When you hear the term “Boy Scout” you immediately think of, well, boys. But a lot has changed over the years and a new local Boy Scout Troop for Girls is currently in its formative stages. Troop 6, which will begin meeting each Wednesday night from 7 to 8:30 p.m., is sponsored by Gardner American Legion Post 129. Troop meetings will be held at the Legion at 22 Elm Street. Charters for the new girls’ troops will be available from the national organization beginning Feb. 1. At least five girls must sign up for a troop to be eligible for a charter.
“At the moment,” said Troop Leader Lynn Denette, “the BSA is keeping the girl troops and the boy troops separate. They can do things together and they can meet at the same time, but they will be registered as separate troops.”
“And they won’t be Boy Scouts who happen to be girls,” said Boy Scout Troop 6 Scout Master Michael Gerry, “they will be Scouts USA. So, the name will be changing. Corporately, it’s still Boy Scouts of America, but then each component will be called something different.”
Denette was quick to point out that the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts remain two separate and distinct organizations.
“The Girl Scouts have their own program, and the Boy Scouts have their own program,” she explained. “It’s just that now, the Boy Scouts are opening up scouting to girls at the Boy Scout Troop level. There have always been girls in scouting, boy scouting, in Venturing and in Explorer posts, but they have not always been part of the troop, per se.”
Denette added that girls will now move up through the same ranks as boys, with the possibility of working their way up to Eagle Scout, the highest honor in Boy Scouts.
The new Troop 6 will offer a variety of monthly programs, which will be determined in large part by members of the troop. Activities will include hiking, canoeing and paddling, rock climbing, and camp outs. All such outings will be overseen by adult female chaperones, according to Denette.
Matt Denette, Lynn’s husband and the Assistant Troop Leader for both boys and girls Troop 6, said the United States has long been a hold-out when it comes to welcoming girls into the ranks of scouting.
“We’re one of the last four countries to go co-ed,” he said.
Gerry also pointed out that Cub Scouts opened its membership to girls in 2018.
Kim Wong, who is active in the Nashoba Boy Scout district, said the district decided recently it wanted to form some troops for girls. For now, one will be in Gardner and the other in Leominster.
Matt Denette said girls from a number of surrounding communities are welcome to join Troop 6, including those who live in Ashburnham, Ashy, Athol, Barre, Gardner, Orange, Phillipston, Princeton, Royalston, Templeton, Westminster, and Winchendon.
Lynn Denette said it’s definitely a challenge getting young people interested in scouting.
“It’s not cool,” interjected Gerry. “It’s definitely not cool, at least in the eyes of a lot of youngsters. But, once they’ve seen it, once they’ve experienced it, the attitude definitely changes. And social media has certainly been more of a help than a hindrance.”
Matt Denette said scouting may be more important now than ever.
“The 12 points of the scout law,” he said, “are that a scout must be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. The world just needs more of that.”