Biography
In 1917, Clara Cooper formed the first Vermont Girl Scout troop in Wilder. Cooper had moved to Wilder as a school teacher, and she also ran a large Sunday School class for girls. Hoping to provide the girls with some kind of activity during the week, she organized a group of Campfire girls, which were then becoming active in Vermont. The following year, the Campfire girls became Girl Scouts, largely because school officials refused to allow the girls to wear the short Campfire skirts in school on meeting days. Girl Scout uniforms did not pose this problem, so the troop decided to switch.
In 1927, a member of the troop, Eleanor Tuttle, earned the Golden Eaglet award, the first Vermont girl to do so; in 1929 another member of the troop became an Eaglet Scout. Cooper's troop also developed a drum and bugle corps, which played in various parades. In 1940, Cooper moved to Randolph where she was also active with the local Girl Scouts.Occupation
Teacher