Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2023.4.75 |
Object Name |
Examination |
Title |
Girl Guide Test Card |
Date |
c. 1961 |
Description |
The Girl Guide Test Card belonging to Jo-Anne Storen. The top reads, "The Girl Guides Test Card" and has a Girl Guides of Canada logo. The card has Jo-Anne Storen's name on it, and identifies that she was part of the "Scarlet Tanger" patrol in the 1st Applewood Company. |
History |
This Guide signalling card belonged to Applewood Guide Jo-Anne Storen in the early 1960s. Jo-Anne Storen was a member of the 3rd Applewood Brownie Pack and later the 1st Applewood Guide Company in the White Oaks Area. Jo-Anne's older sister, two years her senior, was also a Brownie and Guide. Fond memories of her time with the Applewood Girl Guides linger in Jo-Anne's recollections. As Brownies, they convened at Westacres Public School, where Jo-Anne vividly recalls enchanting tales of brownies and fairies. A plastic owl with animated eyes served as a receptacle for their membership dues, and she took great pride in her Brownie uniform, diligently polishing her pins with a toothbrush and paste until they gleamed. Reflecting on those days, she chuckled, "[I] only realized much later that our cries of 'towit, toowoo' were owl noises!" Her journey included earning various badges, such as mastering semaphore flags, knitting, and housekeeping, the latter involving tasks like making beds and preparing tapioca, often in a leader's or parent's home. However, Jo-Anne was a desperately shy child and it was a great challenge to be part of a big group. Upon "flying up" to the Guides, she transitioned to meetings at Applewood United Church, though after her brief Guiding career, the 1st Applewood Guides would also shift their gatherings to Westacres Public School in 1970. While Jo-Anne's tenure in the Guides was relatively brief, her sister continued and was involved in several camping trips along Mississauga Road at a property owned by the Commissioner. This type of examination card was utilized by Girl Guides during the 1960s. A Guide would have completed the card as part of the requirements for the Tenderfoot test, Second Class tests, and First Class tests. The card documented the Guide's participation in specific camps, along with other skills or awards earned during the test process. Each test was meticulously outlined on the card and endorsed by a Guide leader. In Jo-Anne's case, she completed most of her required skills between 1961 and 1962. In 1961, she learned how to the Guide Promise, Motto and Law, various salutes, handshakes and whistles, knot making, and making and rolling her bed among other skills. In 1962, she learned more complex skills such as learning about flowers, birds, trees, insects and tracks encountered in nature, fire making, and first aid. |
References |
Price, S. "Women's History Month", Queensland Museum Network. Retrieved from: https://blog.qm.qld.gov.au/2021/03/11/womens-history-in-our-collections/ |
People |
Storen, Jo-Anne |
Search Terms |
White Oaks Area Applewood |
Relation |
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