts focused more on home skills such as sewing and cooking. Camp Fire encouraged girls into the outdoors, and as you undoubtedly can guess, I didn't need a push. Both groups emphasized good moral values and a sense of civic duty.

It was not until after my mother passed away that I discovered among her possessions Camp Fire's handbook of ethical guidelines for girls of her era. I was fascinated by the requirements for some of the elective honors my mother and her teenaged friends strove to achieve. I present for your enjoyment a random selection from hundreds of possible awards included in "The Book of the Camp Fire Girls," 1933 revision.

Home Craft - Pick, dress and cook a fowl.
Housekeeping - Write out an appetizing, balanced, vegetarian diet for one week.
Radio - Construct a crystal radio set and be able to hear over it.
Care of Children - Make a set of practical playthings for a child three years old.
Care of Sick - Make six visits a month for three months to sick in homes, hospitals, or other institutions.
Laundering - Iron for eight hours in two months.
Bird Lore - Make a wild bird your friend without caging. Teach it to eat from your hand or make other friendly advances.
Plants, Trees, and Flowers - Identify and describe ten grasses.
Wild Animals - Describe, from personal observation, the home, appearance, and habits of three wild animals.
Business - Fill a regular salaried postion for four months.
Thrift - Help secure for Everygirl's Magazine an advertiser who has national distribution or is in a position to fill mail orders.
Community Service - Contribute some service to your community in connection with Street Cleaning, Beautifying front yards, Conservation of streams, Conservation of birds, Conservation of trees and forests.

I do not know what my mother's badges mean, although I have her ceremonial gown. Many of the patches have fallen off and been lost, leaving only traces of stitchery and a darker space of fabric where the leather had been tacked down. Her three strings of beads, recognition of lesser endeavours, reach my knees if I put them around my neck. She lived and breathed Camp Fire throughout her adolescence. I was only in a group for two years before we moved to a place where neither Camp Fire nor Girl Scouts were represented. Still, I am proud to say that Camp Fire instilled in me many of the moral values I hold today, and I am proud to have been a Camp Fire Girl.