Girls looking forward to joining Boy Scouts

Columbia Falls eighth graders Norelle King-Kaaihue, Elaine Reed, Brie Trent and Kaylee King will make a little Columbia Falls’ history in the next few months.

They’ll be some of the first girls from here to be in the Boy Scouts.

The four eighth graders, along with other girls from the area, are forming their own Troop after the Boy Scouts of America announced recently it would allow girls to join their program.

The girls will be in a separate troop from the boys, noted Juli King, who will lead the girls. King and her husband, Nick, have been involved with Boy Scouts for 10 years. Nick is the Scoutmaster for Troop 1941. The King’s son, Kyler, is in Boy Scout. Kaylee king is their daughter.

The young ladies said they tried Girl Scouts, but it wasn’t for them.

“It wasn’t a good fit for our personalities,” Kaylee King said.

Juli King noted that the Girl Scouts program focuses more on home skills, like sewing and crafts.

These girls want a bit more adventure.

“You don’t learn survival skills with Girls Scouts,” Trent said.

The troop will form in February of next year. Juli King said local leaders are also looking to get younger girls involved as well. The younger kids start out in scouting at the Cub Scout level and move up from there.

Girls in Cub Scouts, like the Boy Scouts, will not be co-ed, but will have their own dens. A den is the group where they hold meetings.

Some events will be co-ed, like the Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby and the Klondike gathering. The Klondike is a winter excursion where troops from across the region get together and practice games and survival skills in Coram.

Like the Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts also learn practical outdoor skills among other things.

The Boy Scouts of America notes it’s not changing its core mission by allowing girls.

“This aligns with our mission and values. After all, the values of Scouting as detailed in the 12 points of the Scout Law – trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent – are relevant and important for both young men and women,” the organization notes in a memo to leaders. “Our mission is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law. To achieve our mission, we create innovative programs and evolve existing ones that respond to the needs of today’s families and deliver them through dedicated volunteers in communities across the nation.”

Girls, like boys, will now be able to pursue the highest rank in scouting, the Eagle Scout.

Troop 1491 will hold an open house at Glacier Bank in Columbia Falls from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 6. They’ll have a wall tent set up and various demonstrations where parents can learn more about scouting. The hope is to draw interest from younger girls who want to be Cub Scouts.

People who can’t attend but would like to learn more can contact the Kings via email at nking@trrop1941.com.