History of
Girl
Scouting
In Buffalo
| April 18, 1917: Troop # 1-The
American Beauty Rose Troop was registered, with 20 girls paying a
membership fee of $.15 each. Mrs. George Trumble was the Captain & Miss
Ruth Nagel was the Lieutenant. Membership increased each year, & records
of Troop # 1 can be found through the year 1948. 1917: Miss Ada Gates was appointed the first Buffalo Commissioner (equivalent of Council President), meeting as a chartered group at the home of Mrs. Dexter (Susan Fisk) Rumsey . 1919: The Girl Scouts were housed in the Social Services building at 181 Franklin St. The Director was Margaret Wagner. Shortly afterwards they moved to the second floor of 360 Delaware Avenue, the currant Hodge Florist. 1919: Christmas Toy Shop for Needy Children was established. 1920: The Girl Scout Council became a member of the Joint Charities. (Now The United Way) 1920: First Buffalo Girl Scout Council registers 1,000 girls in 44 troops, and 7 troops outside the city. 1921: First Camp at the Kidder Farm, Williamsville. (eventually known as Camp Cayuga) 1922: Camp in Evans opened 1922-30: Resident camping started at Allegany State Park, site of the present "Science Lake". WWII- Camp Allegany's operation was suspended, shortage of fuel and transportation. 1925: First Cookie Sale. 1925: Scouting in the City of Buffalo was divided into 4 districts 1925: Girl Scout Fife and Drums was established, Miss Octavia Sheldon, Director. 1926: Day Camping in the Buffalo Council began when troops of Girls in middies and bloomers could be seen hiking out Main Street to Garrison Rd., Williamsville where Miss Levina LaRusch taught them to build fires and dig an ice box in the ground. City girls took the trolley to the city line. 1926: WNY Scouting Convention was held in Buffalo, 200 representatives were in attendance and each district chose a descriptive name. 1927: First Brownie Troop formed. 1927: Districts in the County were firmly established. County districts were known as A, B, C, D. 1927: The Council owned resident Camp Green Lake, 5 wooded acres in Orchard Park, a gift of Mr. Harry Yates, is dedicated. 1929: Camp Seven Hills, a gift of Dr.& Mrs. Conrad E. Wettlaufer, is dedicated. 1931: The 17th National Council Meeting, the only one that was ever held in Buffalo. Mrs. Herbert Hoover attends. 1932: The Peace House, in Front Park, is dedicated as Girl Scout Headquarters. Miss Louise Goodyear was the Director. Previously known as Fort Porter, this historic turreted building, was built in 1837 by Col. James MacKaye, and was designed like a castle in Scotland. It was located at the foot of the Peace Bridge, and had been the Headquarters of American Forces in the War of 1812. Honorary President Mrs. Herbert Hoover visited Buffalo and presided over the official opening of the former Girl Scout headquarters, renamed the Peace House. 1933: The first Senior Girl Scout Troop is formed. 1935: Opening of Senior Girl Scout Clubhouse, 82 Irving Place. 1935: Girl Scout Fife and Drum Corps disbanded. 1935: Camp Merrie Mill, " The Primitive Camp" the first Council owned Troop Camp, is dedicated. 1937: The first Girl Scout newsletters were mimeographed. An anniversary pageant "Down the Years" was held at Broadway Auditorium. 1945: Camp Sky High opened. It was the first time "all year" camp was available. 1945: Camp Shady Hollow, on the banks of the Historic Erie Barge canal was made available for Girl Scout Camping 1947: The Council celebrated it's 30th anniversary with 440 Troops and nearly 10,000 members. 1949: Canoe trips are started in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada 1950: Camp Thunderbird Ridge was made available for troop camping. 1950: North Star Lodge in Camp Sky High was dedicated. 1951: City Of Buffalo sold the Peace House to the Peace Bridge Authority to accommodate it's expansion, it was razed. 1952: District Concept was changed to Neighborhoods. 1950-53: Headquarters moved to 296 Linwood Ave. The building was purchased for $35,000.When the building became too small for Council use, it was sold and the building was razed. It became a parking lot for the Saturn Club. in 1970. 1954: Vagabond bike trips started. 1955: First Bicycle trips to interesting and educational areas in Western NY 1956: 32 Senior Scouts from Buffalo attended the first national Girl Scout Roundup in Michigan. 1956: The Girl Scouts of Buffalo was a red feather agency of Community Chest. 1958: Camp Hemlock Ridge was acquired. 1959: Camp Seven Hills was divided into 2 camps, Camp Seven Hills (Now Goodyear) and Camp Holland Hills (Now Lakeside) 1960: Associations were adopted. 1961: Lakeside area in Camp Seven Hills was opened September 17 & 18, 1961: Lady Olave Baden Powell, World Chief Guide Of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides, participated in the celebration for the 50th anniversary of Girl Scouts of the USA in Buffalo N.Y. 1963: Program changed to include Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes and Seniors. 1962-63: Land purchased for Camp Springwater, Livingston County. 1968: Membership reaches over 26,00 girls and 3,800 leaders in 1200 troops. Dec. 9, 1970: The new service center on 70 Jewett Parkway was dedicated. The building at that time was a former Mormon Church (ground floor). Scouts built the 2 story section in the back, the walls separating the lounge from room 101,and added a kitchen, and front lobby. 1973: Council jurisdiction was enlarged to include parts of the Holland Central school district in the town of Sheldon in Wyoming County. 1976: The concept of resident rangers at Camp Seven Hills was endorsed. 6/5/88: Dedication of Empire State Lodge in Camp Seven Hills on Lakeside. 6/3/89: Dedication of fireplace in Empire State Lodge, a gift from Mrs. Helena Dinka. 3/12/89: The Girl Scout Gallery of History & Archives at Amherst Museum Colony Park had a grand opening. The Exhibit closed 1996. 3/26/89: The first Annual golf classic at Orchard Park Country Club raised close to $10,000.00. Sept. 1989: LL Green newly expanded at council opens for buying Girl Scout supplies. 1989: First county wide cookie booth sale was held. 1989: The first 2 issues of "The Perspectives" were printed, with program information combined into one resource book for girls and adults. 1992: The Girl Scout Council celebrated it's 75th Anniversary. 1996-97: Marked the establishment of The Irene Taylor Wettlaufer Heritage Society, the new planned giving initiative for the Council. 1997: The Girl Scout Council Of Buffalo and Erie County joined the World Wide Web with the creation of the Council web site. 3/22/97:The Girl Scout History & Archives exhibit opens at Lancaster Museum. 1997: The Educational Scholarship Fund was proposed by Rita Babcock to provide financial assistance to Girl Scouts pursuing a higher education and as an incentive for Senior Girl Scouts to remain in Scouting. October 1998: GSUSA issued an unencumbered charter to the Girl Scout Council of Buffalo And Erie County from January 1, 1999 to December 31, 2003 in recognition of the tremendous progress made between 1994 and 1998. 1999: The Family Partnership Campaign, a new fund raising initiative to benefit the Girl Scout Council was developed. It is an opportunity for families to make an annual contribution to Girl Scouting that will benefit all Girls. Jan.1, 2001: Applications for the Scholarship fund were made available to Girl Scout High School Seniors, who have achieved their Gold or Silver Awards. June 5, 2004: The flagpole by the chalet near the pool on the Goodyear side of Camp Seven Hills was dedicated in memory of Maryann Van Hise from the Swiftwater Service Unit. April 30, 2004: The first "An Evening in Tuscany", a fund raising dinner and auction was held at Banchetti's by Rizzo to benefit the Girl Scout Council of Buffalo. September 9, 2004: The first "Women Of Distinction" dinner was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel recognizing the achievements of women, providing mentoring opportunities for older Girl Scouts and funding local Girl Scout educational opportunities and programs for girls 5 to 17 years of age. Sept.30, 2004: The Girl Scout Council relinquished the lease on Camp Green Lake, because it was not cost-effective for the Council to maintain the land and structures on it. May 21, 2005: The 75th anniversary of Camp Seven Hills was celebrated at camp in conjunction with Earth Day festivities, a Chiavettas chicken barbecue and a campfire. 2007: The Council celebrated it's 90th anniversary. 2007: The first male president, Michael Osika, was elected to serve on the Council's Board of Directors. April 6, 2008: Mrs. Cindy Odom was unanimously appointed as the new CEO of the Girl Scout Council of Western New York. Cindy has experience as a Membership Director and is currently serving as the CEO of the Girl Scout Council of Buffalo and Erie County. She will begin her new position on May 1, 2008 and will be located at the Girl Scouts of Niagara County Service Center in Lockport. May 19, 2008: The Girl Scout Council of Buffalo & Erie County held it's final annual meeting where Delegates voted on the "Plan and Agreement To Merge". July 1, 2008: At 12:01 am The Girl Scout Council of Buffalo and Erie County, Girl Scouts of Genesee Valley, Girl Scouts of Niagara County, and Girl Scouts of Southwestern NY merged to create one high capacity Council Girl Scouts of Western New York, Inc. |
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