Let’s take a trip down memory lane and revisit some cherished moments from our community’s history! Each week, on Thursday, we are going to “throw it back” and share a piece of our community history with you.
This week for Throwback Thursday we reflect on the end of the of the general rush of the holiday season. The Christmas cards have been sent, homes decorated, baking completed, periods of great joy as we gathered with friends and family are remembered, and we are welcoming the year of 2026.
An activity that involved the entire Clear Lake community in the mid twentieth century was the “Burning of the Greens”. This event was a popular, traditional Girl Scout activity, where families brought discarded Christmas trees and greens to be burned in a controlled, ceremonial bonfire, symbolizing the end of the holiday season. The Girl Scouts would lead this cherished event with short programs, singing of songs, and a time for families to roast marshmallows over the embers. A Brownie Scout queen and Girl Scout queen would be crowned at the occasion as well. Historically, the Burning of the Greens marked the end of Christmas; a time of renewal as the burning represented the purification and light overcoming darkness.
Burning of the Greens was a community service project that exemplified the objectives of the Girl Scouts. Girl Scouting began in the United States, as Girl Guides, in March of 1912 with the energy of Juliet “Daisy” Gordon Low after she had the opportunity to meet Robert Baden-Powell who is remembered for starting the scouting program for boys in England. The Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA) continues to follow the very first mission statement of the all-girl organization. Low envisioned an organization for girls to develop courage, confidence, and character through outdoor activities, skills, and community service. The program began with 18 girls in Savannah, GA and grew to a national force. Over 50 million women have been involved in Girl Scouting in the U.S. since it began in as the Girl Guides in 1912. In 1915 the organization became the Girl Scouts. Troops began to emerge across the county and Iowa was part of this new organization for girls.
Iowa adopted the pattern of creating patrols and/or troops suggested in the 1910s and 1920s, when Iowa native Lou Henry Hoover, the wife of President Herbert Hoover, served as a state and national leader. Clear Lake followed the troop configuration with its organization of local troops often established through school attended (such as Lincoln School and Central School) or neighborhoods. One Clear Lake Junior High troop was organized in December or 1937 according to the Clear Lake Reporter, page 7 article and another was organized in 1938 and sponsored by the VFW Auxiliary. It was in the 1930s that Clear Lake enjoyed its first “Burning of the Greens” with community leaders in attendance.
Clear Lake Girl Scouts welcomed community members to a designated location near Lion’s Field in late December each year for the Burning of the Greens. The Mason City Girls Scouts held their event in East Park and Ventura hosted their event near the former Ventura Elementary School. Sadly, modern fire codes and safety concerns have caused cities to end this scouting nostalgic tradition. By the late 1960s, Clear Lake was one of those communities. Were you a Clear Lake Girl Scout who remembers the “Burning of the Greens”?