December 11, 2002

Scouts revive tree trimming tradition

Old photo inspires Girl Scouts to decorate Heritage Center Christmas tree
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
       Members of Girl Scout Troops 21 and 31 descended on the Grand Traverse Heritage Center Thursday to recreate a historical tradition: decorating a large Christmas tree that will shine in the main window of the former Sixth Street library.
      Peg Jonkhoff, a board member of the Grand Traverse Heritage Center, decided to invite some area Girl Scouts to the center this year to help with the decorating, after a decades-long hiatus. An historical photo in Jonkhoff's well-thumbed copy of the historical book "Grand Traverse - Reflections Along the Bay" sparked the idea.
      This photo captured a scene from 1950 featuring a local troop standing before an oversized tree they just decorated. This tree was the centerpiece of the Carnegie Library building's Christmas decorations and beamed into the neighborhood. The girls came decked out in their formal Girl Scout uniforms - skirts, loafers, vests and sashes replete with badges - and paused during their efforts to pose for a picture.
      As the main room of what is now the Con Foster Museum swirled with the activity of two Girl Scout troops Thursday afternoon, Jonkhoff was thrilled with the enthusiasm and the beautiful 12-foot tree. Scouts wrapped packages and hung a variety of both homemade and store-bought ornaments.
      "It was just a joy to have the Girl Scouts back here decorating the Heritage Center Tree," said Johnkoff, who is also a member of the Friends of Con Foster Museum board and chair of the Capital Campaign for the Grand Traverse Heritage Center. "We were recreating a part of history."
      Jocelyn Trepte of Traverse City was on hand for the festivities, representing member of the Girl Scout Troop pictured in the 1950 photo. Her mother, Margot Power, was the leader of the troop for years and prompted the decoration effort, which Trepte believes may have continued for a few years. Power had her Girl Scouts make a variety of hand-made ornaments for the tree, including painted pine cones dipped in glitter and copper foil cut into holiday cookie cutter shapes.
      "We whipped yarn around the edges," Trepte recalled. "We also strung popcorn and cranberries for garlands."
      "The girls in the picture were all neighborhood girls from Sixth Street," she noted. "This was local to us."