Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
WORLAND – Many Worland and Ten Sleep residents have fond memories or have heard the stories from family members about Hollywood actress Debbie Reynolds' visit to the area in 1968.
Reynolds came to Worland to serve as mistress of ceremonies of a banquet, attended by 700 people, honoring National Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. officials, and the unveiling of the purchase and plan to create the Girl Scout National Center West (Girl Scout Camp) east of Ten Sleep in Ten Sleep Canyon.
Reynolds, who passed away last month, was not just a star performing the mistress of ceremonies role, she was a lady who was a Girl Scout herself and understood and cherished the benefits of the Girl Scouts. In the January 1967 issue of Leader magazine, Reynolds explained the importance of the Girl Scouts and why she was a Girl Scout leader. "All my life I've been a Girl Scout, from that day long ago when I first said, on my honor. ... Like so many of us here, I have my mother to thank for one of the finest things that ever happened to me. She was my Girl Scout leader. Today I couldn't begin to count the many ways Girl Scouting has influenced my life. But we all know that the true values, the real values of Scouting, have to grow on you. You have to be a Scout long enough for them to take hold and endure. First it's the fun, the songs and games, the being together with other girls, the belonging! And most of all, the chance to try out for yourself all the adventures in self-discovery Girl Scouting has to offer.
"But you and I know that the fun, the games, the adventures are only a means in Girl Scouting, a means to a most important end. These are the tools we use to help girls grow into happy and resourceful citizens. This doesn't happen in a day, or in a year, or maybe not even in two of three. For that reason Girl Scouting should be a special ingredient in the lives of girls, 7 - Seventeen. And it can ... That's why I'm a Girl Scout leader."
According to Daily News articles, Reynolds arrived in Worland Thursday, Nov. 14 and was greeted by area scouts and local residents at the airport. On Friday, Nov. 15 before the banquet Reynolds made an unscheduled visit to the Worland Jr. High School answering questions and entertaining the students. During that visit she met Dan Haley and left him with a very fond memory which he treasures to this day.
"When I was in seventh grade, Debbie Reynolds came to Worland for the opening ceremonies of the Girl Scout Camp in Ten Sleep Canyon. She gave a speech at the junior high which I skipped because we were 'playing for chairs' the next day in band and I wanted to practice. One exit from the junior high stage was down some stairs and through the band room. That's the route Ms. Reynolds took and heard me practicing. She came over and told me she had played the same piece of music "The Downfall of Paris," when she was a girl attending Burbank High School and that I played it very well. The world turned black and white and the words, 'You're the prettiest lady I've ever seen in my life,' rolled out of my head. She was too. She laughed and thanked me for saying so," Haley stated.
On Saturday, Nov. 16, Reynolds toured a small part of the 15,000 acres, east of Ten Sleep, which were soon (1970) to be the site of the Girl Scout National Center West. Girl Scouts who attended the camp in later years have fond memories of the camp and the Debbie Reynolds bridge as shared on the Girl Scout National Center West Facebook page. A post on the page described the Debbie Reynolds bridge as wooden boards placed so that Reynolds could tiptoe across the stream without getting her feet wet.
The Girls Scout National Center West was closed in 1989.
There are many memories of Reynold's visit and the impact that she had on the local community and Girl Scouts beyond her role as an actress. Attendees of the banquet, people who had the opportunity to speak with and spend time with her and their family members will always cherish those memories. "RIP pretty lady, I'll never forget you," Haley stated.
