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Dozens of former Girl Scouts and Girl Scout cookie lovers from across Philadelphia gathered to celebrate the origins of the group’s public cookie sales Saturday, marking the fifth week of the Philadelphia Historic District 250th Committee’s “52 Weeks of Firsts” initiative.
The event honored the longstanding partnership between Girl Scouts of the USA and PECO and took place at PECO’s headquarters at 23rd and Market streets. Visitors sampled and purchased cookies, voted on their favorite flavors and heard the story of the Girl Scouts’ origins, honoring their place in Philadelphia’s history.
America’s first public Girl Scout cookie sale occurred in 1932, when Girl Scouts used “demonstration ovens” to bake cookies that they later sold out the window of PECO’s original Broad Street headquarters, according to Nicole Levine, PECO’s chief operating officer and board chair of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania.
Event organizers and community members pose with the #1 sculpture designed to honor America’s first Girl Scout cookie sale at last weekend’s ‘Firstival.’ (Emily Scolnick/WHYY)
“We’re honored the Girl Scouts are being recognized for one of [Philadelphia’s] firsts today, a story that’s shared with us at PECO and has grown into a lasting national tradition,” Levine — a former Girl Scout — told the gathered crowd. She credited the Girl Scouts with giving her the leadership skills she uses as PECO’s first female COO.
Attendees had the opportunity to hear the story of the first cookie sale told by a storyteller from Once Upon a Nation, a storytelling program sponsored by the Historic District of Philadelphia, and admire the sculpture created to honor this week’s historic “first.”
“We’re so excited to be included,” GSEPA CEO Kim Fraites said. “It’s a big year for the country, and obviously for Philadelphia.”
Phylicia Epps, GSEPA’s head of Philadelphia strategy and partnerships, said that as a former Girl Scout herself, she has enjoyed playing a role in the organization’s growth in the city and being part of the America 250 celebrations.
“The city of Philadelphia has so much to celebrate. It’s amazing to see folks come out for all of the different firsts, and we are just honored to be a part of that,” she said. “It’s been so cool to talk to other folks and be like, ‘I was a Girl Scout growing up,’ and [see them] wanting to come here to celebrate the Girl Scouts.”
The weekly Philadelphia events, known as “Firstivals,” each feature a unique sculpture that is placed at the city location where each historic “first” took place. So far, sculptures have been placed at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia to honor America’s first balloon flight, the Mummers Museum to honor the first folk parade, the Fireman’s Hall Museum to honor the first volunteer fire company, and at Xfinity Mobile Arena to honor the first professional basketball league.