Bucket List (Savannah Flashback)

One more check-off on Elizabeth’s “bucket list” was enjoyed while we were in Savannah for QuiltCon 2017.

This was a visit to the Juliette Gordon Low birthplace, a beautiful historic home on a grand avenue in Savannah.  Since we took the on/off trolley tour, we were able to disembark and enjoy our view of the Baptist Church, where the feather in Forrest Gump drifted down from the steeple, and cross the street to visit the birthplace.  The birthplace is now the home of the Girl Scouts of the USA and they run tours for troops of girls from around the world who make pilgrimages to the site; mornings are usually set aside for troop tours.  As well, ordinary tourists like us can tour the home in the afternoon hours.  Both Sue and Elizabeth had belonged to the girl scouting movement as children and were glad to see this childhood home of the founder of Girl Scouting.

Juliette Gordon Low was certainly an accomplished artist and her sculptures and paintings grace this mansion style home.  Right away we were treated to viewing the public and private rooms of this family where Juliette grew up surrounded by her parents and grandparents.  Near the end of the tour we visited the library where the original books are stacked around the fireplace mantle with nothing but gravity holding them up.  In the bookcases were books from more current eras which were all by female authors or topics relating to females.  The large table in the center was interactive so troops of girls could write poems or letters and leave them behind as part of a legacy collection on scouting.  An interesting piece of artwork on the table was a book with the pages folded to look like a 'g' and an 's'.

The garden was planted as it would have been in the time of Mrs. Low and it included a wrought iron gate which she made for a family home in England. 

England is where JGLow and her family were friends with Lord Baden Powell who was the founder of Boy Scouting.  It was on a visit there where she learned about the scouting movement and Lord Powell encouraged her to start a similar movement for girls in the United States.  Last week GS USA celebrated their 105^th birthday.  Visiting this historic home was a memorable experience and one each girl scout or former girl scout is fortunate to get to do at least once in their lifetime.