Lipscomb alumna remains the longest registered Girl Scout
Rachel Reed |
Rosemary Jackson (’41) is known as the “longest registered” Girl Scout. As she reflects upon her life, she acknowledges that many of her best memories are from her scouting days. Her interest in the troop took root as a youngster. When she was seven, Jackson’s dad pointed out a group of scouts. “One day,” he told her, “you’ll want to be one.” Jackson joined the Girl Scouts as soon as she could and remained a loyal member despite living in five states. “They gave me something to hold on to no matter where I was,” she states.
Jackson studied and gained a degree in sociology and psychology in order to work professionally with the Girl Scouts. She believed that the Girl Scouts could unite in times of emergencies to help those in need. She notes, “I like to think of our country as a loving country. We like to help people and can’t go through life not helping people…if we ever have a disaster, I hope the Girl Scouts could do what the Brave Girls (European Girl Scouts during World War II) did…I hope the Girl Scouts would be equipped to lead.” Jackson has refused several honorary graduate degrees which recognize her years of service. She explains, “I didn’t want to belittle the work of those who really earned them.”
While at Lipscomb University, Rosemary Jackson met her husband and married him a year later. After finishing school and with a family in tow, Jackson eventually became a troop leader and taught girls how to survive in a primitive camp, make soap and cook a pancake on a rock. She founded a camp in Tennessee named “Trillium,” which still exists today and symbolizes the three-part Girl Scout promise.
While Jackson did spend much of her time with the Girl Scouts, she is more than “just an old girl scout at heart,” as she puts it. This class of 1941 alumna has also completed 199 tapestries, called “silk screen cartoons.” These pieces, which can be as large as murals, appeal to the six senses, with the sixth one being “desire.” Taking her cues from the masterpieces she saw on her fifty trips abroad, Jackson began these tapestries as a means to “keep her mind busy.” In addition to works viewed in Amsterdam and Paris, some of her favorite pieces include François Boucher’s “Charms of the Country Life” and Pierre Auguste Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party,” which she has recreated with threads. Her tapestries were once displayed on the Lipscomb’s campus, with one taking up residency in the grammar school
While now living in a retirement home in Nashville, Jackson still remains active despite having undergone 69 surgeries. She describes herself as being the “bionic woman.” She still dons her uniform to sell cookies to her fellow retirees. Jackson also often visits with current Girl Scouts to tell them stories of her days of scouting and service. She remains a true Girl Scout at heart.
--Rachel Reed