WoHeLo

Julia's about to become a fourth-generation Camp Fire girl.

My grandma was in Camp Fire as a girl in Superior, Arizona. She would have been one of the earliest members; she was born in 1918 and the organization was founded in 1910.

My mom was in Camp Fire as a girl, too. Later she became a leader--first of a high school club when she was just out of college, and then later of my groups.

I started as a Bluebird in first grade, the year Camp Fire went co-ed, and continued on all the way through high school. (We called our Horizon club "CFA" for "Camp Fire Anonymous." We still liked meeting, but what else is a peer-pressured teen to do? I can only assume the Girl Scouts also went underground in those years.)

I finished my senior year attending the annual Camp Fire Congress, which happened to be held in Phoenix that year, and earning the WoHeLo award.

Now Julia is old enough to join. Last year, another mom at Julia's day care--who is also a Camp Fire alumna--and I first started talking about finding a group for our kids. We both got busy and it never went anywhere.

This year, we realized that we would have to start the group ourselves. I dragged my feet; there would be work involved! I thought Julia might want to join an existing Girl Scout troop instead. But something about Camp Fire had grabbed her imagination and she kept asking when we were going to start a club.

So we went to an informational meeting held by the local council's program coordinator last month, and found some other families who were interested and here we are, officially at Square One. Our new Starflight club is go for launch.

And Julia becomes Camp Fire generation #4.