Laurel Service Unit Events

• Celebrating 70 Years in Laurel
• Pioneer Day
• Girl Scout Banquet

Events from the 2000 - 2001 Scouting Year

• Bridging and Awards Ceremony
• Junior Girl Scouts in Helena

Events from the 1999 - 2000 Scouting Year

• Hands Across the Border

The year 2001 marked seventy years of Girl Scouts in Laurel. The first troop was formed in 1931, and the program has been going strong since then! Current and former Girl Scouts and families, GSTTC representatives, local dignitaries and the general public all joined together in celebration of the 70th birthday. Activites included a flag ceremony featuring girls from all levels in Scouting, a uniform fashion show, memories of Girl Scouts in years past, slide show, troop and memorabilia displays, and refreshments.

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In recognition of the upcoming Lewis and Clark celebration, women's roles in history, and to just plain have fun the Laurel Service Unit celebrated Pioneer Day on Sunday, September 30th.
The day opened with Dr. Woerner portraying a member of Lewis and Clark's expedition. L.D. Collins invited the girls into his teepee to learn about the life of the mountain man. He and his friend "Fiddler" entertained with songs played on the guitar and dolcimer. L.D.'s teepee and hat contain the Crow Indian symbol for storyteller, and a great story teller he is!
Crafters from the Michael's store in Billings taught traditional crafts - beading and soapmaking - with a contemporary twist. And Linda Swenson, a local quilter, helped the girls stamp out quilt squares and learn some basic stitches. The quilts made from the squares will be displayed in town and will later be donated to charity. Laurel's Pioneer Day had coverage in the Billings Gazette! You can read the on-line article here!

Groovy, man! The annual Girl Scout Banquet was held Saturday, March 16th at St. Anthony's Parish Hall. This year's theme was Celebrating 70 years with the '70s. What a great time we had!

After dinner, several troops provided entertainment - including lip-synched renditions of YMCA and Shake your Booty! Back for the second year, the 7th Ave. Band provided live music for dancing. They played great classics for about 2 hours, including the evening's best song, a custom rewrite of "Cat Scratch Fever". Their version was much better, dedicated to all those great Girl Scout leaders!

Many thanks to Junior Troop 259 for planning this fun and successful event!

The Laurel Girl Scout troops held thier annual bridging and awards ceremony on Sunday, June 3, 2001 in the West School Gymnasium. Brownie Troops 86 and 160 both be bridged to Juniors, and Junior troops 123, 124, and 259 presented end of the year awards. Daisy Troop 401 celebrated thier own bridging ceremony on May 24, and Junior Troop 104 was unable to attend as they attended Hands Across the Border.

"Nearly 40 Junior Girl Scouts from Laurel traveled to the state capitol in Helena . . . to learn about and participate in state government.
Rep. Jeff Laszloffy and his wife, Jennifer, met the girls at the capitol building March 18 and gave the group an extensive tour of the building. . . . They were able to visit both the Senate and the House chambers where the representative explained the function of the legislature.
. . . After leaving the capitol building, the Girl Scouts . . . met with a Helena Jr./Cadette troop that provided dinner and entertainment for the Laurel Girl Scouts.
A visit to the Supreme Court for a presentation of the justice system began the day Monday morning . . . In addition to seeing the Supreme Courtroom the Girl Scouts visited the judge's robe room, lounge, and offices. Afterward the group visited the Old Governors' Mansion and the Montana Historical Museum.
The Girl Scouts hosted a lunch for Sen. Ken Miller, Rep. Laszloffy, and Speaker of the House Dan McGee following thier tours. After lunch the Girl Scouts broke into two groups to perform flag ceremonies in the House and Senate. . . . The Girl Scouts spent time after the ceremonies observing houses of the legislature from the galleries.
The last event . . . was an appointment to visit with Gov. Judy Martz. Unfortunately, Gov. Martz was called away at the last minute. Lt. Gov. Karl Ohs stood in for the governor, answering the Girl Scout's questions and posing for a picture with the group.
On the way back home the Girl Scouts took a quick driving tour of Last Chance Gulch to view the unique and historic architecture of the area"

Twenty four girls from three local Junior troops attended the HATB event in Regina, Saskatchewan over Memorial Day weekend. Excited girls boarded the bus Friday morning at 6:00 am and rode 9 hours to reach their final destination. Once in Canada they joined girls from other Montana troops as well as Canadian Guides from Regina. The constant rain on Friday didn't dampen the spirits of the girls (although many of the tents didn't fare as well!) and by Saturday everyone was having a great day at the Guide Olympics. Later that night they got to build comets and launch rockets with volunteers from the university EYES (Educating Youth in Engineering and Science) progam. After breaking camp on Sunday the girls visited the Saskatchewan Science Center and attend the IMAX movie "Dolphins". The busload of tired girls returned to Billings at about 9:00 pm Monday evening. The event was a great success, and many girls (and leaders!) could be heard talking about next year's HATB in Sidney!