Many of the women hadn't seen each other for years, and certainly hadn't seen their beloved leader, "Casey," for ages.

So when they learned that their Girl Scout leader from the 1950s would come to Bellingham for a get-together, 14 of her now-grown scouts gathered for a weekend reunion in October, with some of them traveling from as far as Edmonton, Alberta, and Ann Arbor, Mich.

"It was a very emotional experience," said Florence (Winsor) Helliesen, 65, of Seattle, who organized the event and compiled a keepsake history book about Girl Scout Troop 2. "There were so many people in tears."

Troop 2 was a "lone" troop, meaning the girls, their parents and their three troop leaders kept it going on their own because there was no scout council to help.

"There were Camp Fire Girls, but no Girl Scouts," said Kathy (Wood) Lange of Bellingham, 84, one of the troop's two co-leaders, along with Carolyn Griffith, who died eight years ago. Lange also attended the reunion.

The troop's leader was Joan "Casey" (Crummey) Firra, who traveled to the reunion from Dallas.

Back in 1953, while her future husband attended law school in New York, she took her first job as a physical therapist at St. Joseph Hospital. A Girl Scout since the age of 10, she soon got Troop 2 going, with more than three-dozen girls in fifth- through eighth-grade participating.

"I love Bellingham and would have been happy to stay right there," Firra said.

But she left Bellingham in 1957 to marry her lawyer-husband, and they settled in Texas. Now 78, she runs her own physical therapy clinic and recently earned her doctorate in women's health.

"She is a very dynamic lady," Helliesen said.

During their three years as troop leaders, Firra, Wood and Griffith took the girls on camping trips, ferry rides, and outings to Seattle, Olympia and elsewhere. The scouts learned to survive outdoors, to tie knots and to volunteer at the hospital.

These days, with girls active in sports and many other activities, growing misty-eyed over a scout reunion might seem dated. But the times, and the vistas, for girls in the era of Troop 2 were different.

"We weren't trained to be independent," Helliesen said. "Girls in the '50s and '60s were trained to be a wife, secretary, flight attendant, or nurse.

"In scouts, we were told we could basically do anything," she said. "On the whole, young girls didn't have that experience."

Troop member Gretchen (Schalow) Pfueller of Bellingham, 65, said being in Girl Scouts changed their lives for the better.

"It gave us ideas of possibilities for our lives," she said. "I really think Girl Scouting was empowering."

Helliesen said a major reason she organized the gathering was so she could thank Firra and Lange for their positive impact on her life. As word spread, more troop members wanted to say thanks, too.

"It's too common today when people don't thank people," Helliesen said. "We don't want to be in that 'I-wish-I'd-done-that' category."

The weekend reunion included a Saturday dinner and a Sunday walk, city tour and dinner.

The next day, Firra, Pfueller, and troop members Mary Jo (Young) Case of Bellingham and Mary Lou (Yurovchak) Jones of Nooksack drove toward Mount Baker Ski Area, but had to turn back because of poor weather. So they decided to hike up the Hannegan Pass road, despite rain that turned to snow as they gained elevation.

"It was snowing hard," Pfueller said. "It was just like our Girl Scout days."