For Vi Ahlquist, Becky Mickle, Jodi Holland and Natalie
Holland, Girl Scouts is more than an afterschool activity. It’s as much of a
family trait as eye color or freckles.
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Vi Ahlquist, second from left, enjoying the outdoors
with her Girl Scout sisters, circa 1937
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It all started when 14-year-old Vi joined Girl Scouts in
1936, setting in motion a tradition that is still a part of her family nearly
80 years later.
Vi was a member of Girl Scout troop number three which met
at Grace Methodist Church in Warren, Pa.
As a young Girl Scout, Vi enjoyed the outdoors with her
friends—hiking, swimming and songs by the campfire.
The troop did many
activities at the church as well. Vi especially enjoyed the connection she had
with her Girl Scout sisters. It’s that spirit of instant friendship that kept
Vi involved in Girl Scouts throughout her life.
Vi’s lifelong interest in Girl Scouts went beyond the Warren
area. On one of her husband Walt’s business trips, of course she wanted to meet
some Girl Guides! She worked with Girl Scouts’ national headquarters in New
York to connect with Girl Guides from Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände while
she was in Germany in 1973.
“They sent an official letter of introduction,” Vi recalls.
She has many souvenirs from that trip, including Girl Guide songbooks written in
German.
When she purchased a vacation home in Findley Lake, New
York, Vi became involved in Girl Scouts there, too. Her granddaughter Hillary
Ahlquist—who lived right next door—was in a local troop.
“Word got around quickly that Vi Ahlquist had gone through
the ranks,” Vi laughs.
Back in Warren, Vi served on the council’s board of
directors, and participated in the 75th and 100th Girl Scouts
anniversary celebrations with her family and fellow Girl Scouts by her side.
Vi stays in touch with the friends she’s met over the years
through Girl Scouts.
“Make new friends, and keep the old,” Vi laughs, quoting a
traditional Girl Scout song.
The women formed a group called the Trefoil Connection which
still meets four times a year. At the December holiday party and business
meeting, members vote to allocate the group’s annual donation. They’ve donated
funds to help maintain GSWPA camps and often purchase Girl Scout Cookies from
local troops.
Becky Mickle
Vi served as a Girl Scouts’ Neighborhood Chairman for many
years, responsible for recruiting new Girl Scout troop leaders.
“That’s how I became involved as a troop leader,” laughs
Becky Mickle, Vi’s daughter. “Mom recruited me and babysat Jodi, who was a baby
at the time, while I went to meetings.”
Becky was only a Girl Scout leader in Warren for a year
before her husband’s career in the Navy took them to new places to call home.
For the next 26 years, the family lived in Illinois, Massachusetts, Virginia,
Mississippi, New Jersey, South Carolina and California.
Girl Scouts helped Becky throughout all the moves and
transitions by connecting her daughter to the instant friendships her mom Vi
always enjoyed in Girl Scouting.
“That’s why I wanted to get Jodi involved in Girl Scouts,”
Becky says. “It was a way for her to make new friends every time we moved. And
it worked.”
After her husband retired from the Navy in 2003, Becky’s
family—including Jodi, her husband and son—returned from San Diego to Warren.
Their cars and trucks full of belongings formed a cross-country caravan that
went straight to Vi’s house.
“We came back for the weather,” laughs Becky.
Jodi and Natalie
Holland
Jodi Holland made the most of her years as a Girl Scout in
New Jersey, Mississippi and, lastly, San Diego. She has sashes full of badges
and a pile of scrapbooks, documenting a happy childhood full of fun and
friendship through Girl Scouting.
Jodi is overjoyed to pass that tradition on to her daughter
Natalie, the family’s fourth generation Girl Scout who was born in 2004 after
the family returned to Warren. Jodi co-leads her Junior Girl Scout troop.
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Vi Ahlquist (seated), Natalie Holland, Jodi Holland
and Becky Mickle
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When Jodi asked Natalie why she became a Girl Scout, Natalie
replied, “It’s a family tradition, and I want to keep the tradition going.”
Continuing traditions is very important to the girls in
Jodi’s troop. For their Bronze Award project, the girls are creating a CD of
Girl Scout songs. A few of the songs the troop is including in the project
bring fond memories back for Natalie’s great-grandmother.
“We sang ‘Linger’ when we were Girl Scouts, too,” Vi
remembers.
Girl Scouts for life
The tradition that Vi started in 1936 is one her family
carries on with pride. In addition to Becky, Jodi and Natalie, several other
women in Vi’s family have made the Girl Scout promise, including daughter Mary
Hofer and granddaughters Emily Hofer Gausman and Hillary Ahlquist.
Vi has enjoyed the connections that Girl Scouts has provided
her and her family over the years. “There’s an old hymn, ‘Blest Be the Tie that
Binds,’ and I feel Girl Scouts does that,” Vi says. “Girl Scouts is the tie
that binds us together.”
Through Girl Scouts, Vi feels that she’s had experiences she
couldn’t get elsewhere.
“I’m just a regular, ordinary old grandma,” Vi laughs. “But
I have had a lot of opportunities.”
