Girl Scouts is a sisterhood that knows no age limit, as a recent memory-filled visit with a Girl Scout alumna and a Lancaster County troop demonstrates.

When girls from Alicia Edwards’ Troop 70131 had the opportunity to meet with 101-year-old Maida Miller earlier this summer, they shared their current Girl Scout experiences while Maida reminisced on the impact Girl Scouts had on her own life.

Sadly, just weeks after their visit, Maida passed away.

“Maida was an amazing woman who I am disappointed to only have known for a short time,” Alicia said. “She shared stories of living a full life. … The girls and I were truly blessed to meet her and I am sure that she has left a lasting impression on the girls.”

As a young girl growing up in the 1930s, Maida did not have access to all of the extracurricular activities available to girls today. Educational opportunities beyond high school were limited for women, and career options were also often restricted by gender.

Girl Scouts, an organization still in its early years, offered a chance to engage with the world around her and pursue opportunities she could not find elsewhere. As a Brownie Girl Scout, Maida explored the outdoors, learned to take risks, and made new friends.

Maida’s experience in Girl Scouts made such an impression on her, she decided to become a Girl Scout leader when her daughter, Carol, joined the program. Under Maida’s leadership, her daughter earned the Curved Bar, the equivalent of today’s Gold Award.

“I remember teaching my Girl Scouts Morse code,” Maida recalled. “I also remember that my daughter wanted to be in the Air Wing program.”

Created in 1941, the Wing Scout Program provided opportunities for older girls to learn about aviation. Maida remembers bringing her troop to an event at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, where they met with a man who had worked with the Wright Brothers.

She also enjoyed exploring the outdoors with her Girl Scout troop. “We used to go camping a lot,” Maida remembered. “We hiked on the Appalachian Trail. We made ice cream.” Since she didn’t drive, her husband, Theodore, ferried the troop to its various field trips.

After Maida’s daughter passed away last year, Maida decided to do something in her honor. She contacted Alicia’s troop to offer to pay for a future Girl Scout trip for the troop members. She left money in her will expressly for this purpose.

Earlier this summer, Maida invited girls from Troop 70131 to visit and share their Girl Scout experiences while she relived her own memories.

“It was such an honor to meet such an amazing woman with so many stories,” Alicia said. “She told my girls she saw the Hindenburg. She definitely left a memorable impression.”

The girls – Madelyn Trimble-Soanes, Viviana Arnold, Kaylie Eshbach, Rayann Hunnell, and Julia Ditzler – met with Maida and her caregiver, Joanne, at Maida’s home.

“Maida insisted on serving a ‘light lunch’ when we visited,” Alicia recalled. “She served ham and chicken salad sandwiches, pretzels, cupcakes and fruit with lemonade.” The Girl Scouts brought six boxes of Girl Scout Cookies with them, which Maida requested they send to troops overseas. The girls also brought a floral arrangement for Maida.

“(Maida) beamed when she talked about her daughter and her daughter’s love for Girl Scouts,” said Alicia, who leads the troop with Katrina Hunnel. “She shared a published book that her daughter had written about rabbits. She had laid out her daughter’s original Girl Scout uniform on a rocker in the living room, complete with pins and gold bar award.”

Many of the Girl Scouts wore their own vests to the tea party.” Maida was very interested to hear about their patches and awards and thought it was wonderful that my girls had earned the Sisterhood Journey award and both their Bronze and Silver awards,” Alicia said. “Maida was so excited to meet the girls when we visited. Her excitement was pronounced from our first phone call together. She was energetic and full of life with a great sense of humor.”

The girls also sang “Happy Birthday” to Maida, who marked her 101st birthday on July 25.

Upon learning of Maida’s death in August, Alicia emphasized how special the meeting between her troop and the centegenarian was.

“I had communicated back and forth with her for a few weeks prior to meeting and each interaction made me smile because she was truly a unique and amazing woman,” Alicia said.

Written by Cathy Molitoris, Marketing Coordinator for Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania.