Blue Robin, the Girl Pioneer Part 1

Blue Robin, the Girl Pioneer.

by Rena I. Halsey.

WHAT ARE "GIRL PIONEERS"?

The first public meeting of the National Organization of the Girl Pioneers of America was held by the founder, Miss Lina Beard, in the quaint old Pioneer meeting-house on Broadway, in Flushing, New York, February 8, 1912.

The aim of the Organization of Girl Pioneers is: To cultivate in girls the sterling qualities displayed by our early pioneer women; to create a desire in them for a happy, broad, and useful life and to show them how to attain it; to give them things to do that are interesting, wholesome, and that will strengthen character; and to develop a love for out-of-door life by showing them how to live it.

The watchword of the Girl Pioneer is, "I Can."

The principles upon which the organization is founded are not simply taught as precepts, they are found and practiced in all the delightful activities of the movement. Outdoor life with its limitless avenues of interest: camping, trailing, woodcraft, learning to know the wild life of the open, its plants, its flowers, birds, common wild animals and insects; the stars and the meaning of the shadows, the use of nature's material in handicraft; all these and many more are opened to the Girl Pioneer, and by actual contact she is finding the beauty of truth and the wonder of reality. By her membership in this large organization she is learning to be less self-centered, learning to work with others and for others, and to share her enjoyments with others. By the joyous partic.i.p.ation in field-sports, and such recreation as rowing, swimming, fishing, riding, kite-flying, stilt-walking, and the more conventional games, such as basket-ball, service-ball, tennis, and archery, she is learning to play honestly and fairly, and _is building up bodily health and strength_ to keep pace with the mental and moral health that is being developed within her.

By her indoor life, lived as truly in the pioneer spirit as her life in the open, she is bringing into play the faculties of resourcefulness, of adaptability, of thoroughness, and the virtue of helpful kindness. She learns to do all household tasks, to do them well, and to be interested in them. She is taught in charming ways the use of her five senses, and is delighted to find that she can develop them and consciously enjoy them. She learns to care for the sick and the young children; she is proud of being able to render "first aid" according to the latest and best methods; she learns how to avoid accidents as well as what to do in case of accidents. She has a system of signs for blazing the trail which belongs solely to the Girl Pioneers, and she learns what to do in case she is lost when camping or trailing. In short, the Girl Pioneer's teaching makes her efficient in all fields. The mind and imagination of the Girl Pioneer are stimulated by true stories of heroism and the adventures of the early pioneers. Her merit badges are given the names of the women pioneers, including besides the early settlers those who were in helpful work for humanity. Her honors are shown by stars worn on the sleeve, which indicate the tests successfully pa.s.sed and lead up to the final merit badge.

The Girl Pioneer colors, red, white, and blue, not only signify that the organization is national in extent but hold a still further meaning for the Girl Pioneers; red standing for courage, white for purity, and blue for truth. The graceful salute symbolizes a brave heart, an honest mind, a resourceful hand. The motto of the Girl Pioneer is, "Brave, Honest, Resourceful."

The Girl Pioneers have their khaki uniform with red tie and red hatband, which is practical, adaptable, and pleasing. They have their banners, their Pioneer sign, their initiation, with its ceremony and membership certificate; their rallies, field-days, and other general meetings indoors and out. They have their Pioneer cheer, and each Band and each group has a cheer of its own. There is the official song which all the Pioneers sing, and there are songs composed by the Bands.

Each Band is under the leadership of a volunteer director who furnishes acceptable credentials. The Band is composed of one group, or several groups, of from six to ten girls in each. The name of an American wild bird is chosen for the name of each group, and the Band is known by its number. The bird cheers of the groups are very breezy and inspiring.

The Girl Pioneer ranks are open to all girls, and the work is very helpful in Sunday-schools, public schools, private schools, camps, and all large societies for girls, such as Young Women's Christian a.s.sociation, Young Women's Christian Temperance Union, playgrounds, etc.

The Daughters of the American Revolution, Colonial Dames, and like organizations seek to preserve the historical records and objects connected with the early life of our country, while the Girl Pioneers seek to revive and perpetuate the spirit that dominated the invincible men and women who made our nation possible.

The Girl Pioneer organization is governed by an Executive Board, of which the Chief Pioneer, Lina Beard, is the head. There is also a National Council composed of eminent and influential men and women living in various parts of the United States, to be called upon when needed.

The Pioneer folder will be sent upon application, and the Manual will be sent upon receipt of price, thirty-five cents, and seven cents for postage. For further information and for literature, address:

Secretary of Girl Pioneers of America, Flushing, New York.

FOREWORD

A few summers ago I had the pleasure of being entertained by several Bands of The Girl Pioneers of America, on the wooded sh.o.r.es of one of Long Island's noted bays, at Camp Laff-a-Lot. As I watched these wholesome-looking, happy girls in their attractive uniforms, and saw their bright, animated faces as they made merry in joyous sport under G.o.d's blue, and then turned to the more serious employment of making bayberry candles, building camp fires, gathering wildflowers in their study of Nature, or blazing the trail as they made the woodland resound to their wonderful imitation of bird-notes, in the various calls of their groups, my interest was awakened. Later, as I gathered with them in the red glow of their Cheer Fire and heard their rousing Pioneer cheer, and their inspiring Band songs, and saw how a love for history and the true meaning of patriotism was engendered, while their minds and imaginations were being stimulated by their stories of the heroism of the women Pioneers, I realized that as our patriotic organizations were seeking to honor the Founders of our Nation by preserving historical records and objects, these Pioneer daughters were seeking to revive and perpetuate the spirit that dominated the men and women who brought to these sh.o.r.es, the grand principles of a civilization that has made our Republic the greatest in the world! It was in recognition of the n.o.bleness of the aims of The Girl Pioneers of America, as well as in appreciation of the worthy Founder's efforts to bring out the best in them, that inspired me to set forth if only in a limited way these many truths, and so I was emboldened to write "Blue Robin, the Girl Pioneer!"

Rena I. Halsey.

_Brooklyn,_ _January 1, 1917._

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE I The Nest in the Old Cedar 11 II Her Next-door Neighbor 27 III Girl Pioneers 40 IV Nathalie Is Asked to Become a Blue Robin 55 V The Gray Stone House 72 VI Working into Harness 90 VII The Mayflower Feast 108 VIII The Motto, "I Can" 126 IX Searching for Rosy 143 X Nathalie as the Story Lady 159 XI The Princess in the Tower 179 XII The Wild-flower Hike 194 XIII Around the Cheer Fire 213 XIV Overcomes 230 XV A Chapter of Surprises 250 XVI Pioneer Stunts 270 XVII Liberty Banners 289 XVIII The Princess Makes Two More Friends 308 XIX The f.a.got Party 330 XX The Dutch _Kraeg_ 348 XXI An Invitation 366 XXII Camp Laff-a-Lot 385 XXIII Miss Camphelia 403 XXIV The Wireless Operator 421 XXV Good-by to Eagle Lake 438

ILl.u.s.tRATIONS

"What can I do for you? Are you in pain?" _Frontispiece_ "Polly Green, her reel," announced Helen 122 "Why, how did you get there?" 172 "Oh, don't be frightened!" exclaimed the princess, with a merry laugh 194 The rope had broken in her grasp 228 Up went two hands in pretended subjugation 290 With an unearthly shriek was flying across the lawn 338 She dropped the ashes of Miss Dummy into the placid water 436

BLUE ROBIN, THE GIRL PIONEER

CHAPTER I-THE NEST IN THE OLD CEDAR

Nathalie came running up the steps of the veranda her brown eyes alight with excitement as she cried, "Oh, Mother, what do you think? Down in the old cedar-tree on the lawn is a nest of tiny blue robins-they're just the cutest things-do come and see them!"

"Blue robins?" quizzed her brother d.i.c.k from where he lay reading in the hammock. "Who ever heard of blue robins?"

"I think she means bluebirds," ventured Mrs. Page, looking up from the morning paper and smiling at the earnest young face of her daughter.

Then her eyes dimmed, but she winked her lashes quickly as if to restrain a sudden rush of tears, rose in answer to the note of appeal in the girl's voice, and stepped to her side.

A moment later they were strolling across the new-grown gra.s.s of the lawn, the girl of sixteen supporting the slender, black-gowned figure of her mother, whose delicate, high-bred face with its impress of recent sorrow defined the youthful glow of the one that smiled upon her so tenderly.

"Now, Mumsie, look!" whispered the girl as she pointed to a dark cavity in the trunk of the cedar but a short distance from the ground; "see, are they not robins?"

Mrs. Page's tired eyes brightened as she watched with keen interest the five bobbing heads with open bills, turweeing in hungry clamor, "Why no, Nathalie," she replied laughingly, "they are bluebirds."

At this instant they spied the mother bird as she flitted excitedly among the upper branches of the tree. Drawing her mother to one side, Nathalie whispered tensely, "Oh, there's the mother bird-she wants to feed them! Let's see what she will do!" Nathalie's eyes sparkled expectantly.

It was quite evident what Mrs. Bluebird was going to do, for she immediately jumped to the edge of the nest and dropped a fat, squirming worm into an open bill. As she poised over her nestlings she caught sight of the two figures under the tree. In another instant she had set up such a vigorous scolding that the interlopers were quite disturbed.

Seeing, however, that they did not offer to molest her little ones, Mrs.

Birdie finally subsided, c.o.c.ked her head perkily on one side, and watched them with eyes that shone like two fireflies.

Father bird now came flying up with another good-sized wriggler in his beak, which mother bird, with an eye to business, hastily s.n.a.t.c.hed and dropped into a wide-open bill.

"Why, Mother," commented Nathalie, "do you see that the father bird is much the handsomer of the two, for he is of a deep blue color, while mother bird's feathers are grayish-blue."

Her mother nodded as she answered, "Yes, and his beautiful coat is in striking contrast to his throat and breast, which are reddish-brown."

"And the white feathers below," continued Nathalie, with keen eyes, "look like a white ap.r.o.n."

"But come, dear," interposed her mother, "we must go back, for I hear d.i.c.k whistling-he is getting impatient-I promised to get him a sofa pillow for the hammock."

As they stepped on the veranda, d.i.c.k inquired, with sarcastic inflection, balancing himself on the edge of the hammock and pushing it to and fro with his crutch, "Well, how many blue robins did you find?"