Wapehani Girl Scout Council, Inc. records
Scope and Contents
This collection includes management records, publications, awards, certificates, public relations materials, photo albums, scrapbooks, and other materials from the Wapehani Girl Scout Council, Inc. in Muncie, Indiana ranging from 1942 to 2007 regarding the administration of the Wapehani Council, activities and events involving the Girl Scouts of the Wapehani Council, and correspondence and events with the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.
Dates
- Creation: 1942-2007
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Separated materials are restricted. Contact the repository for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries, Muncie, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Archives and Special Collections.
Administrative History
Girl Scouting in Delaware County began in Muncie in the 1920s. The Wapehani Girl Scout Council was organized in 1956 for girls in Madison, Delaware, Tipton, Randolph, Jay, Grant (with the exception for Marion), and Henry (with the exception of New Castle) counties. Since then it has grown to include all of Grant and Henry Counties, as well as Blackford county. The council office began in Anderson but later settled for good in Daleville around 1970. Membership in the council began with 4.400 girls, and hit a peak in 1970 with over 12,000 girls and volunteers. The main council office resides in Daleville.
The Wapehani Council at one time owned six different properties: the Little Log Cabin on the Delaware County Fairgrounds (moved to Heekin Park in 1987), the Marion Girl Scout Cabin, Camp Munsee, Camp Tanglewood, Camp Windigo, and Camp Wonderland. in 1970, the Great Lodge at Camp Munsee burned to the ground, leaving only the foundation and chimney. The Girl Scouts rallied to rebuild, and in 1972 the Lycoming Lodge was christened and opened for use.
In 1989, the city of Marion asked to use the Girl Scouts' Marion Cabin for a YMCA senior lunch program. The cabin was donated to the Girl Scouts in the 1960s by William H. Braunlin. The senior citizens program, which had previously been meeting at the local YMCA, grew to be too costly and the city wished to save cost by holding the program at the cabin. Later, Ruth Cartwright (treasurer for the Braunlin Foundation, and the person in charge of the seniors program) challenged the Girl Scouts' ownership of the cabin, claiming it rightfully belonged to the city of Marion. The city courts found the Girl Scouts to be the rightful owners of the cabin, and the Girl Scouts then denied the request to move the seniors program.
In the 1930's, Arthur E. Ball donated the land now called Camp Munsee. In 1992, the Wapehani Council began to end leases on properties and had Camp Munsee appraised for sale, angering many of the council volunteers. An opposition group was formed and called itself CAMPS (Citizens Allied to Maintain and Promote Scouting). CAMPS held a cookie boycott that year, and heavily publicized the closing of Camp Munsee. At that time, CAMPS won and Camp Munsee was not sold.
The Wapehani Girl Scout Council celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2006. On January 1, 2007, the Wapehani Council merged with four other Indiana councils to become the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, Inc. In 2012, the Girls Scouts of the United States of America celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Extent
15 Cubic Feet (17 boxes)
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in the following series and subseries:
Series 1: Wapehani Girl Scout Council documents, 1944-2007
Subseries 1.1: Wapehani Girl Scout Council administrative documents, 1944-2007
Subseries 1.2: Wapehani Girl Scout Council financial documents, 1973-2000
Subseries 1.3: Wapehani Girl Scout Council fundraising documents, 1956-2006
Subseries 1.4: Wapehani Girl Scout Council human resources, personnel and volunteer management, and other documents, 1967-2001
Subseries 1.5: Wapehani Girl Scout Council programs and services documents, 1960-2005
Subseries 1.6: Wapehani Girl Scout Council publications, 1956-2006
Series 2: Wapehani Girl Scout Council awards and certificates, 1983-1997
Series 3: Wapehani Girl Scout Council camp documents, 1955-2004
Subseries 3.1: Camp Munsee documents, 1955-1996
Subseries 3.2: Camp Tanglewood documents, 1988-1997
Subseries 3.3: Camp Windigo documents, 1961-2000
Subseries 3.4: Camp Wonderland documents, 1985-1992
Subseries 3.5: Marion Cabin documents, 1955-1998
Subseries 3.6: Other camp documents, 1956-2004
Subseries 3.7: Property task force documents, 1983-1992
Series 4: Girl Scouts of the United States of America documents, 1942-2005
Subseries 4.1: Girl Scouts of the United States of America artifacts, 1982-2004
Subseries 4.2: Girl Scouts of the United States of America documents, 1985-2005
Subseries 4.3: Girl Scouts of the United States of America publications, 1942-2005
Series 5: Wapehani Girl Scout Council albums, binders, and scrapbooks, 1949-2002
Series 6: Wapehani Girl Scout Council restricted documents, 1981-2004
Series 7: Wapehani Girl Scout Council oversize material, 1943-2002
Series 8: Wapehani Girl Scout Council electronic files, 1943-2004
Series 9: Wapehani Girl Scout Council photographs, 1994-1997
Series 10: Wapehani Girl Scout Council negatives, 1994-1997
Series 11: Wapehani Girl Scout Council oversize photographs, circa 1999
Series 12: Wapehani Girl Scout Council audio recordings, 1987-2002
Series 13: Wapehani Girl Scout Council slide collection, 1982-1987
Series 14: Wapehani Girl Scout Council videos, 1989-2003
Custodial History
This collection was received by Archives and Special Collections as a donation from Deborah Beckman on 2004/07/12, and from Susan Rodriguez on 2006/10/26.
Processing Information
Collection processing completed 2006 Apr. by A. Morrison. Finding aid revised 2007 Jan. by J. Gray. EAD finding aid created 2012/05/07 by Lisa Barney. EAD finding aid modified 2013/12/06 by Leslie Nellis.
- Title
- Wapehani Girl Scout Council, Inc. records
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Stoeckel Archives of Local History Repository
Alexander M. Bracken Library
2000 W. University Avenue
Muncie Indiana 47306 USA
libarchives@bsu.edu