Category Archives: Opening the Vaults

Canada’s new $10 bill – this is for all the girls breaking barriers

Daring. Courageous. Risk-taker. These are all words that describe Viola Desmond, who’s featured on a the new Canadian $10 bank note. In 1946, the Nova Scotia business woman refused to leave a whites-only area of a movie theater. When it would’ve … Continue reading

Posted in Opening the Vaults | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

All in the family – sisters and role models

Daring. Courageous. Risk-taker. These are all words that can be used to describe Viola Desmond, who’ll be featured on the new Canadian $10 bank note. In 1946, the Nova Scotia business woman refused to leave a whites-only area of a … Continue reading

Posted in Opening the Vaults | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

100 Years Strong – GGC Receives Heritage Plaque

Today, Girl Guides of Canada–Guides du Canada (GGC) received an incredible historic honour – we were presented with a Heritage Plaque from the Government of Canada recognizing our impact on girls and women over the past century. To celebrate this … Continue reading

Posted in Girls' Guides, Opening the Vaults | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Opening the Vaults: Before there was Instagram…

Long before Instagram and eons before selfies, Girl Guides captured their forever memories by printing and developing photos and carefully preserving them in photo albums. Among the favourite items in our national archives collection are two black photo albums titled, … Continue reading

Posted in Opening the Vaults, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Opening the vaults: A camping we will go…

As girls are set to arrive at Guiding Mosaic 2016 (July 9 to July 17), our 13th national camp, we have combed through the archives and discovered some pictures from past national camps. Our first national camp was held in … Continue reading

Posted in Opening the Vaults, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Opening the Vaults: Timeless summer fun

Exploring the outdoors through activities such as hiking, camping and rock climbing can have an extraordinary impact on a girl’s life. With the approach of summer, we’re showcasing some of the outdoor activity photos from our national archives. Although the … Continue reading

Posted in Camping & Outdoors, Opening the Vaults, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Opening the Vaults: Mountaineer, explorer and Girl Guide Phyllis Munday

Girl Guides of Canada–Guides du Canada was thrilled to hear that former member, and famous mountaineer, Phyllis Munday has been nominated as one of the iconic Canadian woman to be featured by the Bank of Canada on a new bank … Continue reading

Posted in Camping & Outdoors, Opening the Vaults | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Opening the Vaults: Vintage Girl Guide cookie boxes

Our spring cookie season is ramping up, a tasty tradition that started in 1927 when girls in Regina sold cookies to raise money for their uniforms and camping equipment. Many visitors to our archives are drawn to the vintage cookie … Continue reading

Posted in Cookie Bits N Bites, Opening the Vaults | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Opening the Vaults: World Thinking Day and the World Flag

World Thinking Day reminds us of our connections to global Guiding. Last year, we opened the vaults to look at the many ways that we have celebrated World Thinking Day in the past. This year, we’re showcasing the origins of the … Continue reading

Posted in Opening the Vaults, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Opening the Vaults: Creative camp gadgets

We have some really interesting photos of camp gadgets in our collection. So many that we had trouble narrowing them down and reached out to some self-proclaimed gadget experts for their help with the selection. Choosing these pictures brought back … Continue reading

Posted in Camping & Outdoors, Opening the Vaults | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Opening the vaults: How Girl Guides Contributed to War Efforts

This gallery contains 4 photos.

Girl Guides of Canada–Guides du Canada (GGC) members made significant contributions to Canada’s war efforts during the twentieth century. Our national archives collection offers a glimpse into how Girl Guides demonstrated bravery, ingenuity and selflessness during our nation’s most difficult … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Opening the Vaults: 1920s and 1930s Campfires and Cookbooks

Every so often we find cookbooks included in a donation to the archives. Today we have decided to share a few of the earliest cookbooks and illustrations from our collection. Many of these recipes and cooking styles would no doubt … Continue reading

Posted in Camping & Outdoors, Opening the Vaults | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Opening the Vaults: Our Chief Commissioners

As we come to the close of Chief Commissioner Sharron Callahan’s term and look towards welcoming Pamela Rice as our next Chief Commissioner,  we’ve opened the vaults to remember some of the dynamic women who have led our organization.   … Continue reading

Posted in Opening the Vaults | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Opening the Vaults: Girl Guide Awards’ Season

Spring is awards season in the world of Guiding, from the presentation of the Chief Commissioner’s Gold Award and Lady Baden-Powell Award and beyond. The recognition of  a girl’s growth and achievement has always been a significant part of Guiding.  … Continue reading

Posted in Opening the Vaults | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Opening the Vaults: World Thinking Day

As we approach World Thinking Day 2015 on February 22, this edition of our Opening the Vaults blog series shines a light on Canadian Guiding’s strong tradition of celebrating our global Guiding connections. Thinking Day (now World Thinking Day) was … Continue reading

Posted in Global Guiding, Opening the Vaults | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Opening the vaults: The Maple Leaf Forever

On February 15, 1965, the maple leaf flag was first unfurled and raised across our country as our nation’s official flag. Designed by George Stanley, the beautiful red and white design  is based on the flag of the Royal Military … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities, Opening the Vaults | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Opening the vaults: Embarrassing moments

Ever have one of those moments where you find your old journal or a box of letters you wrote? Yeah, it can be kind of embarrassing. So imagine Guider Sarah Govan-Sisk’s surprise when a letter she wrote almost 20 years … Continue reading

Posted in Opening the Vaults, Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment

Opening the Vaults: Cookie Selling

The tradition of selling Girl Guide cookies goes back to 1927 when a Girl Guide leader in Regina baked and packaged cookies for her girls to sell as a simple way to raise money for their uniforms and camping equipment. … Continue reading

Posted in Cookie Bits N Bites, Opening the Vaults | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Opening the Vaults: Retro camp pics

Who needs Instagram to give their camp photos that nostalgic vibe? At Girl Guides of Canada, we’ve got lots of classic camp photos with that great hazy look that can only come from the 1970s and 1980s. Our archives sometimes … Continue reading

Posted in Camping & Outdoors, Opening the Vaults | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Opening the vaults – When camp was ‘jolly’

We had such great feedback on our last post from inside the vaults of the Girl Guides of Canada archives, that we’re giving you another peek at some of our treasures. Among the most coveted items in our archives are … Continue reading

Posted in Opening the Vaults, Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment

Opening the vaults: Inside the Girl Guides of Canada archives

The archives at the national office is a treasure trove of records and insignia from the last 100 years of Canadian Guiding.  We have uniforms, badges, publications, minutes and photographs. Here’s a snapshot of just a few of the items … Continue reading

Posted in Opening the Vaults, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment