In 1936 a group of three women, Elizabeth Merrikin, Marion Lutz, and Lephie
Thompson met with an idea to form a Girl Scout troop for the town of Randolph. Their first
meeting place was the North Randolph Improvement Association which is formerly known as Piccadilly Pub. The troops next move was to the basement of the Trinity
Episcopal (missionary) Church located opposite Cottage Street. As memb
ership increased and more troops were formed, they needed more space. Through the generosity of the Annie Tower Tarbell Trust, who owned the land, the scouts were given permission to build a Girl Scout house in Belcher Park. Plans for the building were drawn up by Fred Merrikin, engineer. George Merrikin volunteered to supervise and assist in the construction of the building. Ernest Martin donated the electrical work and George Kelly the plumbing. Many other volunteers assisted in this project. To earn money for the building material the Girl Scouts worked very diligently by holding newspaper drives, cookie sales, rummage sales, whist parties, collected scrap iron, and put on entertainment programs. These programs were called by the progress they were
making such as "putting up the frame", "Putting up the roof", "turning on the
heat" etc. Usually the shows were variety show with any and all talent that
would make the evening pleasant. Many friendships were born through this effort. In 1940 the roof was boarded and shingled, the doors, windows and bathroom
fixtures were donated and installed. In 1941 the troops were able to meet even
though the interior was incomplete. At a later date, after the house was complete, they earned enough money to have a platform constructed at the rear of the building. The intention for this surface was for it to be flooded for skating in the winter and use it for summer programs. Unfortunately it never ended up holding water for skating though. Chief of police Pat McDonnell and Steve Hart, who was the truant officer in town, were made honorary members of the Randolph Girl Scouts. Steve Hart, who also drove the school bus took the girls many times, too many
places. Both of these men played important roles as "mascots" for the troops. School nurse, Helen Conlin also accompanied the girls on their "lands cruises" and
other trips. On September 26, 1940 Elizabeth Merrickin and was elected as the
first commissioner of Girl Scouts in Randolph. Also elected was the Randolph Girl
Scout Council which included:
Secretary and Treasurer - Mrs. Ruth Mann
finance commission - Mrs. Sampson and Mrs Emma Cross
Publicity - Mrs. Glenna Copeland
Scout house custodian - Mrs Mathers
Camp Chairman - Mrs. Esther Gleason
Program managers - Mrs. Grace Pearson, Mrs. Lillian Kilcoyne. Registrar - Mrs. Lillian kilcoyne. Social Media- Mrs. Sophia Mell
The purpose of this group was to assist the commissioner and to organize
Randolph scouting endeavors. Elizabeth Merrikin held this post for 13 years. She
was followed by Mrs. Alice Martin, who served a few years before Girl Scout
headquarters changed the format of scouting. So that is how the Girl Scout house in Randolph came to be.
