LUSELAND ‑ As 2022 nears, so does the 100th anniversary for the Girl Guides program in Luseland. The first group met in 1922 and with a few years off here and there, there has been an active Guiding program in Luseland ever since.
Although it began as strictly a Girl Guides program, the program has grown to include girls of all ages that encompasses Sparks, Brownies, Guides and Pathfinders programs and now totals 30 girls in the community.
The Luseland Girl Guides family aims to encourage and enable girls to be confident, resourceful and courageous to make a difference in the world.
Leaders include Dina Reiber, Brenda Einarson, Katherine Starling, Jean Halliday and Janelle Franko with occasional support from Desirae Venn.
“This year is our second full year of guiding in COVID and it changes things for the leaders,” says Halliday.
“However, Guiders are creative people and they have risen to the challenge. Last year the program was a combination of outdoor meetings, virtual events and 'meetings in a bag.'”
She explained the bags, one for each girl, were filled with items needed for the meetings and were left on the leader’s doorstep and the girls picked them up from there.
The group says they plan to meet outdoors once again and these meetings include campfires, outdoor cooking, night games on the golf course and activity using flashlights. These girls are encouraged to contribute to their community, so are currently working on Christmas cards to be distributed to residents of the Kerrobert long-term care home.
Other community projects have included decorating Main Street with snowmen as well as the annual litter chase around town each spring.
Oct. 16, the Sparks and Brownies sold cookies on Main Street using a drive-through theme, while the Guides and Pathfinders sold door to door.
“Later on in the year we plan to recreate some activities that were part of Guiding in the 1950s, such as Nickel Night, ” says Halliday.
For Nickel Night the Guides set up carnival style events and for a nickel, children can play the games and win a prize.
“In May we hope to have a celebration of the 100 years of Guiding in Luseland to highlight the contribution it has made to the lives of the girls and the community at large.”
