March 31, 2009

A brief history of Canadian Girl Guide cookies

The official GGC website recently put up a delightful page that provides a short overview of the history of Girl Guide cookies in Canada, stretching all the way back to the first batch which was whipped up by a Guider from Regina, Saskatchewan in 1927.

Amongst the fun facts are tidbits (or should I say “bites”) of information such as that following the second World War in 1946, the official GGC cookie varieties were maple cream, vanilla crème, and shortbread; and that 1992 Roberta Bondar, Canada’s world renowned female astronaut, brought GG cookies with her into space!

The page also features a marvelous little gallery of GGC cookie box imagery from the 1960s right up to day, which is sure to bring back fond memories for anyone who has ever sold or been involved with the selling (or eating) of Girl Guide cookies over the years. Below this article are three examples of the marvelous types of art and design that have been featured on GGC cookie boxes through the course of their eighty year history, as documented in the GGC's article.

Be sure to check out this lovely cookie story page, and print off copies of these interesting cookie facts to share with your girls or for your own files.

Cheerful, beautiful and bursting with exuberance, this lovely retro cookie package from 1962 is pretty enough to frame!
Packed full of interesting images and subdued hues, the art from this package hailing from 1978 resembles that of many of the Guiding handbooks of the time.

By the 90s cookie packages has shifted away from drawings, instead featuring photographs and lively colours, as seen on this box of chocolate and vanilla cream cookies from 1996.

2 comments:

  1. Just wanted to stop by and say Hi, Nice to meet you!:D and see what your collection was all about.:D How neat! I never knew that the names of this Girl Club go by two names in each of our countries! It is nice to see your passion for a lovely memory a lot of us have of growing up being involved with this club. I never got as far as the Girl Scouts, but I did belong to the Blue Birds and Camp Fire Girls throughout elementary school here in the States. And I have a lot of wonderful memories about the friendships I had made, and the things we did together. Thanx for keeping the history of this wonderful club alive and well!:D Christine

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  2. Hi Christine, thank you so much for your lovely comment!

    I agree, it is really neat that in some countries girl go by the name Guides and in others, Scouts. It all goes back to the earliest days of Girl Guiding, when a small handful of girls showed up a Boy Scout rally in England, insisting that they too wanted to join the Scouting organization.

    At the time the founder of the Boy Scouts (Lord Baden-Powell) thought it best to appease the social standings of the day and separate girls from being called Scouts, which (I suppose he thought) was a title reserved for boys. This idea really didn't last long though as even the earliest Girl Scout troops in the US were called GS as far as I know (or at the very least, they've been known as GS for decades now).

    While it's certainly not a hard and fast rule, you'll generally see the name Girl Guides used in Commonwealth countries and Girl Scouts in others (again, though such is not always the case).

    How interesting that you were a Blue Bird and Camp Fire Girl! I don't believe we have the Camp Fire organization up here, but I have certainly heard about it. How lovely that you enjoyed your time with spent in those fun groups. I certainly loved my time as a youth member of the GGC, too :)

    Many thanks again for your comment, Christine, I hope you're having a splendid weekend!

    ♥ Jessica

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