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Show MADELYN CANNON STEWART SILVER 30 The ranch inspired Madelyn; she always got a poetic feeling there. Her diary entries and letters to Louise Richards and oth ers mention the whistling of the wind through the pine trees, the evening cries of the rushing and the leaves of the nighthawk, quivering aspens in this valley. of aspens, willows, meadow grass, and sagebrush. Madelyn became enthralled with nature, and in these developing years wrote many verses that were inspired by the sights and sounds of the ranch. The ranch house, which was always an important part of her life and the lives of her children, was placed on the waters of the mountain stream, the National Historic Register of Places in 1985. Madelyn's love for the outdoors was heightened by her activity with the Camp Fire Girls, 1914-15. On March 17, 1910, a little more than a month after the organization of the Boy Scouts of America, Luther Harvey and Charlotte Vetter Gulick, a nationally-known physical education specialist and his wife, also an author, organized the Camp Fire Girls. Intended for girls from ten to eighteen years of age, a local group was to be composed of six to twenty members. The girls were organized according to age as Blue Birds, Guardians, and Camp Fire Girls. The organization focused on seven activities: Camping, Home Craft, Health Craft, Hand Craft, Nature Lore, Business, and Citizenship. A merit system was established to permit girls to earn honor beads. With a symbolism based on Indian lore, the organization would perpetuate the spiritual ideals of the home and stimulate and aid in the formation of habits contributing to good health and character. The Gulicks assisted by Ernest Thompson and Grace Seton, the for mer a naturalist, author, and artist, the latter a travel writer were and suffragist. Recognizing the value of the Camp Fire Girls, Madelyn's Aunt Annie investigated the Girl Guide program in England, corresponded with the Gulicks, and in the summer of 1914 formed a Camp Fire Group for Latter-day Saint girls in Forest Dale Ward. Originally, six girls joined, including Madelyn Stewart, but within a few weeks the group was expanded to add five others, all members of Forest Dale Ward. They called their group the Aquena Camp Fire; Madelyn's Indian name was |
