For more than 100 years, the Girl Scouts have focused on building courage, confidence and character so girls can help make the world a better place.
Lifetime member Bettie Marie Daniels of Cody, 90, continues to live out the mission of the group and was recently honored for 75 years of service.
“I walk with a cane and I'll be 91 next month, but I'm still a Girl Scout,” she said. “The books change, the uniforms change, but the values don't change – how to be a better person, how to be honest, how to be responsible and those kinds of things.”
To recognize her decades of dedication to the organization, Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming recently hosted a community celebration for Daniels at the Etoquinnow Girl Scout House in Cody.
“Her lifelong commitment to empowering young girls, fostering leadership and creating unforgettable outdoor experiences has truly shaped the Girl Scout community,” said Sally Leep, chief executive officer for Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming. “Bettie’s journey exemplifies the core values of the organization and serves as an inspiration for current and future generations of Girl Scouts.”
The celebration featured a retrospective of Daniel’s journey, tributes from fellow Girl Scouts and a fashion show of Girl Scout uniforms throughout the decades. Daniels was surprised by her two daughters, who traveled to Cody for the event. Her son also was in attendance, as was former U.S. Sen. Al Simpson and his wife Ann.
“It was wonderful,” Etoquinnow board secretary Jan Jones said. “It was standing room only. No one took a definite headcount, but I think there were probably 75 to maybe pushing 100. The people that were there weren’t just from Girl Scouts, but I think it's just a testament to how much she is loved in the community and how well respected she is.”
Journey Begins
Daniels became a Girl Scout in 1939 in Manitou Springs, Colorado, and participated through 1947, at which time her troop disbanded. It was led by her mother and continued until Daniels was in high school, when the organization passed a rule that mothers couldn’t lead senior troops.
“It was not a good rule, as far as I was concerned,” she said. “Fifteen of us had to quit and then I graduated and that fall I got married and had a baby the next year.”
When her oldest daughter was 2, Daniels began to volunteer with the Girl Scouts again, focusing mainly on outdoor skills like setting up camp, building a fire and cooking. Her dedication to teaching outdoor skills also extended to unique experiences, such as leading cattle roundups on horseback, branding cattle and sharing her love for the wilderness.
“I just love to be outside,” she said. “I love to train people and there was a beautiful scout house right against the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, and that's where I went to train.”
At the time Daniels’ husband worked for the Railroad Express Agency, which she describes as the predecessor to UPS, only on trains. This led to six moves in eight years for the family early on, including to Grand Junction, Colorado.
She said that being a leader for the Girls Scouts was a good way to become connected with the community. During her time in Grand Junction, she was on the board and served as both service unit and cookie chairman. She also was a cadette troop leader and gave horseback riding lessons every week.
Daniels not only contributed on a local level, she also served on the board of directors for the Wagon Wheel Council in Colorado Springs and Chipita Council in Grand Junction.
“I did too much and my husband asked me not to Girl Scout so much after that,” she said.
She Was Hooked
The family later moved to Los Angeles, where Daniels again got involved in Girl Scouts, just on a slightly smaller scale. With two young children at home, it was a way to get out and meet people.
“My husband would come home and I’d say, ‘Get me out of the house,’” she said. “I always enjoyed the friendship most of all, The friendships are wonderful, and no matter where you move you can always find friendships in the scouts.”
The family would move to Cody, Denver and then back to Cody before her husband left the Express Agency in 1968 and went to work for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.
The pinnacle of Daniels’ contributions came during her 20-year tenure as a staff member at the Wyoming Girl Scout Council from 1975 to 1995. She served as director of training for the state, driving thousands of miles annually to support and mentor Girl Scouts. Daniels also took on the role of staff advisor for Big Horn Basin troops, directing numerous camps.
She has served on the board of directors for the Wyoming Girl Scout Council and is still president of the Etoquinnow Board, which is in charge of the Girl Scout house in Cody. It’s used by local scouts and also can be rented by traveling troops in the summer so they have a place to stay when visiting the area.
“Most lifetime members do nothing, but I'm still active,” she said. “In fact, I was at a meeting this morning. I'm just not very helpful anymore because I can't trim trees and I can’t haul stuff around.”
Jones thinks it's been easy for Daniels to remain involved all these years simply because of the type of person she is.
“The values and principles that she was brought up with back in Colorado are the same values of the Girl Scouts, and she just lives by them everyday,” Jones said. “She represents Girl Scouts at its best — honesty, hard work, trying new things, exploring, being kind to people, patriotism and just a can-do attitude.”
Bettie Marie Daniels is pictured during a centennial trip for the Girls Scouts that included a covered wagon. (Courtesy Photo) 
Left, Bettie Marie Daniels is pictured during her time with the Girl Scouts in Los Angeles in the 1950s. Right, Daniels receives the Thanks Badge, which honors a registered GIrl Scout adult whose ongoing commitment, leadership, and service have had an exceptional and measurable impact on meeting the mission-delivery goals and priorities for the council. (Courtesy Photos) 
Members of the Cody Girl Scouts dressed in uniforms throughout the years as part of the fashion show during the event. (Courtesy Photo)
Looking Back
Daniels ‘favorite memories with the organization come from traveling, including trips to Europe and Mexico.
“I went with 45 Girl Scouts to Europe,” she said of a trip in 1984. “We started in London and went to seven countries. We didn't plan on it, but we got to see the queen on her birthday because the bus driver didn't know where the [Girl Scout] International Center was so he took us to the Euro Guidance Center and they told us to go down to the streets and we got to see her.”
There were four World Centers located in London, Switzerland, India and Mexico during the time Daniels was traveling with the Girl Scouts, although a fifth has since been added in Africa. She has been to three of them.
“I never had a desire to go to India,” she said. “But my husband and I took 16 Girl Scouts from Wyoming to Mexico City for Christmas break one year and we went to see the Mexico International Center. It was fantastic. It's on five acres and that was a great experience.”
Other standout trips include training at the Edith Macy Center in New York during the 1950s and ’70s; a roundup in Coeur d Alene, Idaho, with 125 girls where she was secretary to the camp director; and a backpack trip to North Carolina with 30 girls.
“It rained 36 inches, which I didn’t understand because I came from dry country in Wyoming, so I didn’t put plastic over my tent and that was fun,” she said sarcastically of the North Carolina trip.
She was also asked to take some girls to appear in a segment for “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” in 1978. It was filmed at Natural Center West located near Ten Sleep. The TV show contacted the state organization, which then asked Daniels if she’d take the girls to the site for filming.
The scouts broke into groups for horseback riding and backpacking and learned about several animals, including a bobcat, badger, raccoon and snakes.
“It was supposed to take a day, but it took a week,” she said.
Cookies And Changing Times
Daniels has sold thousands of boxes of Girl Scout Cookies in her time, something that was never a favorite activity, but a necessary one to raise money.
“My son was an Eagle Scout and has had a lot of troops,” she said. “But he's been a Girl Scout longer than he’s been a Boy Scout. I remember him pulling the wagon for his two sisters to go deliver Girl Scout Cookies. When I was the cookie chairman my garage was full of cookies.”
She said the way cookies are sold is different now than it used to be. Early on, calling on the phone was discouraged and going door-to-door was the preferred selling method. Now going door-to-door is out because of possible dangers, but calling is fine. Local scouts often set up tables in front of stores to sell as well.
Some of the offerings of the group have also changed, moving away from camping and more toward adventure sports like rock climbing, snowmobiling and technology.
“I'm from another generation, so I don't like [the technology] as well, but it keeps up with the current times and that's a blessing,” she said.
Also when Daniels first became a Girl Scout, there were limited activities for girls to be involved in, so participation numbers were higher.
“Now there's 15 different opportunities to do any kind of sports, dance and gymnastics and all the things that they do so they have to pick and choose,” she said. “And that means you don't have as many Girl Scouts, but it’s still a great organization for those that are in it.”
