We were extremely fortunate in 2012 to receive two outstanding collections that contained photos related to the Girl Scouts of America. This increased our number of Girl Scout related photos from just a handful to hundreds of significant images.
The first collection was given by Albert B. Crawford, II, and contains materials from the Crawford/Deeter" family of the Mechanicsburg area. Among the items is a notebook of photos and letters related to Jane Deeter Rippin. Jane was born in 1882 in Mechanicsburg and was a graduate of lrving College. She began her working life as a classroom teacher in Mechanicsburg, but soon moved to Philadelphia where she became involved in social work among underprivileged young women. She became keenly aware of women's and children's needs, and was instrumental in developing organizations that offered wholesome activities for adolescent girls. She became National Director of the Girl Scouts, Inc. in 1919 and served until 1930. Under her leadership the organization grew in numbers and financial stability. She is credited with starting the annual cookie sale. This album is of national significance and contains 26 photos of Jane as well as letters written to her by national figures such as Theodore Roosevelt, John Pershing, and her friend Juliette Low.
Not long after the Crawford accession was processed and an exhibit featuring the Jane Deeter Rippin items was in place, a second large collection related to our local Girl Scouts was donated. This gift from the Hemlock Girl Scout Council of Harrisburg includes thirteen photo-scrapbooks from the 1920s through the 1940s. The scrapbooks were created as a record of each summer's camp experiences and provide in word and image an account of the many scouting activities that took place at the Girl Scout Camp at Pine Grove Furnace. They also show many images of the camp facilities as well as of the Pine Grove area in general at that time. Before the Girl Scouts took over this camp, it was used by the Carlisle Indian School and was known as Camp Sells.
How many of our readers remember buying lollipops, clear toy candy, chocolates, and caramel corn from Little's Home-Made Candies booth in the Old Market House, the Wrightstone Market and at the Carlisle Fair? In 2010 the museum accessioned a large donation of Little's candy making equipment from Joanne Bear, granddaughter of Herbert P. Little.