Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Badge, Merit |
Title |
Brownie Swimmer Badge |
Date |
c. 1960 |
Place of Origin |
Applewood/Mississauga/Ontario/Canada |
Description |
A triangular Girl Guides Brownie Swimmer badge made of brown cotton with a frog and "Girl Guides" embroidered with yellow thread on the recto. |
History |
This Brownie Swimmer badge belonged to local Applewood Brownie Jo-Anne Storen, who was a member of the 3rd Applewood Pack in the White Oaks Area Girl Guides in the early 1960s. 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 Brownie 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 for her to be part of a big group. This particular Brownie Swimmer badge was produced between 1935 and 1967, though it likely dates to the early 1960s when Jo-Anne was a Brownie. According to the Girl Guides' Policy Organization and Rules book from 1965, a Brownie must: answer questions on Junior-level water safety correctly, demonstrate reaching assists, do a front dive into a pool from various positions, swim 40 yards using side stroke, breast stroke or crawl stroke, swim 20 yards using a back stroke, bob up and down ten times, jump into deep water feet first, and tread water or float of three minutes. These tests may have also been completed with Red Cross Examiners to receive a Red Cross Certificate. |
References |
"Brownie Badges", Girld Guides Archives. Retrieved from: https://www.girlguides.ca/web/documents/on/archives/pdf_archives_brownies_badges.pdf "Policy Organization and Rules", Girl Guides of Canada, 1965. |
People |
Storen, Jo-Anne |
Search Terms |
Applewood White Oaks Area |
Relation |
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