I would like to share with you the story of one exceptional collector, Sharon, who has dedicated much of her life to the Girl Scouts of America.  Many of you and/or your children have been involved with scouting and know the benefits of the organization.  It is volunteers like Sharon who make this possible and who enrich the lives of many.   (Shown below are  uniforms from 1960 to 1973, from left to right, Brownie, Junior, Cadette and Senior.  These are the four uniforms Sharon wore as a girl, and were her first creations).

Sharon was a Girl Scout in the 60’s and 70’s and became a leader in the 80’s when she was single, just out of college, and only about 10 years older than the girls in her troop!  She gave it up temporarily as a newlywed with young children. In 1998 she stepped back in and has been continually active ever since.  She admits that it is a scary thought that some of the original girls from the early 80's would be old enough to have kids in her current troop!

Sharon’s interest in scouting and Girl Scout memorabilia is the inspiration behind her goal to create an archival collection of 100 years of Girl Scout uniforms for the Twinns.  Her work is painstakingly accurate, based on vintage uniforms.  She created her own patterns by working with the vintage uniforms, taking care not to damage the precious original uniforms. When possible, Sharon uses store bought fabric, as close as possible to the original. However, there are occasions where that is not possible, so she has redesigned old tattered uniforms into doll-sized uniforms, giving them new life.  She has reproduced to scale buttons, pins and badges from each era with painstaking attention to detail. Sharon has searched far and wide to find scale versions of the whistles, compasses and objects that hang from their belts.  Cheryl has even included uniforms from the same era where there are historically-based REASONS for the subtle changes. For example, the original 1938 uniform was made in two versions. They are both a silver green uniform with a yellow tie. The one and only difference between the two is that one has a zippered front and the other has a button-down front. The zippered front was the first one to come out. The reason for the change was that the US entered WWII and metal was rationed. The Girl Scouts, being ever conscious of the war effort...changed their metal zippers for plastic buttons. Sharon’s collection truly is an amazing preservation of scouting history! 

Shown above is the current collection. The dolls are arranged in order by date, from left to right, starting at the upper left.  The earliest uniform is from 1912. The bottom row shows the most current uniforms and also includes Cub Scout, Webelo Scout and Eagle Scout.  Tiger Cub  will be joining the collection soon as well as a Girl Scout uniform from the Roaring Twenties!  As you can see, she has not forgotten about the guys! Collectors will appreciate that Sharon's collection includes several very rare facemolds including Madalene and Kim, and all have been repainted by the exceptional ex-My Twinn doll artist, Connie Marshall.

Sharon's Ariel Varient, Melissa, dressed as a Brownie Scout from the early 1900's and her inspiration photo are shown below:

Sharon has also created historic scout uniforms for the American Girl Doll for a collector friend who does Girl Scout Shows for her council in California. Shown left is a 1916 Khaki Girl Scout uniform, one of about nine uniforms she created for this archival collection. 

Just like our children, Sharon’s Twinn scouts are not always well behaved! Her "naughty Girl Scouts" however, wear current day uniforms...not the precious vintage ones. In her stories, Bea is ALWAYS the ring leader while Caitie, Theresa and Maddie just followers. In Sharons words,    “They are rebellious girls for sure! But I like them that way. I DO run a tight ship with my REAL Girl Scout troop...and would NEVER allow them to behave the way my Bea and her gang does.....but alas! I have no control over the "vinyl patrol"!”  Perhaps when Sharon has a break from her scouting duties she will share one of her clever stories or two with the website!

Many thanks to Sharon for sharing her fascinating project and photos with us!!! We look forward to learning more about her collection as her time permits, so check back for future updates! 

Remember, all of the photos are the property of Sharon and are not to be copied electronically or reproduced in any manner without her written permission. If you wish to request permission, send a request to westportdolls@yolasite.com and I will forward it to Sharon.

Please visit Sharon's online photo gallery for many more photos of her beautiful Scouts and theme dolls:  http://www.picturetrail.com/dollsasscouts