Girl Scout Leader Magazine

GIRL SCOUT LEADER JANUARY, 1933 VOLUME X Attics, Barns, Cellars, and Sheds NUMBER 1 Possibilities for Troop Meeting Places By Helen Perry Curtis HE building of a Girl Scout Little House presents and singing, and gtvmg occasional lusty war-whoops. T so many difficulties as to be out of the question for I have seen attic, cellar, and barn rooms successfully most Girl Scout troops. But it is such a great satis worked out at very little expense. The attic room I have faction to Girl Scouts to have a meeting place all their in mind was enormous, with eaves running almost to own, that a care- the floor on both ful consideration sides. It was well of possible Little lighted with dor House substitutes mer w i n d ows, is in order. and of course the The erection m i d d 1 e of the ."' of new buildings room was as high is by no means as the peak of the the only way to roof. At first the provide for troop girls used it just meeting places. as it was, but Within the troop they found it a itself there may little hot in sum be a lucky girl mer, and a little whose family has cold in winter, an attic or a cel and there was lar or a barn big Ehs.o!..!~ ... !t ..10 flat. tnoug for lfuO-p wall spa~e where m e e t i n g s ; or they could hang there may be in a bannrr or a the town some chart or even a one outside the Drawing by Jack Rose picture, and no organization who In a room used for meetings of various groups, the Girl Scout group may place to keep any would give the make movable benches which serve as seats, as foundations for scenery in thing. During the Girl Scouts the group dramatics, as patrol corners, and, if made with box seats, as storage first year they free use of such space for troop flags, handicraft material, costumes, dishes. lf other groups acquired money a place. There use the benches too, the price of the lumber and the cushions could be shared. enough to buy might even be Celotex (a rough, someone willing to rent a barn for a reasonable amount. neutral-colored composition board), with which to line It should be remembered that the room chosen must the walls and the roof. The girls did the job themselves, be large enough for games; central enough to be easily with the help of one girl's father, who knew something accessible, yet remote enough to assure the troop of about carpentry, and some other fathers who were glad privacy; and so situated that a little noise will disturb to help. They liked the looks of the ceiling beams, so no one-for there never was a time yet when a crowd of they left them exposed, paneling the space between them girls could get together without chattering and laughing with Celotex. Along under the eaves they built five-foot CoNTENTS: Girl Scouts tn Emergency Relief. 2 Snow Crystals-and Others. Ill. from photomicrographs by W. A. Bentley........................ .. ... 3 Suggested Badge Work and Program Plans . 4 Editorial Items ... National Association of Community Theatres. Motion Pictm·e Service .. .. ... ...... 6, 7 A Trail of Stars. A Program for Scouts' Own . ... Oh, Lady Moon. Music . 8 Photography Again . 9 Novel Uses for Stamp Collections. .. I 0 Brownie Training Courses and Around the Toadstool (Alice in Wonderland) K. FRANCIS 7, 11 News and Notes of the National Equipment Service............................... ............... .. 12 THE GIRL SCOUT LEADER walls of Celotex, supported by vertical strips of wood; built with a sunken hearth, so that two rows of girls the space behind these walls was divided into four sec could get around it, one row sitting on the floor as on a tion s, each with a paneled door bought at the lumber bench, and the other row behind the first, on benches. yard, so that each patrol might have its own closet. The girls felt there never was such a marvelous place to Under each dormer window they built a wide bench, roast sweet corn or chestnuts, to toast marshmallows, and and the mothers gave them a pillow shower; the pillows to pop corn. Plank chairs, a trestle table made of old ·were covered with sturdy material in plain bright col boards found in the barn, and a feedbin apiece for each ors, so that they might be used either on the benches or patrol as a storage chest completed the furniture, until on the floor. The woodwork and beams the girls painted somebody had the bright idea of sawing old barrels in a lovely robin's-egg blue; some secondhand wicker chairs two for stools.1 The barn was kept from being too barn were painted a Chinese vermilion, and inexpensive apricot like by the presence of sprays of bittersweet in old stone colored theatrical gauze at the windows accented the jars, potted plants, and inside window boxes which were color scheme. One of the girls, who was clever at de nothing more or less than old mangers filled with ivy. sign, volunteered to paint gay Czechoslovakian designs Now the proud possessors of this barn want only one on the door panels. Of course all this took time, but it more thing, when they can afford, it, and that is a stage was such fun that the girls got together often between at one end, where they can give plays and entertainments. meetings, and had a wonderful time watching the evolu Sheds and garages also present possibilities to the in tion of the room. genious; though they are not usually big enough for A cellar room that I saw was less expensive to remodel, games, they will serve quite well if there is a good play and was just as jolly a place when finished. It happened place outside. that the owners had replaced their coal furnace with an One troop which was obliged to share its meeting place oil-burner, so that a great space was cleared away where with other groups of young people constructed four the coal-bins had formerly been. The girls who used wooden benches (see the illustration on page 1). As this room first cleaned it thoroughly, then transformed the seats of the benches were hollow, with hinged covers, it with one coat of cold water paint, applied all over the walls and ceiling. This paint is easy to put on quickly they provided space for the safe storing of Girl Scout belongings when the room was used by others. The legs with a big whitewash brush. It gives the same effect as whitewash, but does not rub or chip off so easily. The of each bench were fitted with metal gliders bought at white paint made the room spotlessly clean and also made the ten-cent store, so that the benches could be easily it lighter. The cement flo_or, after a coat of green ce- moved to form patrol corners; they also proved invalu ment paint, was as good as new. The high shallow win- able as a basis for scenery in troop dramatics. In cases dows were curtained with little tie-back curtains of bright where s~veral groups use the same. roo~, the cost and red calico, at seventeen cents a yard. A tJ:rch benGh-and- prej:lara~l~ f su~h-useful a_::cessones. might be shared. an old bookcase were painted apple-green, and some old Makmg somethmg out of not ung- ls a real JO , l:iut wicker chairs were painted black; cushions for the bench it is good fun as well. The adaptation of a room gives and chairs were covered with heavy material in red girls more chance to develop ingenuity and taste than and green and yellow plaid so that they could also be does the ownership of a readymade cabin. They enjoy used on the floor. It took three girls only a week, and not only the painting, decorating, sewing, carpentry, but Jess than twelve dollars, to transform this room from a the learning about economy, the cooperation in planning, dusty coal cellar to a jolly troop room in which girls the executive practice in making a fair division of labor, may have all the fun they want without disturbing any- and the deep satisfaction of completing a task undertaken. one. The work was completed just in time for troop 1 If a barrel with ends intact is not available, a large peach crate, meeting as a surprise to the rest of the troop. Little by about the height of a half barrel, may be turned upside down, padded, . little, other pieces of furniture were salvaged here and and covered with stout fabt-ic to form a seat-Ed . there by members of the troop, and ·remodeled or painted. The other room I am thinking of was made in an old Girl Scouts in Emergency · Relief harn, and it was the nicest one of all. The barn was so old that its beams and timbers were a lovely soft silvery It is evident from the letters coming into Headquarters gray, and there was a fragrance of hay and horses and that American Girl Scouts are cooperating wholeheartedly su nshine about it. Of course it was much too rustic and in the Welfare and Relief Mobilization of 1932, and simple to think of spoiling it with paints and chintzes. are building a place for themselves in the work of their The floors were scrubbed, the spider webs were dusted communities as suggested in the Round Table discussions down, and a tremendous lot of airing was done.

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