Time for a Girl Scout History Lesson from the Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana Historians! 📚💚
Girl Scouts aren’t just known for cookies; calendars were also a hit, and are a great example of the resilience and quick-thinking that Girl Scouts have shown for over a century!
Calendar sales began as an alternative to cookies during World War II when sugar and other ingredients were hard to come by due to wartime rationing. The Girl Scout National Equipment Service produced the first calendar for the year 1944 and it sold for 25¢.

Many councils also produced their own calendars. DuPage County Council Senior and Cadette Girl Scouts first produced a local calendar in 1972 and sold it for 35¢.
Ruth Caragher, formerly a Girl Scout with Ship 167 in Downers Grove, recalls working on the 1991 calendar, “The best thing I remember about the experience was that the girls really did all the work. We had a weekly schedule and weekly goals. We had gobs of photos of girls doing stuff that leaders and others had taken and given to us to go through and consider for possible inclusion.
“We learned what makes a good photo for inclusion in the ‘collage’ style pages. We tried to have themes for each page, things like Cadette Senior Jamboree and camping, winter activities, regular troop meetings and girls in uniform and American flags, parades, ceremonies, etc.”
“In the end we each got a full case of printed calendars. Our ‘WORK’ was now in our laps and we had to go and SELL THEM! It was good though because I was proud of my work on the project. I wish I could do it again with the friends I made in Girl Scouts.”
Preserving Girl Scout History
Honoring the history of Girl Scouting in our local communities is a wonderful way to explore the evolution of one of the country’s oldest organizations dedicated to girls and women. You can read all about the GCNWI Girl Scout Historians on our blog, or visit our website for more information on how to get involved.
Become a part of our story!

Her next adventure to take, new territory to explore, or barrier to break, is all waiting her in the new Girl Scout year! We have carefully curated experiences to help girls think creatively and discover their interests, passions and ambitions without limitations.