Philadelphia celebrates birthplace of Girl Scout cookie sales at ‘Firstival’ event

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Dozens of former Girl Scouts and Girl Scout cookie lovers from across Philadelphia gathered to celebrate the origins of the group’s public cookie sales Saturday, marking the fifth week of the Philadelphia Historic District 250th Committee’s “52 Weeks of Firsts” initiative.

The event honored the longstanding partnership between Girl Scouts of the USA and PECO and took place at PECO’s headquarters at 23rd and Market streets. Visitors sampled and purchased cookies, voted on their favorite flavors and heard the story of the Girl Scouts’ origins, honoring their place in Philadelphia’s history.

America’s first public Girl Scout cookie sale occurred in 1932, when Girl Scouts used “demonstration ovens” to bake cookies that they later sold out the window of PECO’s original Broad Street headquarters, according to Nicole Levine, PECO’s chief operating officer and board chair of the  Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania.

“We’re honored the Girl Scouts are being recognized for one of [Philadelphia’s] firsts today, a story that’s shared with us at PECO and has grown into a lasting national tradition,” Levine — a former Girl Scout — told the gathered crowd. She credited the Girl Scouts with giving her the leadership skills she uses as PECO’s first female COO.

Attendees had the opportunity to hear the story of the first cookie sale told by a storyteller from Once Upon a Nation, a storytelling program sponsored by the Historic District of Philadelphia, and admire the sculpture created to honor this week’s historic “first.”

“We’re so excited to be included,” GSEPA CEO Kim Fraites said. “It’s a big year for the country, and obviously for Philadelphia.”

Phylicia Epps, GSEPA’s head of Philadelphia strategy and partnerships, said that as a former Girl Scout herself, she has enjoyed playing a role in the organization’s growth in the city and being part of the America 250 celebrations.

“The city of Philadelphia has so much to celebrate. It’s amazing to see folks come out for all of the different firsts, and we are just honored to be a part of that,” she said. “It’s been so cool to talk to other folks and be like, ‘I was a Girl Scout growing up,’ and [see them] wanting to come here to celebrate the Girl Scouts.”

The weekly Philadelphia events, known as “Firstivals,” each feature a unique sculpture that is placed at the city location where each historic “first” took place. So far, sculptures have been placed at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia to honor America’s first balloon flight, the Mummers Museum to honor the first folk parade, the Fireman’s Hall Museum to honor the first volunteer fire company, and at Xfinity Mobile Arena to honor the first professional basketball league.

The sculpture honoring the first public Girl Scout cookie sale was created by Carol Cannon-Nesco, a native Philadelphian who was the top cookie seller in her Girl Scout troop and who now lives in Greentown, Pennsylvania, in the Poconos. It was unveiled inside the PECO building and will be installed at the corner of 23rd and Market streets as the weather improves.

“It was the funnest project I ever did,” she said. “I was so happy to be a part of this project and to represent the Girl Scouts.”

The sculpture pays tribute to various themes of the Girl Scouts — including the famous cookies and camping trips, which Cannon-Nesco said were her first inspiration for her design.

Richard Powell of Jennersville, Pennsylvania, said he came to the event to honor the “family legend” that his mother was one of the original Girl Scout cookie bakers in the 1930s.

“[She and her sister] took the bus to the PECO building … [which had] lots of windows and a functioning kitchen. In that kitchen, they baked Girl Scout cookies for sale,” he said. “Their uncle used to come to the window and make faces and try to make them laugh, and they didn’t like that at all.”

Powell said Saturday’s event was a memory of his mother. He added that his family has maintained involvement with both the Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts of America.

Attendees had the opportunity to purchase Girl Scout cookies from troop members and vote on their favorite cookies. Epps said she was partial to Adventurefuls, while Powell said he was a “peanut butter guy.” But, in the end, the ever-popular Thin Mints won the vote.

Vince Stango, interim president and CEO of the National Constitution Center and co-chair of the Historic District of Philadelphia’s 250th Committee, said the “52 Firsts” initiative is meant to celebrate Philadelphia’s history against the backdrop of the semiquincentennial.

“There are so many amazing stories that happened all through Philadelphia history,” he said. “What’s more synonymous with America than the Girl Scouts? That was one of those lesser-known stories that I think most of us had no idea [about], maybe including many Girl Scouts today.”

In her prepared remarks, Fraites said that Girl Scout cookie season — which has been extended through March 22 due to recent frigid temperatures in the Philadelphia region — is about “so much more than cookies.”

“When a Girl Scout sells cookies, she’s learning how to set a plan, speak with confidence, handle challenges, and see the impact of her work,” she said. “Generation after generation, this program has helped girls build courage, confidence and character, proving that something that starts with a cookie can help shape future leaders, entrepreneurs and changemakers.”