Girl Scouts make honorary gesture
in remembrance of 9/11
Photo courtesy of Dina Harding
SPECIAL GESTURE — Members of Presque Isle Girl Scout Troop 1137 and their families made homemade chocolate chip cookies Friday night at the Grant Memorial United Methodist Church to give to Presque Isle firefighters and police officers as an honorary gesture in remembrance of those fallen on Sept. 11, 2001.
Gathered at the police station that evening were, from left, front row: Officer Cole Chandler, Troop members: Lily Hanks, Brownie; Amelia Dyer, Daisy; Allison Morton, Brownie; Sophia Morton, Daisy; and future Girl Scout Laurel Brown. Second row: Scouts: Elizabeth Dyer, Junior; Brownies, Courtney Harding, Eva Callioras and Caroline Brown, and Firefighter Kyle Bartley. Back row: Girl Scout family members Dan Hanks, Brent Dyer, Suzanne Morton, with Troop 1137 Girl Scout Leaders Roxanne Poole and Dina Harding, parent Beth Brown, and Firefighter Grant Spinney. Absent when the photo was taken were Adult Girl Scout Member and volunteer Melissa Dyer, Adult Member Linda McKinney, Ambassador Abigail Poole, Junior Josalyn Wark, and Brownies Madyson Wark, Jeanna Knight and Lexee McKinney.
PRESQUE ISLE — Last Friday, members of Presque Isle Girl Scout Troop 1137 and their families made homemade chocolate chip cookies at the Grant Memorial United Methodist Church to give to Presque Isle firefighters and police officers as an honorary gesture in remembrance of those fallen on Sept. 11, 2001, and to demonstrate their gratitude to those who continue to protect and serve our communities, and our country, every day.
The mission was planned and led by Girl Scout Leaders Dina Harding and Roxanne Poole, and was implemented with the help of eight Girl Scouts, along with six of their family members.
Photo courtesy of Dina Harding
PRESQUE ISLE GIRL SCOUT TROOP 1137 and their families made homemade chocolate chip cookies Friday night to give to Presque Isle firefighters and police officers as an honorary gesture in remembrance of those fallen on Sept. 11, 2001. Standing next to a 9-11 remembrance poster and individual gratitude artwork, and receiving a second batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies on Saturday are, from left: Officer Kevin Schumacher, Brownie Girl Scout Courtney Harding, and Officers Kevin Reed and Lynn Hartley.
The preparation work started at 5 p.m. with the purchase of all fresh ingredients by Harding, which included flour, baking soda, sugar, brown sugar, salt, butter, vanilla extract, eggs, and semi-sweet chocolate morsels. After the customary Girl Scout Troop meeting start-up activities and business were conducted, the girls quickly started mixing ingredients together under the guidance of Harding before portioning the cookie dough onto baking sheets in an assembly line like manner. Supervised by Poole and two participating parents, Melissa Dyer, who is also a lifetime member of Girl Scouts, and Beth Brown, the girls then baked the homemade cookies using two ovens simultaneously.
At 8 p.m., and immediately after clean-up at the church, the girls and their families went to the Presque Isle Police Station where they were first greeted by on-duty Officer Danielle Levesque, and shortly thereafter by Officer Peter Johnson. The Girl Scouts then had the opportunity to express their appreciation with a group message of “Thank you for keeping us safe in our communities” directly to Firefighters Grant Spinney and Kyle Bartley, along with Officer Cole Chandler.
Next, on behalf of Troop 1137, Harding shared a short message of remembrance to those fallen on 9/11, and provided sentiments from everyone present regarding their sincerest appreciation and gratitude to all of the first responders, and any affiliated adults, who continue to serve our communities, and our nation, every day, in order to keep us safe. Girl Scout Brownie Lily Hanks then presented one tray of homemade cookies to Bartley, while Girl Scout Daisy Amelia Dyer presented one bucket of homemade cookies to Chandler and Spinney.
A total of 9 dozen homemade chocolate chip cookies and two handcrafted red, white and blue 9/11 remembrance themed posters, which were signed by everyone participating in the 9/11 cookie project, were given to the Police and Fire Departments during the Friday night gathering. Afterward, each girl personally greeted and introduced herself to the firefighters and police officers, and then shared her own individual piece of gratitude poster art, prior to a few group photographs being taken.
Photo courtesy of Dina Harding
RECEIVING individual gratitude poster artwork from Girl Scout Troop 1137 Brownie Caroline Brown is Presque Isle firefighter Grant Spinney, as firefighter Kyle Bartley and police officer Cole Chandler look on.
Upon returning home, Harding and her daughter, Courtney, a Brownie Girl Scout, continued to bake an additional 5 dozen chocolate chip cookies, which were later shared with another daytime shift of Presque Isle police officers the next day. Those present at the Police Station to receive the second batch of homemade cookies from the Hardings were officers Lynn Hartley, Kevin Reed, Kevin Schumacher, Dispatcher Pam Sutherland, and Animal Control Officer Dan Corey.
A special thank you to Hartley who spent time giving a brief tour inside the Police Station to Courtney and introducing her to other police officers, all of whom posed for a picture next to the Girl Scouts’ 9/11 remembrance poster art. Hartley also educated Courtney more thoroughly on important matters including personal safety, self-preservation methods from strangers and how to leave a scent trail for any of the Presque Isle Police Department’s three bloodhound detective dogs, proper seatbelt usage and car safety practices, alcohol and drug awareness information, pertinent emergency protocols including the proper use of 9-1-1 and how to properly complete the call and to never hang up on a 9-1-1 operator if accidentally dialed, as well as answering Courtney’s questions, and also providing detailed insights on what requirements are necessary to become a police officer.
In all, Girl Scout Troop 1137 made 14 dozen chocolate chip cookies for the firefighters and police officers of Presque Isle, and they were able to express sincere gratitude to local first responders, while also “giving back” as a small gesture in remembrance to those fallen on Sept. 11, 2001.
A special note of appreciation goes out to the Grant Memorial United Methodist Church for hosting our Girl Scout Troop meetings, and also for allowing us the use of their kitchen for this special act of service.
The primary focus of Girl Scouts is to build courage, character and confidence in girls. For more information about Girl Scouts, please call toll free 1-888-922-GSME (4763) or visit www.girlscoutsofmaine.org.
