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Council History

Girl Scouting has a long, proud history. The Girl Scout Movement began on March 12, 1912 in Savannah, Georgia. Our founder, Juliette Gordon Low recognized the fun, friendship, and power of girls growing together. She started this organization with a phone call she made to her friend where she said, “I have something wonderful for the girls of Savannah and for all of America…and we are starting it tonight.” That was 94 years ago - Juliette was an amazing woman and was very much ahead of her time. We still honor her values and her teachings today.

Our membership is part of a regional organization called a council.  The first Girl Scout troop was organized in Tulsa in 1917 and was called the Sunflower Troop.  In 1923, the first Council in Tulsa (called the Tulsa Girl Scout Council) was started with 15 troops, 21 leaders and 190 Girl Scouts.  In 1956, Magic Empire Council was developed and was the largest council in the state of Oklahoma.  On June 1, 2008 Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma was formed by uniting Bluestem, Tiak, and Magic Empire Councils to create a new high-capacity, high-performance council. Tulsa is now the epicenter of a contemporary Girl Scout program embracing 30 counties and 30,000 square miles of Oklahoma communities.

Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma is proud to have a special place in Girl Scout history.  Girl Scout Cookies® had their earliest beginnings in the kitchens and ovens of our girl members, with mothers volunteering as technical advisers. The sale of cookies as a way to finance troop activities began as early as 1917, five years after Juliette Gordon Low started Girl Scouting in the United States. The earliest mention of a cookie sale found to date was that of the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma, which baked cookies and sold them in its high school cafeteria as a service project in December 1917.  Unveiled on May 31, 2008, the commemorative bronze “A Promise To Keep” will be a permanent reminder of the heritage of Girl Scouting.  It is on display at Three Rivers Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma is recognized by local communities as the premier organization for girls, committed to excellence and enriched by pluralism.  Our Council currently maintains 5 Service Centers in Tulsa, Bartlesville, Macalester, Muskogee and Stillwater, as well as 6 various program facilities, lovingly referred to as Girl Scout camps.  They are in high demand and are used all year round.

Our global membership shares a common foundation in the Girl Scout Promise and Law.  These are the guiding foundations of the Girl Scout movement.  Please take a moment to read and reflect on the Girl Scout Promise and Law that have remained virtually unchanged through our history.

 

 
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