FERRISBURGH, Vt. -
Fifty years ago, a farmer's field in Ferrisburgh was full of tents and 10,000 teenage girls.
"What I thought was so wonderful is that there were girls from all over who were doing what I love to do. There was camping and crafts and singing, they sang all the time, and they seemed to be having such a great time," said Barbara Martin of the Girl Scout Council of Vermont.
Each of the 50 states and many different countries sent Girl Scout representatives to a Roundup. It was 12 days of living on the land and learning from one another. Barbara Servis, who now lives in Vermont, came from California.
"And we had the tradition of Spanish speaking and we were called las cacioneres-- the singers -- because we sang all the time. And 50 years later we still sing," she said.
This week, 180 women from all over the world made a pilgrimage back to that farm, what is now Button Bay State Park.
"I think that in life you have a certain time that you go back to your-- not origins-- you go back to your previous life, your childhood and you start thinking about which were your best memories that you still have. And for me, this was one of the greatest memories in my life and that's why I wanted to come back," said Teresa Barinotto of Argentina.
Though none of the women could quite explain how they feel about being a Girl Scout, they say they learned lessons that have stuck with them for decades.
"Its rules to live by," Servis said. "It's things that are still important, about being honest and fair and friendly and helpful, about making the world a better place. All of those things carried through from when I was a Brownie until now I'm old."
"I wanted to come here; I want to be here because even though I don't continue in scouting in Argentina, I feel scouting. It's something that you feel," Barinotto said.
For many of the women, this is the first time they've seen each other in 50 years and it was important for them to come back to where they learned so much.
"We talk about singing all the time. This area sings to us-- and we sing back to this area," Martin said.
There has not been a Girl Scout Roundup since 1965.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts of America.
