Sender and recipients of 1959 Emmaus time capsule meet in Boyertown to compare notes, share memories, connect history

Representatives from Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania (GSEP) will meet 91-year old Mildred Weidner of Boyertown, a past leader of Girl Scout Troop #33 in Emmaus. With her co-leaders, Weidner addressed a personal, hand-written letter to “Girl Scouts of 2009,” and provided a glimpse of Scouting in the 1950s. The Scouts’ account was sealed in a time capsule, created by the Borough of Emmaus as part of its bicentennial celebration in 1959. To the present-day Scouts, the past leaders wrote “we hope we have done our little bit towards world peace and leaving a better world for you.”

Last March, Emmaus officials unearthed the 1959 time capsule and — at an opening ceremony in August to help mark the Borough’s 250th anniversary — volunteers and Scouts from GSEP Emmaus Service Unit #742 accepted the 50-year old package. At the Service Unit’s meeting on September 2, Hagar Malone, a 30-year Girl Scouts volunteer and a GSEP Lights of Loyalty Award (see p.10) recipient, revealed its contents — photos, a hand-written letter, a typed account of an 8-week bus trip to Mexico, two coins and an elfin charm — all carefully folded in aluminum foil and plastic wrap and sealed in a simple #10-envelope.

WHEN & WHERE: 11 am on Friday, September 25
Mildred Weidner residence, Boyertown (call for street address)

WHO: Mildred Weidner (age 91) — leader of Girl Scout Troop #33 in 1959
Georganne Seeley — Membership Manager for GSEP
Karen McGuinness — volunteer PR Coordinator, Emmaus SU#742

INSIDE THE CAPSULE: In 1958, Weidner accompanied four 15-year old Scouts on an 8-week bus trip to Our Cabana in Cuernavaca, Mexico, one of four centers owned by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. Across 8,000 miles and through 17 states, the travelers were welcomed at every stop by fellow Girl Scouts. In her post-trip account, Weidner marveled that “when a Girl Scout says ‘a sister to every other Girl Scout,’ they really mean it.”

Source: Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania