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Carrying on a Tradition
Written by Anne Trautner. From The Kewaskum Statesman.
In November 1950, local Girl Scouts carried books from the original Kewaskum Public Library on Main Street to the “new” library building on First Street.
Now, 74 years later, Girl Scouts have continued that tradition. On Wednesday, March 27, a group of local Girl Scouts carried books from that library building on First Street to what is now the “new” Kewaskum Public Library, the former PNC Bank building at 1225 Fond du Lac Ave.
Meeting the girls at the newest library were Isabelle Straub, Carol Schacht and Judy Geidel, three of the original Girl Scouts who had moved the books in 1950.
“I really enjoyed being a part of this and reminiscing about being in Girl Scouts 74 years ago,” said Judy Geidel, one of the ladies who participated in last week’s program. “I was so impressed with how well behaved the girls were.”
“Those girls were so good,” agreed Isabelle Straub, who also had carried library books back in 1950. “They were so patient. It was really cute seeing them all, and it reminded me of when I was in Scouts.”
The ladies remember moving the books when they were Girl Scouts in 1950.
The article that appeared in the Kewaskum Statesman on Nov. 17, 1950, states, “Laughing and singing indicated that the Girl Scouts enjoyed their part in this community service project.”
Likewise, during last week’s event, the Girl Scouts talked and laughed as they walked the books from the old building to the new one.
“I had a lot of fun,” said 7-year-old Susan Pankratz, admitting it was a lot of work.
“I think it was hard because the books were heavy,” she explained. “I do think it was harder for them [74 years ago] because they had to go down the stairs from the first library.”
As the girls walked last week, they looked at the redbrick building at 203 Main St. that had originally been the village hall. The library originally was situated on part of the second floor of that building. There was no elevator, so 74 years ago the Girls Scouts walked down a flight of narrow steps. In contrast, the Kewaskum Library Foundation currently is raising funds to add an elevator to the new building to make the building ADA-compliant.
The Kewaskum Public Library was started in 1913 by the Kewaskum Women’s Club. For the first three years, members took turns acting as librarians until in December 1915 the village took over the management of the library at the request of the Women’s Club.
Coincidentally, Judy Geidel, who was 10 years old when she carried books from the original library, is now a member of the Kewaskum Women’s Club.
The Kewaskum Public Library has grown from the small collection of books that the Girl Scouts moved 74 years ago to a collection of 26,546 items. The girls admitted last week they were glad they didn’t need to carry the entire collection.
In 1950, the Kewaskum Girl Scout troop met weekly in the American Legion Hall on Fond du Lac Avenue. At that time, the building had three stories. The Girl Scouts met on the top floor, which also had a dance hall. People lived on the second floor in a rental unit.
“When you came in the front door, there was the big open area, and there were stairs leading up. As Scouts, we weren’t supposed to use those stairs; we were supposed to use the simple stairs in the back so we wouldn’t be making noise and interfering with the renters. We got scolded several times because we liked to pretend we were someone special,” Straub said.
The top two floors were later removed, and today it is simply a one-story building. Girl Scouts still meet there, however. The Cadettes in Troop 8437, some of whom were at last week’s program, meet in the Legion Hall once every other week. There were members from two other troops that participated last week as well. The Junior Scouts in Troop 8032 meet monthly at Kewaskum Elementary School, and the Brownies in Troop 8161 meet in the Kewaskum Town Hall once a month.
Like they did 74 years ago, the Girl Scouts still sell cookies every year. The former Scouts were amazed to hear that Kewaskum troops sold 15,038 boxes of cookies this year. In 1950, they had not sold anywhere near that amount.
“We didn’t have the variety back then,” Schacht pointed out.
They also were much less expensive than the $6 boxes that are sold today.
“A box of cookies cost less than a dollar, maybe 75 cents,” Straub said.
Straub, who was a Girl Scout leader while raising her two daughters, still has her Girl Scout pins from when she was a child. She showed them to the Scouts at the library last week, and some of the pins were identical to ones the girls were wearing on their uniforms.
Other things haven’t changed over the years as well. A favorite Girl Scout song remains “Make New Friends,” and a favorite activity is going to Girl Scout camp.
And doing service projects for the library remains an activity for Kewaskum Girl Scouts.
There are currently a total of eight troops in the Kewaskum area. Not all the Scouts were available to participate in last week’s project.
Girls who participated include:
Troop 8437 Cadettes- Lilly Gadouas, Norah Gahan, Gabby Durham and Sybil Gadouas
Troop 8032 Juniors- Lilliana Nyhouse, Ruby Schneider, Ava Schmoldt, Gentri Wiedmeyer and Pailynn Muth
Troop 8161 Brownies-Paisley Dorzok, Kennedi Eilbes, Payton Gissal, Hazel Hurt, Rory Leland, Susan Pankratz and Isabelle Zolp.
