LUSELAND — Luseland Guiding program is an organization that has stood the test of time and will celebrate a 100-year milestone in 2022 with a spring banquet May 25.
In 1922, the IODE, led by Mrs. R.M. Paterson and Mrs. Frank Clark, sponsored the Luseland Guiding program in its inception. Meetings were held in the school.
While there is no record of the number of girls who were involved in this young women’s organization in their early years, the club has enjoyed steady registration numbers ever since, allowing the program to continue.
While the mission, values and guiding promise has evolved over the years, the concept of this all-girls club has remained the same. The Saskatchewan Council of Girl Guides cites their vision as “a better world, by girls.” Their mission is to be a catalyst for girls empowering girls. And their guiding promise, often recited at meetings states, “I promise to do my best, to be true to myself, my beliefs and Canada. I will take action for a better world and respect the guiding law.”
Longtime Luseland Guide leader, Jean Halliday, tells the Press-Herald / SASKTODAY.ca , “The first Guiding meeting was held in Luseland in 1922 and they had events such as running refreshment booths on field days, the annual Thinking Day Tea and trips to Macklin Lake.”
Halliday said a common highlight in the past 100 years has been summer camps, with camps being held at Meota, Macklin and Dillberry. Some girls also travelled to international camps.
Challenges Luseland’s Guiding program has faced in a century are similar to those faced by other service organizations and clubs — lack of leadership, and competition from other activities.
“The key to longevity of the Luseland program has been consistent and good leadership. If the program is strong then the girls will come.”
Halliday adds, “I was invited to lead in Macklin and was simply hooked from then on in. I love the opportunity Guiding affords to share the world with girls. From camping to the arts to live performance and volunteering in the community, as well as learning about nature. It is a wonderful thing to help be part of and help girls grow and explore.”
Did you know that Canada’s first woman astronaut, Roberta Bondar, and Canadian actress, Andrea Martin, best known for the TV series SCTV and has appeared in a number of movies as well, were once Girl Guides in Canada?
“To me, every girl who has been a Girl Guide is now a notable person,” Halliday says.
“I actually was involved in brownies as a young girl," Mayor Kathy Wurz tells the Press-Herald / SASKTODAY.ca.
"In fact, leader Jean Halliday still has some old pictures of myself and other kids in and around my age from when she first became involved with Luseland Guiding. It is due to her passion and continued drive that the guiding family still remains in our small community. I can’t even express in words the amount of volunteerism and commitment that Jean Halliday has in our community.”
While Halliday defers accolades about her dedication to the program, other Luseland residents agree her enthusiasm and rapport with the participants in the program, as well as her outstanding reputation in Luseland with volunteering, are key to the success of the organization.
Halliday tells us that there may be city Guiding programs that have been going on this long, but there are fewer functioning Guiding groups in rural areas.
Luseland’s Guiding program includes Sparks, Brownies, Guides and Pathfinders. They host the annual Thinking Day Tea, just like as was done since their inauguration in Luseland. They also commit to community wellness by participating in a community litter collection each spring, and love to entertain at long-term care in Kerrobert. They have also entered in the music festival in the past.
“Through the pandemic the leaders had to be very creative. We had 'meetings in a bag,' which were left on the step of the leader’s house and the girls came and picked them up. Each bag held a complete meeting for them to do on their own. We also had Zoom meetings with creative engaging ideas. Plus, whenever possible we would meet outside, so hikes and campfires were very popular.”
Halliday says all families of current Luseland Guiding members will be invited to the 100th anniversary banquet, as well as past leaders of the program. The theme is “The Sky is the Limit” with kites as the core to the decorations. The event will include a few speeches, a fashion show of uniforms through the ages, followed by the presentation of awards and the fly up of the girls hanging onto a kite, to the next level.
The website , outlines some of the guiding history in Canada. “In the last 100 years, seven million Canadian girls and women have been involved in Guiding. Throughout our history, Girl Guides of Canada – Guides du Canada (GGC) has prepared girls to meet the challenges that they face in their lives head on. Whether it was girls learning to bandage wounds during the First World War or girls today working on their anti-bullying badge, Guiding continually evolves to reflect the needs and interests of contemporary girls and women. Today, Guiding's innovative programming is helping the next generation of Canadian girls become confident, courageous and resourceful leaders.”
The website also outlines that Guiding evolved in 1909 when girls in England demanded to take part in a boy scouts rally organized by Lord Baden-Powell. He was impressed and asked his sister, Agnes, to create a program just for girls and thus the Guiding program was born. By 1910, the Guiding movement had reached Canada, and by 1912, there were units in every province.
