Once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout

It’s been 60 years since Wilmington-area Girl Scout Troop 72 spent the summer in Europe as teenagers, but the women can remember the trip like it was yesterday. “It was really a major undertaking,” said troop member Janet Robertson. “It was incredible.”

During a recent four-day stretch in Rehoboth, most of the women who went on that trip in 1959 gathered for a reunion. Arranged in a circle, the 13 women recalled what inspired them to go on the trip, how they raised money, cost-saving measures, the trip itself and how they’ve all remained close over the decades.

Not all the women who went on the trip were in Rehoboth; two were absent – Nancy Cockwood and Marti Ranney – and two have died – Rinny Berry and Grayson Govatos.

The women said they were inspired to travel in their pre-teen years after reading about a high-school-aged group from somewhere else doing the same thing. They credited their parents with humoring what seemed to be an outlandish idea and with supporting them as the girls got closer to realizing their goal.

The trip cost $1,000 a piece. To raise money, they sold cookies, baby sat and sold packages of sponges from DuPont. One member’s parent was a doctor who provided the girls with immunization shots for free.

The women had special uniforms made, crossed the Atlantic in the Queen Elizabeth II and visited 13 countries in 8 weeks. To keep track of everyone, each girl was given a number and a suitcase with that number. Some of those well-worn suitcases also made the trip to Rehoboth.

Decades removed, children, grandchildren and careers later, the women traveled from Florida, Maine, Alabama, Washington and Delaware to reminisce. Despite the time, they all said it was easy for them to fall back into old friendships.

“We’re getting old enough now, though, we need to make this every five years,” said troop member Suzanne Fleming, with all the others shaking their head in unison.