Girl Scouts Opens Renovated Museum In Waltham

WALTHAM, MA — If you noticed a number of Girl Scouts decked out in full uniform this weekend and headed toward Cedar Hill, you weren't imagining it. This weekend Girl Scouts flocked to Waltham to celebrate the reopening of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts museum at Cedar Hill in Waltham, thanks in large part by the generosity of one anonymous donor.

The cost of the renovation? Some $450,000.

The museum houses one of the most extensive collections of Girl Scout memorabilia in the country, some dating back nearly 100 years. The collection includes scrapbooks, photos, musical instruments, handicrafts, vintage uniforms, camping items, badges, dolls, flags, and more. Visitors can learn what it was like to be a Girl Scout in decades past.

Girl Scouts were everywhere at the grand reopening, decked out in vintage uniforms representing various decades and age levels. Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts' board of directors, museum volunteers, Waltham Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy; and Waltham City Councilor John McLaughlin were all on hand for a ribbon cutting Oct. 28, complete with a Waltham City Council resolution and a giant green ribbon and giant scissors.

Cedar Hill is located on 75 acres that had belonged to the estate of Cornelia Warren, who passed away in 1921. The Girl Scouts eventually acquired the land with the help of Helen Osborn Storrow, according to the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts chief marketing officer Jan Goldstein, who said it was left to the scouts in Warren's will. The museum is open to the public by appointment.

Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts has some 50,000 members, including 35,000 girls and 15,000 volunteers in 178 communities across eastern Massachusetts. The mission? Every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader) can change the world. The Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts is the 10th largest Girl Scout council in the United States, according to the organization.

Photos courtesy Girl Scouts, with permission © Randy H. Goodman Photography.