Alum Spotlight: Cathie Bales
How did you learn about Girl Scouts? Was it from reading a school flyer, seeing a poster in the library, or an ad on your social media feed? For Cathie Bales, grandmother of a nine-year-old, she heard someone at a birthday party sharing a story about their Girl Scout troop’s recent excursion. Her ears perked up, and she joined in the conversation to share some of her great Girl Scout memories.
Cathie joined Girl Scouts as a Brownie in the 1960s in Portsmouth, Virginia, staying in the program through high school. She had gone on many adventures as a Girl Scout, including a Wider Opportunity to National Center West in Wyoming (Wider Opportunities are now known as Destinations). Her mother, Melanie Ustick, had gone from Girl Scout volunteer to paid office staff in the Greater Tidewater Girl Scout Council, a council that merged with Heritage Girl Scout Council to form Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast, and she received the highest award as an adult in Girl Scouts, the Thanks Badge. Melanie, who died four years ago, continues to be remembered by many area Girl Scout alum as the “Caving Lady.” She had been one of the local founders of the caving program for Girl Scouts.
“She mostly organized the trips and cooked,” Cathie said. “I tried it a couple of times as well, but found that horseback riding was what I really loved. My trip to National Center West allowed me to ride every day!”
Cathie Bales with granddaughter Bridget
Wider Opportunity with Colonial Coast Cavers at Organ Cave, West Virginia, July 26, 1991
Cathie is excited about going through the Girl Scout experience again with her granddaughter, Bridget, in a troop in Windsor, Virginia led by Ericka Spratley, a seasoned volunteer who also held the role of National Council Delegate.
“Mom would be so happy that Bridget is a Girl Scout,” she said. “Ericka is amazing and we are looking forward to this year, especially the Cracks, Crevices and Crawlways program at Camp Skimino. Bridget will be introduced to her great-grandmother’s love of spelunking!”
We’re so happy that Cathie was invited to join a Girl Scout troop from a conversation she had with a friend. You, too, can extend a hand to someone to join our great Movement. Invite new youth and adults into your troop through MyGS or the online troop catalog, or tell them about an upcoming council event. Share your Girl Scout story with others and encourage them to get involved!
The Colonial Coast Cavers
If high adventure is what you seek, you can find it in Girl Scouts. Just ask the Colonial Coast Cavers, a group of local Girl Scout teens and volunteers who routinely travel to the hills of West Virginia to explore the underground world at Organ Cave. For some, it may be daunting to even enter a cave, but for the Colonial Coast Cavers, it’s a fun and challenging adventure.
Inside the cave, girls will experience narrow, winding passageways and scenes of stalactites and stalagmites. They will crawl over and under rocks with only their headlamps lighting the way.
The Colonial Coast Cavers have been taking girls to explore caves in West Virginia since 1977. Cracks, Crevices and Crawlways, a program to introduce girls to the fun of caving through an indoor program where the caving environment is simulated, started in the 1980s. There are two such events coming up in January; learn more and sign up!
