Russiaville troop forms all-girls Boy Scouts group

RUSSIAVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Meet the Atomic Biscuits. They're a group of seven girls who love outdoor adventure and exploration.

And last month, that love brought them all together to form the first all-girls Boy Scouts of America troop in Howard County.

On Feb. 1, the Boys Scouts opened its doors to girls for the first time in its 109-year history. The move came after the Cub Scouts program started accepting girls last year.

The Boys Scouts of America announced the historic changes in October 2017. And that's when Dennis Dunten started preparing to get an all-girls troop up and running in Russiaville.

Dunten had been a leader for years in Troop 519, the town's all-boys troop in which his son participated. So when he learned girls would be accepted, he jumped on the chance to form a troop in which his daughter, Danielle, could have the same opportunities as her brother.

"We had everything in place, so we just sat back to see what would happen when Feb. 1 rolled around," Dunten said. "Lo and behold, a group of girls came forward. Since we were prepared, we were the first ones to roll out the door."

On a recent Tuesday evening, four of the girls in the newly formed Troop 619 met up at the Russiaville Lions Club for their second official meeting. The building was buzzing with Scouts from Troops 619 and 519, most of whom wore their brown uniforms and dark-blue handkerchiefs.

The two troops kicked off the evening together by participating in the traditional flag ceremony and reciting the Scout's Oath before splitting off into separate rooms to hold their own troop meetings.

Soon, the girls were discussing the menu they wanted to put together for their first campout this weekend.

Danielle Dunten, a 13-year-old student at Redeemer Lutheran School in Kokomo, was leading the discussion when she looked at her dad and asked, "What should we make?"

"Don't ask me," Dennis Dunten said. "It's up to you. This is your campout."

The girls have been making all kinds of decisions since forming the troop. During the first meeting, they voted on leadership positions.

And, of course, they had to vote on a troop name. They unanimously decided on the Atomic Biscuits - a name that was born after Danielle stubbed her toe and yelled "biscuits!" at the top of her lungs.

"These girls have an insane sense of humor that I'm finding the boys don't have," Dennis Dunten said with a laugh. "The other option they considered was the Radioactive Gummy Worms."

The girls have been having a good time since joining up with Scouts - just as they knew they would. All seven members of the new troop have brothers, fathers or other male relatives who were members of Boy Scouts of America, and they all wanted to experience the same kind of adventure.

Ben Blumenberg, the executive director of the Sagamore Council, which oversees Scouting activities in 16 counties in north-central Indiana, said that's the case with most of the more than 7,000 girls across the country who have so far joined Scouts in the last month.

"They're all exceptionally excited," he said. "Most of the girls have a dad or brother who has experienced Scouting, so they're all chomping at the bit to do the things their dad or brother have had the chance to do."

Cora and Alie Ebert, who are both homeschooled, said they joined Troop 619 after watching their older brother work his way up the ranks and head out on excursions such as kayaking in the Gulf of Mexico along the Florida coast.

"I just feel like you do a lot more with Boy Scouts," Cora said. "I'm looking forward to doing more of the high adventure stuff."

It's the same story in Greentown, where another all-girls troop recently formed. Troop 628 Leader Pat Skillington said five girls have so far signed up for their group, including her granddaughter, and they all want to do what their brother or dad did in Scouts.

"They love the outdoors. They loved adventure. They just want more excitement. They want to be part of that," Skillington said.

Shelia Maiden, assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 619, said she was a leader in the boy's troop for years, and has waited a long time for the day when girls could join up with the organization that's meant so much to her.

"I've enjoyed myself," she said. "I'm very excited that this is now open to girls. I was ready for it. I've had great experiences, and I know that girls can do everything that the boys can do. We can make fires, we can cook, we can do things in the wilderness. We need to know what to do if we get lost in the woods. It's great they can learn all these skills now."

Back at the meeting of Russiaville's Troop 619, the girls worked on organizing a sausage and pancake breakfast fundraiser for their new troop, which currently has no money and is borrowing equipment and supplies from the boys' troop.

The girls are hoping to not only make enough money to buy their own equipment, they also want to raise money to fund a trip to Poland later this year to attend an international Scouting jamboree.

But right now, the girls said, they're just looking forward to learning outdoor survival skills like how to pitch a tent and tie different knots.

Most of them already have earned a few merit badges, including crime prevention and traffic safety, after attending a Boy Scouts event last month at Indiana University Kokomo.

Danielle Dunten said she's excited, but also a little nervous about the outdoor aspects of Scouts.

"I'm not one for camping, so we'll see how it goes," she said with a laugh. "I'm into wilderness survival, but not camping. It's ironic, I know . I just really hate the cold."

But maybe the most exciting thing, Danielle said, is the legacy she and the other girls are leaving behind by creating the first all-girls troop in Howard County.

"I just feel like my name will be tied up as one of the founders of this troop," she said. "On one hand, it's kind of cool. But on the other hand, it's like, 'Whoa.' That's a lot to think about."

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Source: Kokomo Tribune