20. Nordquist, Mrs. Mary
2072 Hatch Road, California 94947, U.S.A. (Feb. 1986)
Brought up in Britain; Brownie and Guide in Bromley, Kent, then Sea Ranger in Winchester; 1962 went to Bermuda to teach, “Mate” in the Sea Ranger ship “Deliverance”. Thence to the U.S.A.
As a Sea Ranger, I attended the Hampshire Coronation Camp held in the grounds of Broadlands, Romsey, the home of Lord Mountbatten. There we met the Chief Guide. The Ranger Camp was called “Heaven”, and to enter the gates one was given wings and a halo. Lady B-P went through the initiation ceremony, reveived her wings and halo before she greeted each one of us with a handshake and comment.
In 1963 I was lucky enough to meet the Chief Guide again in Bermuda; she made a special visit to the Sea Rangers to present us with Admiralty Recognition. In her talk to us she said, “I always wanted to be a nurse and serve people in some way, but was told it was not a suitable occupation. The door was really opened to me when I met and married Robert Baden-Powell. YOU are on the inside of that door, opened to you when you joined the Movement. It is the door of friendship, new ways and new activities which are useful to yoi for the rest of your lives. As Rangers, you set an example to the Guides and Brownies, even though you belong to the smallest branch of the Movement.”
Guiding opened doors for me. I visited Our Chalet and Our Cabana, and through Guiding met my husband in Bermuda. In Virginia, U.S.A., I made Girl Scouting friends who introduced me to new ways and activities in the country to be my home.
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