Brownies Hear Stories of Famous Women

Grafton Brownie Troop 30221 recently held a troop meeting at the Children's Room where children's librarian Amanda Diurba talked to the girls about various strong women in history as part of our "It's Your Story Tell It" Journey.

Some of the women/girls she taught the troop about are: Juliette Gordon Low (the founder of the Girl Scouts); Dorothea Dix (an advocate for improvements in the treatment of patients suffering from mental and emotional disorders); Oprah Winfrey;  and Bethany Hamilton (a teen female surfer who lost her arm to a shark attack and now uses that experience to help others with disabilities).

They also learned about Gracey Brant (a 10-year-old girl who held a lemonade stand, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to help kids who lost their homes, toys and books in Hurricane Katrina); Grandma Moses (one of America's best-known primitive painters); and Granny D (a New Englander who at age 89 walked across the United States in her fight for political campaign reform).

Diurba also read the girls a story about Effa Manley, who, in the 1800's (well before women had any of the rights they do today) stood up for black American's rights in sports by starting the Negro Baseball League of America.

The girls were very excited to learn about these strong and powerful women/girls in American history, many of whom broke various social barriers to fight for others rights during a time that it was dangerous for women to do so, the troop leaders report. The girls asked fabulous questions and really seemed excited to learn more.