These girls mean business

National Cookie Day, when Girl Scouts peddle their tempting confections, was Friday, Feb. 8; who knew? Then again there seems to be an official "day" for darned near everything, and with the average household containing at least one Cookie Monster ... OK, in our house during Girl Scout sales time, make that three Cookie Monsters. Thin Mints - mmmm...

Speaking of Girl Scouts, who knew they lay claim to the largest girl-led business in the world? Perhaps that's stretching it a bit; after all, Scouts are nonprofit and "business" connotes for-profit entities. Still, $790 million a year for cookies is nothing to sniff at (Do-Si-Dos: peanut butter aromatherapy) and if you take "girl" to mean minors, what other can compare?

It's hard to pin down just when Girl Scouts began to sell cookies, at first made by volunteer moms and sold casually for local fundraising. By 1917, five years after Juliet "Daisy" Gordon Low started Girl Scouts in Georgia, a troop in Oklahoma baked and sold sugar cookies to the public at the local high school as a service project; in 1922 the Girl Scout magazine suggested all troops follow suit with a small profit and the idea took off.

Ms. Low was quite a woman. A privileged young girl active in the arts and several sports, she came from a good home, attended good boarding schools, and married an English gentleman. However, at her wedding she lost hearing in her one good ear when a grain of tossed rice landed in it, leaving her deaf in both ears. After returning to England from work as a U.S. hospital volunteer during the Spanish-American war, she found she'd lost her marriage and chance at a family.

Low didn't give in to depression long. Instead she searched for meaning. By 1911 she had met Sir Robert Baden-Powell (whose birthdate is Feb. 22, Boy Scouts' Founders Day), British founder of what became Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. Baden-Powell was a nobleman and military hero who rewrote the popular British soldiers' handbook for woodworking and observation, "Aids to Scouting," for a younger audience, then took 22 boys of mixed social classes camping in 1907 to bond and make them better citizens, thus creating scouting tradition. Within months after meeting him, Low returned to the U.S. and gathered 18 girls to register the first troop of American Girl Guides in Savannah, starting with her niece and namesake, Daisy Gordon.

Modern scouting is committed to "discovering, celebrating and fostering the leader" in every child. The Girl Scout mission is to "build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place." According to the Boy Scouts website, their mission is "to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes."

Feb. 22 is also "Thinking Day" for all Girl Scouts, when they consider their brothers and sisters worldwide and the broad meaning of guiding. This idea formed at the 1926 international Girl Scout conference; each annual day would have a theme. This year's theme is "Together we can save children's lives" (and reduce child mortality rates worldwide). Recent years' themes include the environment, empowerment, AIDS/fatal diseases, food, water, adolescent health, and poverty.

And that original Girl Scout cookie, circa 1922? It's the only recipe they'll share, but all for a good cause:

Ingredients: one cup butter, one cup sugar (plus some for topping), two eggs, two tablespoons milk, one teaspoon vanilla, two cups flour, one teaspoon salt, and two teaspoons baking powder. Cream butter and the cup of sugar; add well-beaten eggs, then milk, vanilla, flour, salt, and baking powder. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Roll dough, cut into trefoil shapes, and sprinkle sugar on top, if desired. Bake at 375 for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges begin to brown. Makes six or seven dozen cookies.

The Girl Scouts Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho serves more than 8,200 girls. For more information on joining, volunteering and cookie orders, contact the council (800) 827-9478 or Gsewni.org. And don't forget to support Boy Scouts with popcorn sales in a few months.

"To put yourself in another's place requires real imagination, but by doing so each Girl Scout will be able to live among others happily." - Juliette Gordon Low

Sholeh Patrick, J.D., is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Email sholehjo@hotmail.com.