El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-08-08
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der of the Camp Fire Girls of America.
In this password is condensed the real
spirit Of the order. II is formed of
the first two letters of the words
work health and love-" and these
three words viii appeal to all as rep
resenting the keynote OF the REQUIRE
ments OF true womanhood. So il fol-
lows that a camp OF girls in the woods
having this password must be A happy
company indeed They are always
under the care or some older person
who has qualified for the position of
guardian and who is therefore well
fitted to lead them in all of the camp
activities which tend to promote use
fitness. health and happiness.
With campcraft, handcraft heating
swimming and the various afbIefic
games and a study of nature as it ap-
pears in flower, tree and landscape, the
day is one long succession of interest
ing events until the council held each
evening round the cheerful campfire
sends the girls to pleasant Greenland
after the singing of the Wohelo cheer
and the recital Of the picturesque ode
to the Fire"
Formation of Club.
The organization of the Camp Fire
Girls is due largely to the success OF
the summer camps for girls conducted
for several years in Maine under the
direction of Mrs. Luther H Quick. At
the close of the camping season last
September, DR.. Luther II. Gulick be-
came chairman of a committee to make
plans for a permanent order for the
girls Of America which would balance
the privileges enjoyed by their brothers
in the Boy Scout movement. Associat-
ed with DR.. and Mrs. Quick in this eff
fort were Miss Mabel Crafty, Of the Ma
tional Young Woman's Christian as
ISOLATION, Mrs. Ernest THOMPSON Seton.
DR.. Anna L. Brown and a number OF
other prominent women and men in
terested in the welfare of the young
people Of the country. In addition TO
the committee on organization, there
IS national council with Miss Jane
Adams, Of Hull house, Chicago, at its
head. DR.. Gulick insisted that there
must be a fund providing $1,000 a
month before the Camp Fire Girl idea
could be made public. So earnestly was
the need felt for il by the philanthropic
men and women interested, that with
in month, the required amount was
raised with an additional $500 a month
for three years.
Girls Eager to Join.
1t was found more than twice as
much is being done for the boys Of
TINS country as for the girls and this
new order is intended TO offset this
dlIerence- It IS Just as necessary for
the good of the country that the girls
should be provided with a means OF
developing their racial instincts as
P P7ys' and II is believed that the Camp
Fire Increment Will go far toward
solving the young girl problem which
has been gradually developing in the
hearts of the social workers of the
world Women hate homework be-
cause IL has become so humdrum. but
girls must be taught TO find a pleas
ure IN all the parts OF homemaking
by combining the humdrum with the
pleasant and by keeping their bodies
in such good condition that real work
does not OvertaX their strength That
the need for an organization for girls
was felt throughout the country is ev-
idenced by the fact that in one west
ern state alone over 5000 girls were
ready for organization before the body
had been incorporated.
Helps Factory Girls
Play grounds, public schools,
churches and settlements may ali
serve as centers of Camp Fire organi-
than this. It reaches the less favored
girls who are compelled to go to work
at an early age. In New York, Wash
ington' Boston: and several other
cities, Camp Fire groups have been
organized among the girls who work
in the stores and factories and an ef-
fort has been made to help them to
make the best Of any disadvantages
they may be under. Some Of these
girls arrange to take their vacation in
a real camp Others who cannot Sc
the woods under the leadership Of the
guardian.
One organization composed of girls
employed in a large New York depart
y
camping place along the Hudson river
accessible by a single carfare, where
they have been spending their Satur
day halfholidayS, enjoying a period of
weekly pleasure in the open country
and a chance to hold their councils
round a real outdoor campfire. Next
year it is hoped that a tent or two
may be added and that these girls
may be able to spend at least a few
days in a camp of their own provid-
ing But their work this summer has
l. IL
had spent their time in the city per-
haps going to a moving picture show
or cheap theater as diversion, and the
expense was no greater
Work in the schools.
The Camp Fire groups organized in
connection with the public schools Of
ten find any real camp life out Of the
question. but this fact does not hinder
held in the schoOlroOm after the school
hours and much effective work is done
under the direction of guardian who |
is nearly always most popular teach /
er- While in such a group much of /
the campcraft work has to be omitted /
for the present. the guardian usually !
woods so that some practical nature |
work IS possible and the girls are en- 1
couraged to. study the flowers and /
birds within their reach.
The Camp Fire movement is said to 1
have made greater progress in the !
public schools in Washington than in /
any other city up to the present time
One school has nearly $50 girls on 4
the Camp Fire rolls and several of 4
the teachers are remaining in the city 1
during the summer for the continuance /
Of the work. With the permission of 4
the board Of education, the use of 1
several schoolrooms is given and these |
have usually been cool and airy even /
during the warm weather. Glasses in /
basket weaving and various handcrafts |
have been carried on while the girls ]
have been entertained by story telling /
and other diversions. They have also
been encouraged to greater diligence /
in their homecraft
Branch of Y. w. c. A.
In some cities the Camp Fire Girls
is a branch of the work of the Young
" omen's Christian association and a
large number of the most successful
camps have been under its auspices,
even though conducted for the Camp
Fire movement These have not been
all philanthrOpic by any means. There
are many wealthy girls who have !
parents who recognize the value of
the methodical discipline of the Camp
Fire routine in the development of the
daughters even before the girls them
selves understand the work. In some j..
instances the presence of these more
fortunate girls helps to defray the ex-
oense of the camp and thus put it more
EASILY within reach of those whose
means and leisure is limited.
Helen Taft a Guardian.
There is absolute quality among the
Fire Girls Like fhafr hrO {