Make New Friends and Keep the Old. One is Silver and the other Gold
Our original Brownie troop #504.We are all aged 6-7. Three of this group stayed involved through high school senior year. Troop #498 joined us in seventh grade and also lasted the duration. Our new Troop was #596. (Author second from left in the back row. Cathy and Sue are first and second from the right in the first row.)
Long, Long Ago, in a place that now feels very far away, I, usually a squirmy seven-year-old, sat spellbound in my brand-new Brownie uniform at my very first Brownie meeting. We were learning a song that was simple, yet prophetic:
Make New Friends and Keep the Old
One is Silver and the other Gold
I pondered the import of those words. Yes, I was there to make new friends, but old friends who were like gold? My mind stretched to take in the concept.
So began an adventure of friendship, outdoor exploration, and travel with the Girl Scouts that continued without pause until I and my sister scouts were graduating high school seniors.
No stranger to studying for school lessons, in Scouting we learned to tie square knots and bowlines. For our family trips our moms would plan all the meals, but for Scouting, we girls, young though we were, would sit around in patrols and Plan Our Own menus. It was heady stuff! We discussed, we compromised. For the Jewish scouts, we always brought kosher all-beef bacon. For a diabetic scout, we conscientiously considered her needs. We cooked our meals ourselves with our mess kits and loads of aluminum foil. We all learned to enjoy both familiar foods as well as meals outside our usual habit. (Perhaps a new verse to the song should be introduced: Eat new foods but keep the old…)
We went camping. We learned to roll up our own sleeping bags and set up tents. We learned to be self-reliant as well as to help each other. Our parents weren’t there. Maybe it would take two of your friends sitting on that sleeping bag for you to manage to squeeze it tight enough to roll, but you found a way.
Our travel was extensive. In seventh grade we camped in Yosemite and had our first taste of backpacking. Subsequent years brought us to Sequoia, Catalina Island (offshore from southern California) and later to Mt. Lassen. In between the big trips, we made regular forays into the local wilderness for weekend trips. As a finale, our senior year we earned our way to take ourselves to Hawaii. And, oh yeah, we also fundraised.
All along the way we had fun. We laughed. And sang. Had more fun. And sang some more.
And then high school was finished. We went our separate ways. Different colleges. Husbands, children. Careers. Some kept in touch, but for the most part we scattered. But were we done?
Oh, no, we were not.
Last Thursday, June 2, we met up with our golden friends once again for our 51-year reunion. If I tell you it was amazing, you’ll just have to imagine HOW amazing it was. It was zero to warp speed instantly after fifty-one years of separation.
After about five months of intense texting, calling, zooming, and planning, not to mention locating some of the flock who had strayed really far away, we met at the UC Berkeley Women’s Faculty Club where one of our own is the manager.
Berkeley Women's Faaculty Club https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y8UJ9600x8
What a distinguished and fine old lady the Faculty Club is. It is Persian rugs and oak paneling. It is gracious warm hospitality. Established in 1919, it is even thirty-four years older at 103 years-old than any of us. Shaded by abundant mature redwood trees, it is a serene island of repose in the middle of a bustling university and the city that surrounds it.
We took up where we left off. We yakked and laughed. We ate, we walked. We laughed and yakked and laughed some more. We sang! We shared our Life and career stories, as well as our family stories. Surprisingly, while some reminiscing did occur, our discussions centered more on our lives since Girl Scouting. While some of our body parts (like our hearts!) have expanded and most of us sport silver hair, we recognized each other immediately. Both roughened and smoothed by the passage of time, we have emerged experienced yet still resilient.
We continue to care enough about each other to pitch in for the common good for our reunion, including planning impromptu food and car-pooling, and planning shared activities that suited us all. We happily submitted ourselves for Covid testing and mask wearing. We share a certain political and ethical activism. Girl Scouting taught us as young girls to consider the needs of the individuals as well as the group and we maintain that outlook today.
As one of our songs reminds us:
Remember all the fun we had
Remember good times and the bad
Remember, Maybe we’ll come back someday
Maybe we’ll come back someday
For now, (and now that we’ve achieved the nearly insurmountable task of finding everyone,) we are hoping to do this again before another fifty years goes by. Maybe later this summer, or next year. Maybe in southern California where we have another big contingent of long, lost troop mates.
One thing’s for certain, we still have plenty to talk about!
While in Berkeley we celebrated the birthday of Sue (far right). I am at the far left. We are both in the Brownie photo. Can you spot us? (Hint, she is second from the right in the front row of the Brownie photo.)
Some comments shared post reunion:
“What an extraordinary weekend we had.” Sue
“The Best with the best people,” Cathy
“An experience like no other,” Beverly
“Can’t stop thinking about it and so happy we were able to reconnect,” Pam
"I had so much fun catching up with everyone" Karen
“Amazing times 10 to the 23rd,” Julie
Back row: (l-r) Julie, Pam, Ann, Karen, Bonnie, Diane.
Front row: (l-r) Cathy, Sue, Beverly.
UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens
PS, This reunion is the reason I had to strike last prompt. Sorry, not sorry!
Long, Long Ago, in a place that now feels very far away, I, usually a squirmy seven-year-old, sat spellbound in my brand-new Brownie uniform at my very first Brownie meeting. We were learning a song that was simple, yet prophetic:
Make New Friends and Keep the Old
One is Silver and the other Gold
I pondered the import of those words. Yes, I was there to make new friends, but old friends who were like gold? My mind stretched to take in the concept.
So began an adventure of friendship, outdoor exploration, and travel with the Girl Scouts that continued without pause until I and my sister scouts were graduating high school seniors.
No stranger to studying for school lessons, in Scouting we learned to tie square knots and bowlines. For our family trips our moms would plan all the meals, but for Scouting, we girls, young though we were, would sit around in patrols and Plan Our Own menus. It was heady stuff! We discussed, we compromised. For the Jewish scouts, we always brought kosher all-beef bacon. For a diabetic scout, we conscientiously considered her needs. We cooked our meals ourselves with our mess kits and loads of aluminum foil. We all learned to enjoy both familiar foods as well as meals outside our usual habit. (Perhaps a new verse to the song should be introduced: Eat new foods but keep the old…)
We went camping. We learned to roll up our own sleeping bags and set up tents. We learned to be self-reliant as well as to help each other. Our parents weren’t there. Maybe it would take two of your friends sitting on that sleeping bag for you to manage to squeeze it tight enough to roll, but you found a way.
Our travel was extensive. In seventh grade we camped in Yosemite and had our first taste of backpacking. Subsequent years brought us to Sequoia, Catalina Island (offshore from southern California) and later to Mt. Lassen. In between the big trips, we made regular forays into the local wilderness for weekend trips. As a finale, our senior year we earned our way to take ourselves to Hawaii. And, oh yeah, we also fundraised.
All along the way we had fun. We laughed. And sang. Had more fun. And sang some more.
And then high school was finished. We went our separate ways. Different colleges. Husbands, children. Careers. Some kept in touch, but for the most part we scattered. But were we done?
Oh, no, we were not.
Last Thursday, June 2, we met up with our golden friends once again for our 51-year reunion. If I tell you it was amazing, you’ll just have to imagine HOW amazing it was. It was zero to warp speed instantly after fifty-one years of separation.
After about five months of intense texting, calling, zooming, and planning, not to mention locating some of the flock who had strayed really far away, we met at the UC Berkeley Women’s Faculty Club where one of our own is the manager.
Berkeley Women's Faaculty Club https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y8UJ9600x8
What a distinguished and fine old lady the Faculty Club is. It is Persian rugs and oak paneling. It is gracious warm hospitality. Established in 1919, it is even thirty-four years older at 103 years-old than any of us. Shaded by abundant mature redwood trees, it is a serene island of repose in the middle of a bustling university and the city that surrounds it.
We took up where we left off. We yakked and laughed. We ate, we walked. We laughed and yakked and laughed some more. We sang! We shared our Life and career stories, as well as our family stories. Surprisingly, while some reminiscing did occur, our discussions centered more on our lives since Girl Scouting. While some of our body parts (like our hearts!) have expanded and most of us sport silver hair, we recognized each other immediately. Both roughened and smoothed by the passage of time, we have emerged experienced yet still resilient.
We continue to care enough about each other to pitch in for the common good for our reunion, including planning impromptu food and car-pooling, and planning shared activities that suited us all. We happily submitted ourselves for Covid testing and mask wearing. We share a certain political and ethical activism. Girl Scouting taught us as young girls to consider the needs of the individuals as well as the group and we maintain that outlook today.
As one of our songs reminds us:
Remember all the fun we had
Remember good times and the bad
Remember, Maybe we’ll come back someday
Maybe we’ll come back someday
For now, (and now that we’ve achieved the nearly insurmountable task of finding everyone,) we are hoping to do this again before another fifty years goes by. Maybe later this summer, or next year. Maybe in southern California where we have another big contingent of long, lost troop mates.
One thing’s for certain, we still have plenty to talk about!
While in Berkeley we celebrated the birthday of Sue (far right). I am at the far left. We are both in the Brownie photo. Can you spot us? (Hint, she is second from the right in the front row of the Brownie photo.)
Some comments shared post reunion:
“What an extraordinary weekend we had.” Sue
“The Best with the best people,” Cathy
“An experience like no other,” Beverly
“Can’t stop thinking about it and so happy we were able to reconnect,” Pam
"I had so much fun catching up with everyone" Karen
“Amazing times 10 to the 23rd,” Julie
Back row: (l-r) Julie, Pam, Ann, Karen, Bonnie, Diane.
Front row: (l-r) Cathy, Sue, Beverly.
UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens
PS, This reunion is the reason I had to strike last prompt. Sorry, not sorry!