The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1913-03-11

The Camp Fire Girls in way cor
respond to, but are not patterned
after, the Boy Scouts. The Camp
Fire Girls is an agency not for tell
ing but for showing girls how to form
their own character and how to de-
velop their own resources.
The organization is planned dis
tinctively for girls and their needs.
The head of local group is called
the Guardian of the Fire. She is ap-
pointed and commissioned by the ma
tional board, and she has supervis-
ion over the different camps that are
organized in the community, and di-
reefs all their activities Girls VINO
are II years of age or above are ell
gible to membership, and the differ
ent groups are formed according TO
age and size. Three groups of IL
each have already been organized IN
Dawson. The time of meeting is
every Saturday at 3 p. M, the place
of meeting to be determined by the
Guardian.
The name of the movement is full
of significance, and symbolizes It's
meaning. The word fire stands
for home, the center of all domestic
activities. The word camp" is sym
bolic of the out of door spirit that the
organization proposes to put into
evomous work and life. 1t is also
to keep in the crusade for better
health. Girls must be given oppor-
tunity to rehearse in play the actlV-
tiles they will be engaged in later in
life. Evomous work IS interesting
when we put romance and discovery
into it. From a great mass Of posi-
bilities we should seek to arrange
things we think girls ought to know
into bundles of achievement, and to
present them in a form that will be
interesting to the girl. That is the
reason that the Camp Fire Girls are
adding romance and adventure to
their program for the girls.
There is an inherent tendency in
every man, woman and child to love
warmly and in their own hearts the
primitive styles and customs. The
glamor of the past is thrown about
the organization, and the fascination
for primitive methods is carefully
worked out.
The girls become first a wood gath
erer, next fire maker and then a
torch bearer. There is national
sequence in the arrangement OF these
orders. Before a girl joins she must
fully understand the purposes OF the
and learn to repeat and
interpret the following:
ct is my desire to become a Camp |
Fire Girl and obey the law OF the
camp, which is to seek beauty, give
service, pursue knowledge, be trust |
worthy, hold on to health glo"lfy !
work and be happy"
The next work, that of fire maker, |
requires three months OF prepara-
ton. 1t has thirteen requirements, |
and before passing to a higher work !
these requirements must also pre-
sent twenty elective honors.
In order to aspire to the order OF a |
torch bearer the applicant must have |
been a fire worker for at least three |
months. She must learn and repeat !
the Torch Bearers Desire, which |
is: THAT light which has been given |
to me l desire to pass undimmed 10 |
others" When the duties OF this /
rank are performed she may become |
assistant to the Guardian of the Fire. |
Besides the different ranks the
girl attains, there. is a system of
elective honors. These are divided /
into seven groups: Health, home,
craft. nature, love, camp craft. hand |
craft, business and patriotism There |
are upward of two hundred honors |
given in this way. For instance, a |
girl gets an honor for being free
from a cold two consecutive months /
during the winter, or for not missing /
school or business for three eonsec-
1tfve months because of i'll health. /
These are habit forming tests. Hon.
ors are given for keeping we'll and /
for doing the things that will bring
this about. The girl receives an