The Campfire Girls: A Piece of Tipp City History

For most, the Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts are a household name. Many have taken the journey from Daisy to Cadette or Cub to Eagle. However, the Campfire Girls may only ring a bell for your mother or grandmother. Since 1975, the Campfire organization has been open to Boys and Girls, but in 1910, the organization began with young women solely in mind.

The Campfire Girls were founded in New York, but as the years went on, the organization expanded into small towns like ours across the U.S. The Tipp City Campfire girls celebrated their 40th anniversary in 1960, and that was around the last it was heard of. However, after conversing with a few Tipp City campfire girls from when the organization was booming, it seems that it was an exciting yet lost part of Tipp City History. The girls held meetings within their homes and in different buildings, and they are still standing in Tipp today.

Diane Chaney, a longtime Tipp City citizen, fondly recalls her experience as both a Campfire girl and a Bluebird. Chaney remembers meeting at the local Methodist church and traveling from door to door to sell candy. As she was a Bluebird before becoming a Campfire Girl, Diane began her journey at around seven years old. What made the Bluebirds unique is that they were encouraged to play to prepare the young ladies for the role of a Campfire Girl.

The founders of both organizations found that play was how younger children learned the ways of the world; without play, there would be no understanding of life. This idea carried into the fun of becoming a Campfire girl at the exciting and trivial age of nine to twelve. After learning the importance of play, the main goal of a Campfire Girl was to find and appreciate the beauty within everyday things.

Within the constant whirlwind that the modern girl experiences of getting the best grades, the most goals, the number one metal, or even the full-ride scholarship, the idea that children should have the opportunity to slow down and appreciate life has since been lost and replaced with the competitive need to be the best at something. Yes, practice makes perfect, but the joy of being well-rounded has sadly been deemed outdated. In contrast, the Campfire Girls taught young women one of the most important life lessons. Childhood is meant to be enjoyed; life is meant to be enjoyed.

With so much of life uncontrollable, the Campfire Girls focused on what they could control. The girls were taught a multitude of skills under their seven “crafts.” These included the home, outdoors, creative arts, business, frontiers, sports and games, and citizenship. Each craft instilled in each girl in the program a love for living and the joy of “learning by doing” and making mistakes.

Former Tipp City Campfire Girl, Sue Cook, recalls learning many skills that were taught within the home. This included properly setting a table, making a bed, and even entertaining a dinner party. These skills have been found less important for today’s youth, but they once helped form one’s sense of discipline and attention to detail.

Young campfire girls would earn beads from each activity within each craft. These beads were sewn (often by the girls themselves) into their vests and worn with pride for each accomplishment. One might earn a bead for babysitting, cooking, camping, fishing, etc. The list of lessons goes on and on.

The Campfire Girls were very popular in Tipp City, and a vest can even be found in the Tippecanoe Historical Society and Museum. Museum Director and Tipp City Campfire Girl Susie Spitler shared her collection of souvenirs and memories of her time in the organization. She remembered attending Camp Shawano each year at Kiser Lake, an event that Tipp City Campfire Girls looked forward to with anticipation. Susie displayed her skills during her camp visits and engaged in exciting campfires and traditions packed with songs and an appreciation for Native American customs, symbols, and values.

Outside of memories, the Tipp City Campfire girls are no longer a pinnacle within our town. However, they learned to appreciate Tipp through a Campfire Girl lens, which is unique to Campfire women who once were little girls. Their meetings in town, candy sales, and even contributions to the annual Tipp City Mum festival won't allow for the girls to be forgotten, and their romanticization of everyday life is something young women today can strive to achieve.

Although it’s easy to become swept up in the life of an expert at one sport or skill, the Tipp City Campfire girls can remind us that Tipp City is a special place to grow up. By adopting this mindset, the young women within the program appreciated our hometown from a well-rounded and sentimental point of view.