Recycling in Gallup Demonstrated by Girl Scout Troop 3505 and Others
The Work in Beauty Murals #4
Middle Right Panel of Work of Heart
by Be Sargent
In the mural are the Girl Scouts each with a different recyclable item. Not all are recyclable in Gallup, but we can dream.
Top right with folded blankets – Vanessa is a sophomore at Miyamura and in her second year on the volleyball team. She is now a Senior Girl Scout and plans to be a pediatrician.
Top left with stuffed turtle – Jami was not a Girl Scout when the mural was painted but is now a 5th-year scout in Junior Troop 2395*. She is active in gymnastics, soccer, tap dance and plays cello. She is very concerned about the environment and animals and has become a vegetarian as a result. She is completing 5th grade home school and is hoping to do adventure camp this summer. *Junior Troop 2395 is a very active group of 12 multi-talented, multi-cultural girls who share in community service, badge work, friendship and fun!
Waving aluminum cans – Nicole earned the Bronze Award as a Junior scout, finished her sophomore year and is now holding a job
Holding a paint can – Jacelyn is a freshman at Gallup Catholic. She’s active as a Senior Girl Scout as well as on bowling team, ballet, tap, violin and strong academics. She wants to be part of the Smile Train someday, to help repair cleft lip/palate as a plastic surgeon.
Hugging plastic bottles – Jillian is completing her junior year at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan in strong academic standing. She is very active in environmental issues and plans on pursuing an environmental science career. She is an Ambassador Girl Scout, participates in yearbook, Explorers (co-ed Boy Scouts), tap and modern dance.
Hoisting cardboard box – Jenna is now a sophomore at Christian Academy in Florida, active in church and community orchestras, expanded from violin and piano to include guitar and cello. She is interested in pursuing a career in medical forensics or criminology.
Juggling plastic bags – Kayla is now a sophomore at Holbrook Indian Boarding School. She has been very active in mission trips for several years now. The trips are 1-2 months long and Kayla has enjoyed seeing and helping out in many parts of the US.
Raising a glass bottle – Rachel is a sophomore at Miyamura and continues to be active as a Senior Girl Scout, often works with younger children and animals and is considering careers in one of those directions. She has started plans to work on Gold Award for GS.
Holding stack of paper – Monica is a sophomore at Miyamura, strong in academics, very athletic/active in sports. She remained a part of Girl Scouts until last year. She has been part of Shock New Mexico, a Native American girls basketball team that travels throughout the US for three years now. She plans on being a pediatrician. Monica is also the girl holding the rabbit in the Navajo Code Talker mural.
With armload of newspapers – Claudia was a Brownie and Junior Girl Scout. She is currently a sophomore at Miyamura.
Jude Sweeney, Scout Leader, gave this report on the accomplishments and dreams of Gallup Troop 3505
When girls hit the high school years, academics, music, dance, sports, boys and cell phones become a big part of their lives, and it is difficult to remain very active in Girl Scouts. Our Troop 3505 has changed over the past couple of years, gaining some different girls and some girls moving on to different geographic locations or interests.
The girls have attended Girl Scout camp in Prescott and the Oxford Leadership Program. Primarily funded by our annual Girl Scout cookie sales, we have been able to have some wonderful experiences as a troop. We traveled to Idaho for the National American Indian Scouting Association meeting hosted by the Shoshone/Bannock tribes, visited Arches and Capitol Reef National Parks, the Olympic Training Park, Salt Lake City and had a star-gazing experience at the only night-sky National Park, Natural Bridges.
Last year we visited the London Bridge, boogie-boarded, snorkeled, and sea-kayaked the Pacific Ocean and explored the wonders of San Diego. Recently we purchased our airline tickets to fly to Chicago for their amazing 4th of July fireworks and summer events and visit the Shedd Aquarium, Museum of National History and see the area from the top of a skyscraper.
Although this is a busy time in their lives, the girls are active in community service including several recycling events, tree planting in Bluewater, and winning the Gallup 2009 Trash Cleanup award. Most of the girls are completing the preliminary work necessary to work on their Gold Award (equivalent to Eagle Scout in Boy Scouting).
Girl Scouts will celebrate their 100th year beginning this fall, started by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 with a group of 18 girls, having been influenced by Lady and Lord Baden Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts. It is exciting for us to be part of the centennial year of this world-wide organization and hope we are able to participate in some of the centennial events.
Quilting, A Beautiful Way Of Recycling
Embedded among the Girls Scouts, this part of the painting must be considered now a memorial to Mary Pecoraro who died on May 9, 2011. She worked at Wingate and BIA and was also a homemaker. She will be missed by five children, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Josephine Yurcic, on Mary’s left, is 91. She is Mary’s first cousin. As a housewife she has done “everything under the sun,” plus crocheting, knitting, fishing, hunting and being a Girl Scout Troop Leader. Her family at this point is too numerous to count.
Composting, Basic Recycling
Sandy Young, Gallup’s Queen of Composting, is shown at the top of this section. She is composting table scraps in her composting bin to make soil for the tomatoes behind her. Sandy’s formula is, “Grind everything up and keep it moist with water from your roof and you will have compost in one month.”
Preparatory Sketches
As I said in Article 3, I often do sketches (from photographs) at full size to refer to on the job. Here are a few, from left to right, Claudia, Mary & Josephine, and Monica.
I learned that Mary Pecoraro always said, as she drove by, “But my hair is brown.” That makes me sad.
