Juliette G. Low Biography Quotes 8 Report mistakes

Early Life
Juliette Magill Kinzie Gordon, known to family and friends as Daisy, was born in Savannah, Georgia, on October 31, 1860. She grew up between two distinctive American worlds: her father, William Washington Gordon II, came from a prominent Georgia family with deep civic ties, and her mother, Eleanor "Nellie" Kinzie Gordon, descended from the pioneering Kinzie family of Chicago. The Civil War and its aftermath shaped her early years, as the family navigated upheaval while maintaining strong bonds to both the South and the Midwest. Daisy showed a lively imagination, a love of animals, and a talent for drawing and sculpture. Recurrent ear infections in childhood and an accident later in life left her with significant hearing loss, but the impairment did not diminish her energy, sense of humor, or determination to participate fully in art, sport, and social life.

Marriage and Personal Challenges
In 1886 she married William Mackay Low, a wealthy expatriate American with strong connections to Britain. Their wedding in Savannah is often remembered for the well-known incident in which a grain of rice thrown in celebration lodged in her ear, worsening an already fragile condition and contributing to her partial deafness. The couple lived mainly in the United Kingdom, where Daisy moved in cosmopolitan circles and pursued her interest in the arts, metalwork, and philanthropy. The marriage, however, proved unhappy, and the two separated. After William Mackay Low died in 1905, she dealt with the complications of his estate and secured a measure of financial independence. The experience tested her resilience and sharpened her desire to find work that would make a lasting contribution to society.

Encounter with Scouting
A turning point came when she met Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts, and his sister Agnes Baden-Powell, who was organizing the Girl Guides in the United Kingdom. Daisy was struck by the movement's blend of outdoor skill, service, self-reliance, and fun. She immersed herself in learning how the program worked and helped with Guide activities in Britain. The Baden-Powells encouraged her to take the idea to the United States, convinced that American girls would benefit from the same opportunities for leadership and practical skill. Daisy's natural charisma and her talent for storytelling, demonstration, and recruitment made her a compelling ambassador for the concept.

Founding the Girl Scouts in the United States
Returning to Savannah in 1912, she organized the first American groups of Girl Guides, soon adopting the name Girl Scouts of the United States. From the start, she insisted the program be open to girls from varied backgrounds and that it combine camping, first aid, nature study, and physical fitness with the equally practical arts of citizenship, community service, and skill-building for the workplace and home. She drew on trusted friends, teachers, and local leaders to find volunteer captains and to identify safe meeting places and outdoor sites. Her telephone calls and personal visits were legendary; she moved from parlor to playground with equal ease, making the case that girls deserved vigorous, meaningful activity that would prepare them to lead.

Building a National Movement
Daisy quickly turned local excitement into a national organization. By the mid-1910s she had set up a framework for councils, leader training, badges, uniforms, and a handbook tailored to American communities. She served as the organization's early president and chief fundraiser, traveling constantly to speak, organize new troops, and cultivate patrons. During World War I, the Girl Scouts took on service projects such as growing gardens, assisting relief efforts, and supporting conservation campaigns at home, experiences that reinforced the group's ethic of civic responsibility. Influential allies, including Agnes Baden-Powell abroad and prominent Americans at home, helped widen the network. In the 1920s, national figures such as Lou Henry Hoover took leadership roles that professionalized administration and ensured continued growth, reflecting Daisy's strategy of recruiting capable, public-spirited partners to sustain the work.

Leadership Style and Values
Juliette Gordon Low led with infectious enthusiasm and a hands-on style. She believed outdoor adventure belonged to girls as much as to boys, and that learning to paddle a canoe, map a trail, or build a campfire could live side by side with community nursing, dramatics, or the study of business skills. She made room for girls to try crafts and sciences, encouraging experimentation and imagination. Inclusiveness was central to her vision: she supported troops in settlement houses and immigrant neighborhoods and sought to extend opportunities to girls who were often overlooked. While social realities of the era sometimes limited what could be achieved, she pressed for a movement that was nonsectarian, practical, and open to all, with service to others at its core. Her own struggles with hearing loss made her especially attuned to the importance of confidence and capability in every girl.

Artistry, Fundraising, and Public Voice
Daisy's artistic gifts were not simply a pastime; she often used sculpture, metalwork, and exhibitions to raise funds and visibility for the Girl Scouts. She cultivated donors with the same creativity she used to design badges and ceremonies, weaving symbolism and storytelling into events that inspired volunteers and girls alike. She worked collaboratively with educators, physicians, and civic reformers to keep the program current with new ideas in health, child development, and public service. Her friendships with the Baden-Powells remained important as the Girl Scouts refined their program and exchanged ideas with the Girl Guides in other countries, anchoring the American movement within an international sisterhood.

Final Years and Legacy
In her later years, Juliette Gordon Low continued to guide the organization even as she faced serious illness. She remained active in recruiting leaders, organizing national events, and advising on program standards. She died in Savannah on January 17, 1927. Tributes poured in from across the country, recognizing her as the founder whose imagination and persistence had opened new possibilities for American girls. She was laid to rest in her Girl Scout uniform, a symbol of the identity and community she helped create. Her childhood home in Savannah later became a gathering place and educational center for the movement she launched. More than a century after that first troop gathered, the Girl Scouts of the USA continue to reflect the principles she championed: courage, confidence, character, and service, joined to the practical skills and friendships that enable young people to shape their own paths.

Our collection contains 8 quotes who is written by Juliette, under the main topics: Motivational - Friendship - Honesty & Integrity - Pet Love - Servant Leadership.