This fall I’ve been slowly chipping away writing my Girl Guide History tour in downtown Ottawa. I’m not really sure how long the research part of this project will take but I’m hoping to have it fully completed and hypothetically be able to run it in the spring.
So enjoy this work in progress and thanks for reading! - Em
The Statue of Laura Secord at the Valiants Memorial in Ottawa (53 Elgin St, Ottawa, ON) (5-10 Mins)
Our next stop is the Laura Secord statue, which is one of the fourteen statues that make up the Valiants Memorial. Dedicated by the Governor General Michalle Jean on November 5th 2006, this monument commemorates key figures from the Military history of Canada. Laura Secord was a Canadian Hero from the ‘War of 1812’ and is known for having walked 32 kms out of American-occupied territory in 1813 to warn British forces of an impending American attack. Her contribution to the war was little known during her lifetime, but since her death she has been frequently honoured in Canada and Laura Secord was considered a great inspiration for Guides to follow in those early years. But it’s not this statue that has a connection to early Guiding but rather the Laura Secord Monument in Queenston High Park in Niagara that saw the first registered Girl Guide Unit in Canada attend its unveiling.
Although a few units had started in Canada around the same time, it was the company in St. Catharines, Ontario that was first officially registered in England on January 11th, 1910 by Angus Baden-Powell. The unit had been formed by Mary Malcolmson, the November before in the ballroom of the Welland House Hotel. In those early days of Guiding, Malcolmson based her programming on the book ‘Scouting for Boys’ by Boy Scout founder Robert Baden-Powell and two Girl Guide information pamphlets written by his sister, Agnes, who had been put in charge of the Girl Guides. Malcolmson had received these pamphlets from a young neighbour who was given them by Harris Nelson. Harris was the first Scoutmaster in St. Catharines whom Lord Baden-Powell was already corresponding with.
The first company, whom Malcomson’s daughter was the portal leader of, would make several day trips by wagon to the Laura Second statutes to picnic and work on their badge work. As mentioned before, Laura Secord was considered a great inspiration for Guides not only for being a historical woman but also for her sense of duty to the English empire. In her book, “The Girl Guide Movement and Impernationalism during the 1920s and 1930s,” historian Kristine Alexander argues that a large draw of Canadian families to the Girl Guide movement was its patriotic connection to England and this is why many Canadian met at Anglican Churches. Malcomson, herself was a member of her local chapter of ‘Independent Order of the Daughters of the Empire’ and the first full handbook published in 1912 for the Girl Guides by Angus was called “How Girls Can Help to Build Up the Empire”. Although Guiding has changed in Canada since its start, I think it's important to acknowledge it’s colony roots and that at times, Guiding was a tool for training youth into ideal British subjects and for its members to have a stronger connection with the British empire.
(Fun Extra Fact: Laura Secord did not start the Chocolate company, rather it was started in 1913 on the 100 anniversary of her walk by Frank. P. O’ Conner. The first store being open on Young Street in Toronto)
(This tour is written in the summer of 2021 and any Guider who leads it should do additional research to make sure the information is up to date and still culturally appropriated.)