Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
New pole and flag are installed at annual campout
Local Girls Scouts and American Legion members pose before the new flagpole at Lewis and Clark Trail State Park. The girls raised $2300 to purchase the pole which will be maintained by park rangers.
Scout Cheri Mathews, of Waitsburg, carefully measures ingredients for homemade ice cream.
These tiles are one of several crafts the Scouts made during their annual campout.
WAITSBURG-When the Girls Scouts of Waitsburg learned that the Lewis & Clark Trail State Park was the only park in the state without a flagpole, they set out to do something about it. The local service unit spent about a year-and-a-half raising approximately $2300 to purchase a pole for the park.
For the last four years, troops from Dayton, Waitsburg and Walla Walla have camped out out at the state park. Last weekend's campout was made even more notable with the installation of the newly donated flagpole.
The service unit was honored for their efforts with a visit from Girls Scouts of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho CEO Brian Newberry. Members of both Dayton and Waitsburg American Legion posts were on hand to salute the newly installed flagpole which will be maintained by park rangers.
Waitsburg Troop Leader Brandi Hollingsworth explained that each campout has a theme, usually related to the park's current needs.
"Our first year we built birdhouses. Another year, the park needed bat boxes. This year, we got our flagpole installed so everything is flag related," Hollingsworth said.
Waitsburg Co-leader Megan Strickland explained that a typical campout weekend consists of setting up camp on Friday, doing activities on Saturday and performing bridging ceremonies on Sunday.
Hollingsworth said she likes to incorporate art alongside environmental learning. This year's activities included screen printing, tile painting, pillow making, outside play, ice cream making, hiking and bead wrapping.
The crafted jewelry is as useful as it is beautiful.
"We have UV beads that change color in the light; a good indicator to put sunscreen on," Hollingsworth said.
The Waitsburg troop started in 2015 and currently has 12 members ranging from Daisies (grades K-1) to Cadettes (grades 6-8). The program also offers programs for seniors (grades 9-10) and ambassadors (grades 11-12).
Waitsburg girls interested in learning more about the program should contact Brandi Hollingsworth or Megan Strickland at (503) 440-3062.
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