CLUB BEGINNINGS

The first session of The Proper Mountain Woman Club was in the summer of 2020 but the idea for this club began a long time before that...

​

It began in the fall of 2013 when me and my mom had time to hike every day together in the mountains near our home. As we hiked we talked about how fun it would be to earn merit badges for hiking and summiting mountains, and how fun would it be to display those merit badges on a bandalo - the same kind my mom had when she was a young primary girl!

 

During the great global pandemic we felt like war-time duration women especially during the stay-at-home-order... many of us took up baking sourdough bread, raising chickens, and gardening for the first time! It dawned on us that this was the perfect time to start the club we had dreamed about...  these things of merit that deserved to be celebrated! We brainstormed 12 categories to earn merit badges in, the list of merit badges, the ranks and titles troop members could advance to, and how the program would work. My mom pulled out her old primary bandalo and figured out how to make a pattern for it and then sewed bandalos for every woman who signed up! That summer we made thousands of merit badges and mailed them out to the troop all summer long.

 

When the summer ended we received so much positive feedback it was overwhelming. Women loved the club and loved earning merit badges! Word spread and more women wanted to join the ranks. We then decided to create a winter session to combat the winter blues. This session proved to be even more popular than the summer session with many troop members reporting back that The Club helped them with their seasonal depression!

​

We have now completed 7 sessions of The Proper Mountain Woman Club and with each new session the numbers of our troop continue to grow! We are simply astounded!

​

This club is still new and we often have to think creatively to figure out new ways to meet the needs of the growing ranks....  but rest assured, we have you in mind always. We want you to have the best experience ever. Our mission statement is to celebrate merit. And more specifically, YOUR merit. We are humbled to be part of a club that provides that and promise to never take that responsibility lightly.

​

Whitney Dodge & RaVoe Orton

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​