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They cannot stop singing. On top of Mount Katahdin, down the white water of the Kennebec, on the sidewalks of Bar Harbor, they sing, “Keep on the sunny side, stay on the sunny side, keep on the sunny side of life.”
They’ve come from California, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Mississippi, Indiana, Washington, Maine and the country of Peru. They have come to soak up the summer sun, drink in the scent of pines, enjoy the scenic vista from mountaintops, rush down the rapids of the Kennebec, and attack the state’s famous crustacean.
However, these visitors did not call travel agents, the state’s tourism office, or local chambers of commerce to help make their vacation plans. Nor did they set aside a portion of their monthly salaries to save for this summer sojourn.
The 21 young women adventuring in Maine this month each had to write an essay outlining why they wanted to venture to the Pine Tree State. Then they had to help raise the money to get here. They held yard sales and car washes, and, of course, sold their trademark cookies to earn funds to attend the Abnaki Girl Scout Council’s Maine-ly Adventure.
The 17-day program which ends Aug. 17 is designed for 14- to 17-year-olds and is one of 25 Wider Opportunities sponsored by local Girl Scout Councils and the Girl Scouts of the USA. It is the third such program the Abnaki Council has sponsored in the past 10 years, according to Jo Stevens, executive director of the council, which serves Girl Scouts age 6 to 18 in northern Maine.
Using the council’s Camp Natarswi in Baxter State Park as a base, the girls have gone white-water rafting on the Kennebec River, rappelled down 30-foot cliffs, hiked two of the park’s highest peaks, canoed, kayaked, and spied six moose grazing in a field. They also have spent time with the more than 100 younger campers staying at Natarswi this week.
“We had 265 applications from throughout the country for our 19 out-of-state spots,” explained Penny Goodie, the council’s program specialist. “Two of our slots were designated to international scouts, and three were saved for girls in our own council. In addition to writing the essay, they had to have had previous camping experience, be comfortable swimming in deep water, provide two references, and be interviewed and recommended by their own councils.”
When she was just 8 years old Julie Anderson of Amarillo, Texas, saw a movie and fell in love with Maine. Now 14, she can’t remember the name of the movie or even what it was about, but she knew she wanted to visit the state. When she was accepted for the Maine-ly Adventure, she sent the council a thank you note, something no other participant did, according to Goodie.
“I live on the plains, where it’s really flat,” Anderson said. “I love the pine trees and the streams and just being in this beautiful setting. This is nature at its best.”
Andrea Joines, a 17-year-old from Long Beach, Calif., sat in the shade braiding brightly colored threads for a friendship bracelet. She chose Maine because “it sounded interesting, I’d never been to the East Coast before, and it was the farthest from my house.”
“I never practice outdoor activities. It is not possible to do in my country,” explained Miryam Justo, 16, from Lima, Peru. “I love the outdoors and learning how Girl Scouts live here, their customs and their songs.”
While Justo’s English is excellent, her fellow countrywoman, 19-year-old Nat Nunez Aspilcueta, speaks almost no English, and had never stepped foot in water before coming to Maine. Sporting a T-shirt that reads “Guias Scouts,” she waited for Justo to translate for her before answering.
“I came for learning new things with all the girls and making friends with all the Girl Scouts from the United States,” she said through Justo. Even though she does not know how to swim, Aspilcueta said, in English, that her favorite activities were white-water rafting and canoeing. “It was very, very fun,” she added, a wide grin spreading across her round, brown face.
“Put down `everything’ with a big E,” Justo said, laughing enthusiastically. “In Peru, we have camps, but they are much smaller. We must make everything at the camps, even the [picnic] tables, and we have much smaller tents on the ground, not like here [where tents are on wooden platforms and can sleep six].”
Peruvian Girl Scouts do not sell cookies, she said, but earn money holding bingo games. Their uniforms are different, too — blue skirt, white blouse, with a red-and-blue neckerchief, white socks and black shoes, instead of the traditional green associated with American Girl Scouts.
Of all the adventures the girls have had so far, they all agreed that their white-water rafting trip has been the best. Coming in a close second to that experience, were the infamous “shortcuts” Goodie has taken them on in the camp vans along Maine’s rough, unpaved back roads,.
“The long car rides have been a great way to get to know the other girls,” said 14-year-old Chantelle Huguenard of Valparaiso, Ind. “It’s one of the few times when we aren’t involved in activities and have time to talk to one another. And with Penny’s shortcuts, and the flat tire, we’ve had lots of time to talk.”
Rebekah Devino, 15, of Bangor, and Renee Veilleux, 15, and March Torsch, 13, both of Old Town, are the Abnaki Scouts chosen to participate in this year’s program. Last summer Devino traveled to Traverse City, Mich., to participate in a Wider Opportunity program.
“It was in a setting called the Timbers, pretty much like Camp Natarswi,” remembered Devino. A scout since she was 6, she sold 300 boxes of cookies, candy bars and earrings to help earn the $600 program fee. “My life would be really empty without Girl Scouts. If I were home now, I’d probably be sitting in my room just reading a book instead of white-water rafting.”
Each of the girls brought something from their home state and council to swap with the other girls. Emily Calhoun, 15, of Olympia, Wash., brought ash from Mount St. Helens and a Pacific Ocean “wishing rock,” which is a rock worn smooth by the sea that has a continuous line around it. Others brought pins bearing state insignia, council patches, handmade jewelry, etc. In addition to trading cultures, they have also been trading accents.
“I’ve learned to say `wicked cool,’ `wicked bad’ and `wicked awesome,”‘ bragged Sarah Frances Penn, of Clinton, Miss., who turned 17 last week. “This is the farthest north I’ve ever been, and my daddy was worried about putting his little girl on the plane to stay with Yankees.”
“They tease us about saying `wicked’,” Torsch said, laughing. “We also taught them to say, `Bah Hahbah,’ but Sarah taught us to say, `y’all,’ and Miryam says, `Porque fuman?’ which literally means `What’s smoking?’ but really means `What’s going on?”‘
Planning a wider opportunity program takes almost two years, according to Goodie, and the council will not sponsor another in 1998. However, this year 18 girls from Abnaki Council are participating in wider opportunities sponsored by other councils. Many are outdoor programs similar to the Maine-ly Adventure, while others focus on careers such as marine biology, fashion design and aviation.
“Sponsoring a Wider Op really gives the older scouts pride in the organization,” Stevens said. “For our kids especially, a Wider Op is the first time many of them travel out of Maine or fly on an airplane. This year we have five going from the troop on Deer Isle. It really builds their self-confidence.”
Calhoun couldn’t agree more.
“I loved the rock climbing,” she said. “I’ve really challenged myself here. It feels really cool to accomplish things, like rappelling off a 30-foot cliff. I just love all this `I am woman, hear me roar!’ kinda stuff.”
As if on cue, the girls join in to sing the famous Helen Reddy tune.
“I am woman, hear me roar, in numbers too big to ignore. …” Their voices blend and float to the tops of the pines, while their fingers weave together threads of memories they will keep forever.
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