[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25581]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GIRL SCOUTS OF AMERICA

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                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 22, 2009

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Madam Speaker, as we prepare to mark the 100th 
anniversary of the founding of the Girl Scouts of America, I rise in 
support of H.R. 621, the Girl Scouts USA Commemorative Coin Act.
  On March 12, 1912 Juliette ``Daisy'' Gordon Low assembled 18 young 
girls from Savannah, Georgia, for a local Girl Scout meeting. Low 
assembled these girls for this first meeting with several goals in 
mind. She believed that all girls should be given the opportunity to 
develop, physically, mentally, and spiritually, while at the same time, 
bringing girls out of isolated home environments and into the open air. 
These original Girl Scouts hiked, went on camping trips, played 
basketball, learned how to tell time by the stars, and studied first 
aid.
  Within a few short years Ms. Low's Girl Scouts idea would spread 
across the Nation. Today there are over 3.4 million Girl Scouts in the 
United States, and 236,000 troops or groups worldwide in more than 90 
countries. The United States contains more than 50 million women who 
are Girl Scout alumnae. Girl Scouts became an American Institution on 
March 16, 1950 when it was officially chartered by the United States 
Congress.
  Girl Scouts has a long and rich heritage within my Congressional 
district. The Morris Area Girl Scout Council was established in 1929 at 
their Jockey Hollow location in Mendham Township. In 2007 the Morris 
Area Girl Scout Council merged with two other northern New Jersey 
Councils to form the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey. Girl Scouts of 
Northern New Jersey has three offices including two within my 
Congressional District in Riverdale, and Randolph.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the 
extraordinary achievements made by millions of Girl Scouts for nearly 
one hundred years.

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