T-L Photo/JOSIE BURKHART Bridgeport Girl Scouts troop leader Misty Corley teaches girls about basic life skills and safety during their time in the troop. Participating, from left, are Heather Barath, Karlee Bowers, Corley and Courtney Morehead.

BRIDGEPORT — A Girl Scout troop from Bridgeport that has been around for more than 70 years is growing as it teaches members life skills, safety skills and first-aid.

The Bridgeport troop used to be called Sunny Hill Girl Scouts and formed before 1951. Misty Corley became the troop leader in 2021 after former leader Kathy Brown retired from the role. When Corley took over, only six girls remained in the troop, so members decided to combine what used to be different age level troops into one troop called the “Bridgeport Girl Scouts” that has grown to include 41 girls today.

Corley signed her daughter up for Girl Scouts and wanted to volunteer as a chaperone, but Brown asked if she’d like to be the leader. Corley “took a chance” and stepped into the role, she said.

“I love it, getting to know these girls, getting to help them learn new things,” she said. “It’s a learning process myself, but it’s a good time.”

Corley has two assistants who help her run the troop, Katelyn Johnson and Kayla Smith.

Corley described the activities of the organization as showing girls different types of skills they could use throughout their lives, one skill being self-defense. Every year, the troop has a professional come in and show the girls how to defend themselves in case of emergencies.

The troop is around 85% member led, which means the girls choose what the troop does.

The members of the troop are not only from the Bridgeport Exempted Village School District but from different schools throughout the Ohio Valley, which enables members to meet other girls they would not meet at any other time and make friendships, Corley noted.

The Bridgeport Girl Scouts is just one of the troops in the Ohio Valley. There are also three troops in Martins Ferry, one each in Shadyside, Bellaire and Powhatan Point and some in St. Clairsville.

The Bridgeport Girl Scouts meet two to three Sundays a month at the Kirkwood Presbyterian Church.

The Girl Scouts earn badges in different ways. There are different types, such as cadette and fun patches. Cadettes are core Girl Scout badges that are earned by doing certain tasks, and fun patches are based on activities the troop has, such as learning sign language.

“The patches basically are just a representation of what we do,” Corley said.

There is also a rainbow on the Scouts’ apparel that represents bridging each level of Girl Scouts. Among the 41 girls registered as Bridgeport Girl Scouts are Karlee Bowers, Courtney Morehead and Heather Barath. Bowers and Morehead wore tan vests while Barath wore a green sash, with the colors of their uniforms indicating their level of Scouting.

When starting out in Girl Scouts, one will begin as a Daisy in kindergarten to first grade. Brownies are in second and third grades, while Juniors are in fourth to fifth grade. The Cadette designation is given to sixth- through eighth-graders. Senior are in ninth and 10th grades, with Ambassadors being the oldest as high school juniors and seniors..

Corley thinks the troop’s mission is important because it teaches the girls basic life skills they may need for future jobs or in general.

The Bridgeport Girl Scouts are on a hiatus right now due to winter weather, but at the troop’s last meeting it had a Christmas party where all the girls attended and got to do fun activities.

One act of service the troop did last year was visit the Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling, where the girls volunteered all day. The troop members have also been in the Bridgeport Christmas parade and caroled at nursing homes.

“We get the girls out in the community and show them what it’s like to give back and do good things,” Corley said. “Part of being a Girl Scout is making the world a better place, and I try to implement that and our truth.”

Each of the girls has been involved in Girl Scouts since they were young, with Morehead at 13 years old now, Barath at 11 and Bowers at 14. The troop’s oldest girl is a sophomore in high school.

Bowers said she has learned more about safety since being in the troop, while Morehead has learned about safety, self-defense and first aid. Barath said she likes to hang out with her friends in the troop and learn new things.

“I like learning about all the stuff that we normally do yearly,” Morehead said. “And I also like getting rewarded for the knowledge that I get from here by getting badges and such.”

Every year, the troop enters a project in the Belmont County Fair. The troop won best in show last year after they all sewed a quilt together using a sewing machine.

Corley said the troop is always accepting new members. People can register by going online to girlscouts.org and typing in the area code or by calling Corley at 740-381-7765. Registration is $45 for a year.

There is a cookie or nuts sale every year, and as long as the girls participate in that and attend most of the meetings, the troop uses the funds from the sales to renew the girls’ registrations every year for free.

Morehead said the troop tends to do a lot of hands-on projects and go on field trips, such as visiting a science center or a theme park with the money the troop earns.

Corley said there are a lot of things the troop can so with the money it raises, such as charitable causes and trips.

“This troop not only teaches our girls basic skills they might need in future jobs or whatever,” Corley said, “but we also get together, we have fun, we make new friendships. It just gives the girls a sense of being.”