Julie travels to Ohio for Girl Scouts and family

Julie traveled to Ohio in early October to attend a Girl Scouts national convention and visit with her sister, Cathy, and niece Stephanie.

The Girl Scouts took over the Greater Columbus Convention Center for their 54th National Council Session and an exposition called G.I.R.L. that included speakers and workshops, entertainment, demonstrations and exhibits. "Like a big trade show, all about Girl Scouts," Julie said. The speakers included Chelsea Clinton and Barbara Pierce Bush.

One of the highlights for Julie was an evening sing-along that brought back memories of campfires past.

By having the event in Columbus, the Girl Scouts made it convenient for Julie to attend while visiting Cathy and Stephanie.

That Saturday, Hilliard Darby High School hosted a marching band competition, giving Julie a chance to see Stephanie and the Darby band in action.

Stephanie, a senior, is the band's student president and its clarinet section leader. At one point in the band's show this year, titled "The Bridge," she takes part in a woodwind sextet that performs "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

Here is a link to a YouTube video of a Darby Marching Band performance in September, cued to the start of the woodwind feature.

Before Julie flew home to New Jersey, she and Cathy and Stephanie toured the grounds and greenhouses at the Columbus Botanical Garden. They enjoyed the seasonal displays, which included a lot of pumpkins and chrysanthemums, along with the gardens' regular collection of flowers, plants and topiary.

Julie honored by Girl Scouts for volunteer work

At the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey council's annual Volunteer Recognition dinner, Julie received the Thanks Badge in recognition of her "selfless volunteerism over the years and her lasting commitment to the mission of Girl Scouts." Above, Julie stands with two other award recipients. Behind her are the executive director and two board members of the council.

The award citation noted that Julie has been a troop leader, Service Unit Manager for Scotch Plains-Fanwood, nut-sale manager, religious award liason and recording secretary for the service unit, "and much more." She also served on the committee that guided the merger of three councils into Heart of New Jersey.

In addition, Julie and the other members of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Service Unit team received the President's Award as one of the outstanding teams in the council.

"With a service team comprised of over 25 volunteers, this team spends countless hours planning various activities throughout the year to keep the girls engaged in Girl Scouting," the citation said.

Julie and 250,000 other Girl Scouts fill DC Mall

Julie traveled to Washington on Saturday to take part in the Girl Scouts of America's 100th Anniversary Sing-Along on the National Mall.

Thousands of Scouts, leaders, family members and friends gathered to sing camp songs, listen to musical entertainers and celebrate their pride in Girl Scouting. Organizers estimated the crowd at 250,000.

Washington Post photo. More photos here. Story here.

Julie made the trip on a bus with Scouts and leaders from Scotch Plains and Fanwood, where she continues to volunteer although her own troop has graduated. The day was very sunny and hot, and after a while she and her leader-friends found a spot to rest in the shade.

Others cooled off in the spray from fire trucks that were brought in to provide "cooling stations."

CNN photo

Click the logo below to visit the event page, featuring more photos.

Christine 'bridges' to adult Girl Scouting

Fanwood-Scotch Plains Girl Scouts gathered May 31 to honor girls who had achieved the organization's highest awards, and to mark the passage of Girl Scouts in the class of 2011 from high school to adulthood.

Christine is among 20 girls in the two towns who remained active in Girl Scouts through high school. Fourteen of those were in her troop, of which her mom, Julie, is a co-leader. Twelve of the 20 were present to symbolically cross a bridge to adult Girl Scouting as they near graduation. Above, Christine poses with several of her Troop 441 friends.

Julie is nearing the end of a three-year term as Service Unit Manager for Fanwood-Scotch Plains. This year five girls from the service unit achieved the Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting. This photo of the award recipients with Julie and a Union County government official appeared on the local Patch news web site.

Union County photo

Marching on Memorial Day

Christine and Andy marched and played with the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School band in the annual Memorial Day parade through the two towns.



It was Christine's last official appearance with the band after four years in its flute section. For Andy it was the conclusion of his first year in the band's percussion section.

Julie also marched in her capacity as Girl Scout Service Unit Manager for Fanwood and Scotch Plains.



There are over 1,000 Girl Scouts of various ages in the two towns, and more than 200 took part in the parade.

Stephanie & her Girl Scout troop hit the TV News

UPDATE: Video link fixed!
Click here to see the video of the Girl Scouts on Channel 6.

(You may see a brief commercial first.)

Cathy writes: Stephanie’s Girl Scout troop recently had the opportunity to visit a local television station.

They were the guests of the chief meteorologist, Jerry Martz.

The girls were allowed to be in the studio during the live 6 o’clock news broadcast.

They participated in a special segment when they appeared live with Jerry. He asked them about cookie sales and what other events the troop is doing in the community.



It was very exciting being in the studio watching the news broadcast, even though we had to stay quiet.

We were able to witness the camera operators at work and follow along on the teleprompter.

After the news broadcast, the girls got a full tour of the weather station.

Jerry explained to them all of the various computers that he uses to forecast the weather.

Each girl got a chance to stand in front of the ‘green screen’ used to display maps and other graphics.

They all enjoyed the fact that with their green badge sashes on, parts of their bodies appeared invisible on the camera. This was, by far, their favorite part of the visit!

The girls will all earn a weather badge as a result of their visit, and certainly become new fans of Channel 6 News.

Stephanie is in her sixth year of Girl Scouts, and a member of Troop 348 in the Ohio's Heartland council. On May 12, the Girl Scouts of the USA marked the 99th anniversary of their founding.

Previously on the Birch Street Web: In May 2007, Christine and her Girl Scout troop joined the outdoor audience at the CBS Early Show.

Boy Scout Andy receives more merit badges

At a Court of Awards ceremony Oct. 4, Andy received the Camping and Swimming merit badges he earned over the summer at Sabattis Adventure Camp in the Adirondacks. He also received a certificate for completing the COPE (Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience) program.

As described on the camp's web site, "C.O.P.E. consists of group initiative games, a low course (12 feet and under), and high activities (up to 40 feet high). Some of the activities involve a group challenge while others test individual skills and agility. Participants climb, jump, balance, swing, and find many solutions to a variety of activities."

Andy continues his Scouting advancement

Andy received a pair of merit badges in a Court of Awards ceremony held during Boy Scout Troop 33's annual picnic on Saturday. Here he receives the badges from his Scoutmaster.

Andy moved up to First Class rank in December. The badges he earned this spring (Personal Fitness and Citizenship in the World) are among those required on the path to Eagle rank.

Julie marks 25 years in Girl Scouts

At the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey Council's annual volunteer recognition dinner May 26, Julie received a pin marking 25 years of Girl Scout membership. That counts her 10 years as a scout and three as a young leader, and then 12 years as a leader since daughter Christine became a Daisy.

Earlier Julie received a pin recognizing her 15 years of leadership service. She is currently Service Unit Manager for the Fanwood-Scotch Plains Girl Scouts (Service Unit #56).

Memorial Day 2010 in NJ

In honor of Memorial Day, neighboring Fanwood and Scotch Plains, N.J. hold an annual parade along a 1.2 mile route from downtown Scotch Plains to the center of Fanwood.

This year Christine joined other members of the SP-F High School marching band in playing the "Star Spangled Banner" during ceremonies before the parade and Andy marched with fellow members of Boy Scout Troop 33. Julie, who is service unit manager for the Girl Scouts of Fanwood and Scotch Plains, marched with more than 200 Girl Scouts and parent leaders from around the two towns.

How did you spend Memorial Day? Let us know!

If you're really interested, click the "Continue reading" link below to see videos of all the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts in the parade.

Marking 98 years of Girl Scouting

Julie and Christine helped mark Girl Scout Week at our local town hall and our church.

March 12 is the 98th anniversary of the founding of Girl Scouts in the United States.

Julie, the Girl Scouts service unit manager for Fanwood and Scotch Plains, was joined by Christine and two Brownies at the Fanwood Borough Council meeting Tuesday night. The girls led the Pledge of Allegiance and received the mayor's proclamation of March 7-14 as Girl Scout Week.

A local news web site, the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Patch, covered the event with an article and photos, including this one of the mayor happily receiving some cookies from the Brownies.


Earlier in the week, Girl Scouts wore their uniforms to Sunday services at St. Paul's Church in Westfield, took part in the presentation of gifts and afterward posed for a photo on the church steps.

Andy awarded First Class rank in Boy Scouts

Andy officially received his First Class rank in a Court of Honor ceremony held by Boy Scout Troop 33 in Fanwood on Monday (12/21).

Andy completed many of his First Class requirements during a week at Sabattis Scout Reservation in upstate New York this summer, and was awarded the rank by a Board of Review this fall. He has been a member of Troop 33 since the spring of 2007.

Girl Scout Stephanie bridges to Juniors

Stephanie started her fifth year in Girl Scouts by moving up from Brownies to Juniors.

The "bridging" ceremony was held at a local park where there was an actual bridge for the girls to walk across.

With the move to Ohio last year, Stephanie joined a Brownie troop that had nearly 30 girls.

Most of the girls in that troop are still in 2nd or 3rd grade this year but 4th-grader Stephanie and one other member bridged to Juniors and joined Troop 348 in the Ohio's Heartland council.

The troop meets at Stephanie's school, Hilliard Crossing Elementary.

It's a smaller troop, 8-9 girls, but busy.

"So far they have planned a Halloween party and a sleepover at COSI (a local science museum) and possibly a mother/daughter camping trip," Cathy writes.

"The girls already earned their first badge together."





Topping off the bridging ceremony - cake!

Andy back from a week in the woods

Andy returned home Saturday from a week at a Boy Scout camp in the Adirondacks. His Troop 33 from Fanwood spent the week at Sabbatis Adventure Camp in Long Lake, N.Y.


Frankly he didn't like the camp as much as those his troop has gone to in past summers. But he says he did enjoy being with his friends and "the wacky hijinks that ensued." And he completed some merit badge requirements that will help him earn his First Class rank this fall.

Check back - we may get pictures from the troop

Summer fun begins - in April

Sunny skies, temperatures in the upper 80s... Summer arrived Saturday in the Northeast, and it was a great weekend for those of us with outdoor activities planned.

For Julie and Christine, it was the annual Encampment weekend when all the Girl Scout troops from Fanwood and Scotch Plains take over Camp Hoover in northwestern New Jersey. After a cool Friday night, they had perfect weather for boating on Swartswood Lake on Saturday morning and other activities throughout the day. By the time they left at midday Sunday it was really getting hot.

Christine and friends at Camp Hoover

For Andy, it was the annual Boy Scout weekend at Six Flags Great Adventure. Hundreds of Boy Scouts from around New Jersey camped out Friday and Saturday nights on vacant land Six Flags owns adjacent to the amusement park. They spent all day Saturday in the park and on the rides. The El Toro roller coaster and Batman: The Ride were among the highlights, Andy said. He fulfilled the cooking requirements for a First Class Scout and is getting close to earning that rank.

Left on his own, Dan headed for - can you guess? - yes, the beach. He enjoyed an afternoon of solitary communing with the sea, sand and sky, and of course took some photos.

Sea gulls on the beach at the north end of Sandy Hook,
with the New York skyline in the distance.

The sun sets over Sandy Hook Bay.

How did you spend the taste-of-summer weekend?
Please let us know.
Keep in touch!

Celebrating Girl Scout Sunday

Julie and Christine pose with other Girl Scouts outside St. Paul's Church in Westfield on Girl Scout Sunday, March 8.

March 12 is the 97th anniversary of the founding of the Girl Scouts by Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, Ga.

Keep us posted on your scouting news - and anything else you'd like to share. Call or e-mail us any time.