Through the Groves by Anne Hull

Author:Anne Hull
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

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NO SOONER had I become an independent voyager able to travel great distances on my own than the conventions of girlhood finally caught up to me.

The Girl Scouts met at the Brownie Hut in Plant City. I wanted a house like the Brownie Hut. It was made of logs and it had a fireplace and smelled of woodsmoke. The refrigerator was stocked with jugs of fruit punch and Girl Scout cookies, and inside the door was a bottle of Mylanta in case anyone got a sour stomach. What else did you need?

We weren’t allowed to go to the pond outside the Brownie Hut because of water moccasins. It added to our sense of adventure, knowing that a tangle of serpents was on the other side of the door as we stood to give the Pledge of Allegiance. My friend Dixie and I planned out which badges we wanted to earn for our sashes. We all brought in recipes from home and we mimeographed them and stapled them together. One girl brought a recipe for Dr Pepper cake, another brought “grandma’s peach pie,” and my contribution was a recipe for sukiyaki.

Dixie possessed a wide array of Brownie gear and accouterments. She came to meetings with an olive-green mess kit with a cup, plate, and spoon inside. Her pretend world had a wider range than mine. She raided her older sister’s closet for go-go boots and sequin tops to dress up as one of Dean Martin’s Golddigger dancers. Her sister went on to become the Plant City Strawberry Queen, high royalty in town. Her sister shared stories of getting her hair done at the Wig Box, where the curling irons plugged into the ceiling. Dixie didn’t consider herself Strawberry Queen material. Pork chops and caramel cake were too dear to her, but she basked in the glory of being kin to royalty.

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