The Sanatoga Post

Girl Scout Senior Troop 49 met in Lower Pottsgrove in the 1950s

By Beth Scherer
of the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society,
for The Sanatoga Post

SANATOGA PA – It occurs every year at this time, that gnawing hunger for Thin Mints, Shortbread, Peanut Butter Patties, and Caramel Delites. Those and other Girl Scout cookies are as much a part of the snack-time landscape across Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township as anywhere else.

Lower Pottsgrove Brownies bake holiday cookies for state hospital residents in 1959

Local troops during 2012 are marking the Scouts’ 100th anniversary. To commemorate the milestone, a new lemon flavored cookie – Savannah Smiles – was introduced this year to the popular cookie line-up.

Girl Scouting has been active in Lower Pottsgrove since the 1940s. The Sanatoga Grange was among the first Girl Scout troop sponsors in the area. Pottsgrove schools have also sponsored troops throughout the years.

Troops of the Pottstown Council of Girl Scouts helped earn money through cookie sales in 1956 for the purchase of Camp Forest Glen, which was near Huff’s Church. They enjoyed troop and day camping there for a number of years.

Many area women have volunteered their time and energy as Girl Scout leaders.  One of the most influential was the late Sally Moyer, former secretary at Lower Pottsgrove Elementary School, and former township treasurer. Girl Scouting opportunities in the township increased in the early 1970s due to her efforts. Her very active Cadet Troop 470 was sponsored by the Sanatoga Fire Company.

If you’re hungry for cookies this week, they’re still available. The Girl Scouts’ Cookie Finder website reports cookies will be sold by troops at these and many other locations:

• Today (Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012) through Friday (Feb. 17) from noon to 9 p.m. at Coventry Mall, 351 W. Schuylkill Rd., Pottstown PA;
• Saturday (Feb. 18) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at he Philadelphia Premium Outlets, 18 W. Lightcap Rd., Limerick PA; and
• Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Boscov’s Department Store at Coventry Mall.

Editor’s note: The Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society was formed in 1985 to share the heritage of Lower Pottsgrove Township with its residents. It meets on the second Wednesday of every month from April through December at its museum and offices in the former Sanatoga Chapel, 2341 E. High St., Sanatoga PA. Author and society President Beth Scherer writes about Lower Pottsgrove history monthly for The Post.

Articles in this series:

• In Township, Scouts And Cookies (Yum!) Have A History
• Family Appliance Business Has Long History In Santa-toga
• Love NASCAR Now? You Would Have Adored Sanatoga
• Timeless Treasures Fill Historical Society Chapel Offices
• Hilltop’s Still Making History, 59 Years After Opening
• Historic Answer To Heat: Township Swimmin’ Holes
• Need A Local Hotel? There Once Were Four, Right Here
• What’s Changed Most In ‘Grove Grads? Their Schools
• Shantz’s Mound Presence Made Sanatoga ‘Pheverous’
• Stars Danced In Lower Pottsgrove Long Before TV Show
• Never Heard Of Sanatoga’s Longview Hotel? Here’s Why

Congressman Jim Gerlach, right, was among the featured speakers Sunday in Sanatoga during the second of two dinners for veterans conducted by local Girl Scouts Rosie Brunner, left, and Meagan West.

Lower Pottsgrove's state Rep. Tom Quigley, right, talks with diners at his table.

POTTSTOWN PA – For a second consecutive week, U.S. armed services veterans and active duty personnel and their families responded Sunday (Nov. 15, 2009) to the invitation of two local girl scouts to share a meal and be recognized for their service to the nation, in what was called “A Dinner With The Heroes” in the Colonial Room at Sunnybrook Ballroom, 50 Sunnybrook Rd., Sanatoga PA.

Scouts Meagan West and Rosie Brunner of Pottstown area Troop 71425 spent months planning and preparing the meal as the centerpiece of their attempt to earn Girl Scouting’s second-highest honor, a Silver Award. A total of 50 service men and women, and their guests, were invited by West and Brunner to Sunnybrook yesterday and on Nov. 8 to enjoy dinner and receive the Scouts’ praise.

• The girls received help from several individuals, local veterans organizations, fellow scouts, and their parents.

The scouts crafted their own personal tokens of tribute and presented them to each veteran and service member in attendance.

With state Rep. Tom Quigley, who represents Lower Pottsgrove, Limerick and Pottstown, serving as the dinners’ co-sponsor, the service men and women also drew attention from other dignitaries. Limerick congressman Rep. Jim Gerlach arrived for greetings and conversation, and Pottstown Mayor Sharon Valentine-Thomas was among the diners.

Souvenir programs gave every participant a memory to take home.

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Girl Scouts Rosie Brunner, left, and Meagan West.

SANATOGA PA – Two Pottstown area Girl Scouts, Meagan West and Rosie Brunner, are paying tribute to local veterans and active military personnel by planning and preparing meals in their honor, the second of which will be served this Sunday (Nov. 15, 2009) from 3-6 p.m. at the Colonial Room in Sanatoga’s Sunnybrook Ballroom, 50 Sunnybrook Rd., Pottstown PA.

The meals – which bookend this week, including the annual national observance of Veterans Day – are being presented as a prime component of the girls’ attempt to earn the Scouts’ Silver Award, the second-highest achievement in Girl Scouting. Both are members of Troop 71425.

“A Dinner With The Heroes,” as the project is called, actually is two dinners, the first of which was served last Sunday (Nov. 8, 2009). A total of 50 service men and women, and their guests, were invited by West and Brunner to Sunnybrook over the two Sundays to enjoy a warm, personal meal and receive the Scouts’ accolades. “We think this (is) a great story for the community to know about,” Meagan West said, in part because “it will bring attention to the people we want to honor.”

Sanatoga developer Wil Hallman, left, and state Rep. Tom Quigley talk during the dinner.

The community has been responsive, too. Brunner and West report several local businesses donated time and items to help the girls make the dinner possible.

In addition, Pottsgrove’s Brig. Gen. Elmer S. Friedberg American Legion Post 244; its commander, Ed Clark, and adjutant, Billy Worrell; and several members helped them organize and plan the event, and contact guests. Lower Pottsgrove resident P.J. McGill relayed messages from the Scouts to the media. State Rep. Tom Quigley, who represents Lower Pottsgrove, Limerick and Pottstown, agreed to serve as the dinners’ co-sponsor. Other members of Troop 71425 pitched in to help their colleagues.

The affair has taken months of effort, according to Karen West and Marie Brunner, the girls’ mothers, and each step was approved by a Scouting Silver Award Committee to ensure it met the achievement’s standards. The award itself, when finally given, usually is presented in a day-long ceremony during the fall; the last was held in November 2008 at The Hill School in Pottstown.

Happy smiles everywhere at Sunday's dinner.

Have the scouts been kept busy with all the dinners’ details? “The girls are working so hard they are making me tired,” Karen West said. And the participants were excited to be invited, Rosie Brunner added. Smiling faces were evident everywhere in Sunnybrook last Sunday, as those in attendance were introduced and dined, the Scouts made their rounds, and Quigley offered brief remarks. Lower Pottsgrove’s state senator, John Rafferty, also made an appearance.

Up next? It seems likely that, with a Silver Award behind them, West and Brunner will try next for Girl Scouting’s top honor, The Gold Award.

Photos by Billy Worrell

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[ted id=http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/490]

The world observes the 39th anniversary of Earth Day tomorrow (Wednesday, April 22, 2009) with what the Washington DC-based Earth Day Network calls “a billion acts of Green.” Some of them are taking place in our own back yards.

Observing The Day At Lower Pottsgrove Elementary

Students at Lower Pottsgrove Elementary School will celebrate Earth Day by decorating grocery bags donated from Sanatoga Thriftway, 2190 E. High St., with messages about recycling, according to Pottsgrove School District publicist Beth Tripani. They’ll return the decorated bags to the store Wednesday to distribute them to customers, who also will be encouraged to reuse and recycle the bags.

The Achin’ Back Garden Center, 10 Penn Rd. in Limerick (PA) Township, just east of the Sanatoga village line, also has joined Lower Pottsgrove for an Earth Day project. It’s donating tomato plants for each first grader to take home. The school’s first-grade class also will plant 10 Colorado Blue Spruce saplings around the Lower Pottsgrove’s “EcoPond,” Tripani said, Wednesday at 1:45 p.m.

They Wear Green, They Go Green

More than 4,000 members of the Girl Scouts who live in Eastern Pennsylvania, including several troops in Montgomery County, will work through Sunday (April 26, 2009) to pull weeds, plant flowers and trees, clear trails, recycle sneakers, and make bird houses as part of Scouting’s week-long “Green Project.” On Earth Day in particular, troops are scheduled to join 27 Girl Scout staff members in planting trees at Valley Forge National Historical Park, 18 miles southeast of Sanatoga.

Save The Planet By Eating It

Earth Week is also National Park Week, and the National Park Foundation (NPF) suggests that one way to be more earth-friendly is to “buy and eat food from sources close to home.” It recommends visiting a neighborhood farm market or grocer that offers local produce, and using only ingredients purchased there to make a meal. Sounds like an endorsement of the Fresh Pickin’ Open Market, held each Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the corner of High and Charlotte streets. Buying local, the NPF says, “cuts down on energy used to transport food and ultimately helps all of our green spaces.”

Save Yourself By “Growing” Your Own Air

Watch a 4m:04s video featuring green office park developer Kamal Meattle of Delhi, India, hosted by the TED (Technology, Entertianment, Design) Network, in which he describes research showing three common plants grown in volume indoors can supply enough fresh air to improve occupants’ health. Press the “play” button, above.

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SANATOGA  PA – Weekend (Feb. 21-22, 2009) jottings from a reporter’s notebook, in no particular order:

Breaking Fast

Spotted Saturday (Feb. 21, 2009) having breakfast at Shorty’s Cafe in Pottstown PA: those “spouses selling houses,” Realtors David and Diane Delong, and Freedom Valley YMCA Pottstown branch director Joan Daly.

He Knows What’s Important

After a representative of Verizon talked Thursday (Feb. 19, 2009) about his company’s impending introduction of its FiOS-branded television services in Lower Pottsgrove, township Board of Commissioners’ Vice President Jonathan Spadt beamed with satisfaction. “That’ll certainly make my wife happy,” he said. “She’s been wondering when you’d finally get here.”

Now That’s Dedication

Members of a local Brownie troop were out selling Girl Scout cookies Saturday morning, and “out” is a literal description.

They sat, bundled and shivering against the cold, at a table in the parking lot of the Hess gas station and Dunkin’ Donut shop on Route 100 south in North Coventry PA. They made a valiant effort to keep boxes of cookies on top of the table, but gusts of wind kept blowing them off.

A Quiet, New Appointment

Carolyn Brunschwyler, formerly director of development at Community Health and Dental Care (CHDC), 11 Robinson St., Pottstown PA has been quietly promoted as its interim executive director. She succeeds Kathleen Wierz, who abruptly left the director’s position about two weeks ago. CHDC, which opened just five months ago,  has not yet formally announced Brunschwyler’s appointment; it simply appeared on its website last week.

A number of Lower Pottsgrove residents have begun to rely on CHDC for affordable health care services, which are priced in part on a scale that’s adjusted to a family’s income.

He Means Business

Sometimes the direct approach is the best approach. One tradesman looking for work stapled a paper plea to a telephone pole on Route 30 East in Exton PA. “Hungry Electrician,” it proclaimed,  and gave a phone number.

Related:

• Notebook Worthy, April 6, 2009
• Notebook Worthy, March 30, 2009
• Notebook Worthy, March 23, 2009
• Notebook Worthy, March 16, 2009
• Notebook Worthy, March 9, 2009
• Notebook Worthy, March 2, 2009
• Notebook Worthy, Feb. 23, 2009
• Notebook Worthy, Feb. 16, 2009
• Notebook Worthy, Dec. 9, 2008

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Desiree Colon, left, and Mary Jo Brurner sell Girl Scout cookies Sunday (Jan. 25, 2009) at Thriftway in Sanatoga PA.

SANATOGA PA – Inside the Thriftway supermarket on High Street, and at other places where the hungry gathered, members of local Girl Scout and Brownie troops during the weekend (Jan. 24-25, 2009) began their annual push to fill stomachs and raise funds by selling boxes of cookies. They had particularly good news for lovers of the scouts’ peanut butter treats called Tagalongs and Do-Si-Dos: they’re safe to eat.

None of the Girl Scouts’ eight different varieties of cookies available for sale this year contain peanut butter or paste suspected to be contaminated by salmonella bacteria, according to the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) national headquarters.

Tainted peanut products are said to be responsible for sickening 500 people in 43 states, including Pennsylvania. As of Saturday, more than 200 products made with the contaminated spread, distributed nationally from Georgia by Peanut Corp. of America, were being recalled and pulled from retailers’ shelves.

Scout cookies are not affected, scouting leaders said.

Neither of two baking companies licensed to produce Girl Scout cookies – ABC Interbake, and Little Brownie Bakers – bought peanut butter used in their recipies from PCA, and so are not involved in the current peanut butter salmonella scare, a GSUSA press release stated. “Food safety and quality are of the utmost importance to us,” it added.

On their own websites, both bakers posted separate notices attesting to the safety of their products. ABC Interbake pledged to “volunteers, parents, girls and customers of the Girl Scout Councils that work with us that the peanut butter in our cookies is not linked to the salmonella contamination.” Little Brownie Bakers said it was working “closely with all of our ingredient suppliers … as part of our goal to bake safe, great tasting Girl Scout Cookies.”

A platefull of Samoas and peanut butter Tagalongs.

Customers apparently appreciated the reassurance. Desiree Colon and Mary Jo Brurner were selling cookies Sunday afternoon at the Thriftway, 2190 E. High St., possibly as the perfect snack between college basketball games. Both are members of Girl Scout Troop 7366, which meets Monday nights at Grace Lutheran Church in Pottstown.

GSUSA reported “all of the proceeds – every penny – from a local council’s cookie activities remains in the area where the cookies are sold.” In addition to raising funds, it added, the sales help “girls practice useful life skills like planning, decision-making, and customer service.”

Photo of plated cookies by Sadaqah via Flickr

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