Date:            October 30, 2009

Date Release: Immediately

From: Katherine Keena, kkeena@girlscouts.org

RE:    President Obama Signs Girl Scout Commemorative Coin Act

Thursday, October 29, 2009

President Barack Obama has signed the Girl Scouts of the USA Commemorative Coin Act authorizing the minting of 350,000 silver dollar coins in honor of Girl Scouts and the achievements of the 50 million women across the nation whose lives have been influenced by Girl Scouting.

Fran Harold, the Director of the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace in Savannah Georgia, exclaimed that “Just as Juliette Low said it 1925-----‘Truly, ours is a circle of friendships united by ideals.’  It is fantastic that Girl Scouts from all across the county have come together to successfully advocate to their United States Representatives and Senators on behalf of the 2013 Girl Scout Commemorative Coin Bill.  I think Juliette Low would be so proud of the amazing accomplishments of her Girl Scouts and that funds from the coin will help preserve, her family home for today’s girls and for the future generations of Girl Scouts and visitors from across the country!” 

The bill in the House of Representatives (H.R. 621), sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), easily passed by a voice vote and with more than 300 co-sponsors on October 15. A companion Senate bill (S. 451), sponsored by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), also passed unanimously on October 19. President Obama signed the bill on Thursday, October 29.

An exciting new accession has come home to the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace.  A significant early 19^th century portrait of Juliette Magill Kinzie and Nellie Kinzie (Gordon), Juliette Low’s grandmother and mother, was donated to the Wayne-Gordon House (the Birthplace) and Girl Scouts of the USA by Kris Dobyns, a Gordon family descendant.  The mother and daughter portrait was painted around 1838 by a well-known portrait painter of the day, James F. Wilkins. Kris Dobyns inherited the painting from her father Gordon Lawrence, son of Daisy Gordon Lawrence, Juliette Low's niece, namesake and the first Girl Scout.  It is quite likely that the portrait hung in the Gordon home when Nellie lived here though it is not listed specifically on our inventories or in any of the family wills. Only a very few paintings from the collection are mentioned by name in family records. This particular work was passed down from Nellie Gordon to her children and later grandchildren. The portrait appears in Lady from Savannah, the biography of Juliette Low co-authored by Daisy Gordon Lawrence and Gladys Denny Schultz.  The painting can be seen in the photograph section of the book.

Have you always dreamed of making a trip to Savannah to visit the Birthplace? Make this your year to make your dream come true. What a better place to enjoy Girl Scouting than in Savannah, Georgia, where...

The Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace is registering Brownie Troops for the 2009-2010 "Brownie Days at the Birthplace." "Brownie Day" is a Birthplace visit designed especially for Brownie Girl Scouts. The events each include different songs, games, crafts and a special Brownie house activity related to the theme of the event in Daisy's own home (instead of a formal house tour).