A group of Girl Scouts helping fold Christmas seals at the Kentucky School for the Blind in 1928. | Photo courtesy UofL, ASC.
Tomorrow is National Girl Scout Day, commemorating the official founding the Girl Scouts of the USA in 1912. In honor of that anniversary — and the cookies you’re no doubt buying this time of year — we’re taking a look back at the history of girl scouting in Louisville.
The timeline
1911: The first Girl Scout troop was founded in LOU, predating the founding of the organization by a year. They met in the basement of the Highlands Library on Cherokee Road.
1917: The first official Girl Scout troops were founded in Kentucky in Scottsville and Owensboro, with groups in Paducah, Louisville, and New Albany to follow by 1919.
1923: The first Louisville Council of Girl Scouts was chartered, with offices in the Dolfinger Building on South 4th Street.
1928: Louisville-area Girl Scouts leased a plot of land in Bullit County to become the first Girl Scout Camp in Kentucky — they bought it a year later, and it’s still active today as Camp Shantituck.
1938: Louisville Girl Scouts met with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
1940: The council formed an interracial committee for Black Girl Scouting, along with the first Black troop in Louisville.
1945: Murray Walls becomes the first Black member of the Louisville Council’s Board of Directors.
1955: The Girl Scouts built a new pool at Camp Shantituck for both Black and white Scouts, and all camp sessions were fully integrated. Walls receives national recognition from the Girl Scouts for her work on desegregation.
1962: The Louisville Council beccame the Kentuckiana Girl Scout Council + expanded its jurisdiction.
Bonus: In 1961, 500 Girl Scouts boarded the steamboat Avalon in Memphis for a cruise to New Orleans. A year later, that boat would find a permanent home in Derby City and be redubbed The Belle of Louisville.
Asked
Asked
Pair a Girl Scout cookie with a local specialty
A. Thin Mints + Ale-8-One B. Trefoils + bourbon, neat C. Do-si-dos + a craft beer D. Samoas + an old fashioned
Trivia Night | 7-9 p.m. | Brick House Tavern + Tap | Price of purchase | Bring a team of friends for trivia with a music round, puzzles, and plenty of local beer.
Morning Hatha Yoga | 9-10 a.m. | Logan Street Market | Free, $10 suggested donation | Start your day off right with an all-levels, dynamic flow class.
There and Back Again: Romanticism to Expressionism | 7:30-10 p.m. | Comstock Concert Hall | Free | Hear the Derby City Sinfonietta weave between two musical movements, and get a preview of the 2025 Derby City Chamber Music Festival.
Friday, March 14
St. Patrick’s Day Party | Friday, March 14, Saturday, March 15 | 7 p.m. | Howl at the Moon | Price of purchase | Sham-rock out + enjoy green beer and Lucky Charms shots.
Saturday, March 15
Alex Willan presents “Mermaids are the Worst” | 11 a.m.-12 p.m. | Carmichael’s, Frankfort Avenue | Free | Gilbert the Goblin’s beach vacation is ruined by mischievous mermaids — and your kids can hear the story straight from the author.
The Louisville Downtown Marriott has a donation station for water bottles to be sent to Eastern Kentucky flood victims, and will host a Red Cross blood drive on Thursday, March 13. Make an appointment to donate blood between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Eat
And the winner is... Monnik. The Schnitzelburg brewery won this year’s annual Gravy Cup competition. In celebration, the pub’s menu will feature $8 biscuits and gravy every Saturday + Sunday starting at 11 a.m. for the next few weeks, while supplies last.
UofL men’s basketball forward James Scott is sporting a new look, thanks to the Speed School of Engineering. After Scott sustained facial injuries in February, Pat Kelsey + the team reached out to the school to design a custom protective mask, which you might have seen in action on the court.
Edu
Can you use it in a sentence? Meyzeek Middle School student Zachary Rara won the 2025 Fleur de Bee competition, earning himself a spot in the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee in May. Bonus: This year marks 100 years since Louisvillian Frank Neuhauser won the first National Spelling Bee in 1925.
Giveaway
Louisville Public Media is giving away a pair of tickets to UofL’s Kentucky Author Forum with Colm Tóibín + Kentucky Poet Laureate Silas House. Register to win tix to the event, which is on Monday, April 14, by Sunday, March 23.
Listen
Pat Kelsey has led Louisville’s men’s basketball team in a remarkable turnaround to a 25-6 season in his first year. Get game coverage, analysis, insights, interviews and more from local experts of the Cards with Locked On’s daily podcasts.
Announced
We’re excited to introduce a new way to reach our readers — a limited-time digital display bundle + branded content bundle. Each bundle saves you 20% and includes at least three newsletter placements.
Tech
HP Instant Ink smart printers automatically monitor ink levels and send new cartridges directly to your door before you run out. Get a $10 welcome credit.*
Category
Listen
🎶 “Take me back to Louisville”
Louisville has inspired songwriters for decades. | Photo by Steve Grider
These days, Jack Harlow has put Louisville at the top of the Billboard charts by shouting out tons of local spots in his songs. But he’s not the only musician who’s sung about you, LOU.
Today, we’ve got a playlist of Derby City needle drops and Louisville licks you can listen to when you’re in need of a hometown hit.
“Lily of the West” | Bob Dylan
When Dylan “first came to Louisville,” he found “a damsel there from Lexington.” You really steal our hearts, too, LEXtoday. Maybe Dylan’s fond memories are why brought The Last Refuge, a brand experience for Heaven’s Door Whiskey, to NuLu.
“Louisville, Look What We Can Do” | Hazel Miller
In 1982, when the Galleria opened, the City of Louisville commissioned local singer Hazel Miller to write a theme song for LOU, and she produced an absolute banger. She came back to perform it at Mayor Craig Greenberg’s 2023 inauguration.
The Buy
The Buy
Introducing: Nordstrom Rack best-sellers you wish you bought sooner. Thank us later.
If you’re anything like me, you’re obsessing over the new season of AppleTV+'s “Severance.” I’d love to hear your thoughts on the latest episode, but I’m here to bring you a local connection.
Jen Tullock, who plays Mark Scout’s sister Devon, is from right here in Louisville. According to a 2022 interview with The Towne Post Network, she is writing a feature film that will be “like a love letter to Kentucky.”
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