TBT: Girl Scouts During the 1918 Influenza Pandemic

TBT: Super Awesome People™ in History.

The Girl Scouts organization was founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low as a way “to prepare girls to meet their world with courage, confidence, and character.” From the beginning, a crucial part of the Girl Scouts’ ethos was a focus on community and helping those in need.

In 1918 an influenza pandemic ravaged the United States, ultimately leading to about 675,000 deaths in the United States alone, and 50 million deaths worldwide. The Girl Scouts in Washington, D.C. had already mobilized during World War I, selling war bonds and maintaining “victory gardens” to support the U.S. war effort, as well as making and selling sandwiches, cakes, and ice cream to soldiers and war workers. When influenza struck the District, the Girl Scouts refocused their efforts by establishing a “Diet Kitchen” to prepare meals for the city’s sick residents.

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Girl Scouts who earned the Invalid Cook badge had “mastered the art of making soup, broth, custard, gelatins, and a formidable-sounding substance labelled ‘kumyss’ in their Handbook.” They used these skills to cook gallons of simple meals for influenza patients in the D.C. area, with additional volunteers marshaled by Troop leaders to deliver the meals around the city.

Because so many of D.C.’s influenza-stricken residents were poor, the Girl Scouts provided more than just hot meals for the infirm, they provided vital nourishment at a time when people starved to death because their healthy neighbors were too fearful of getting sick to bring them food. Although the Girl Scouts did not deliver the meals themselves, they distributed soup at their Diet Kitchens, established at an area high school and at playgrounds in two of the District’s poorest neighborhoods, to feed malnourished children whose parents were too ill to work or care for them.

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, today’s Girl Scouts are holding virtual Troop meetings and selling cookies online rather than in person. Girl Scouts across the U.S. are sewing face masks for their communities and delivering thousands of boxes of donated cookies to healthcare workers on the front line, bringing messages of support, delicious snacks—and smiles to their faces.

 

Much of the information in this post was sourced from the Girl Scouts History Project, including this article written by Ann Robertson. Please visit gshistory.com for more fascinating stories about the Girl Scouts in history!