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Girl Scouts in Chelsea, AL at Kanawahala Program Center eat their s'mores during an attempt at the world record for the most s'mores made on October 6, 2024. Submitted Photo.
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Girl Scouts and participants in Chelsea, AL at Kanawahala Program Center roast their s'mores during an attempt at the world record for the most s'mores made on October 6, 2024. Submitted Photo.
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Girl Scouts in Chelsea, AL at Kanawahala Program Center pose with their s'mores during an attempt at the world record for the most s'mores made on October 6, 2024. Submitted Photo.
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Girl Scouts and participants in Chelsea, AL at Kanawahala Program Center assemble s'mores to attempt a world record for the most s'mores made on October 6, 2024. Submitted Photo.
The delight of roasting s'mores may stir up fond memories of campfire songs, family vacations and tent sleepovers. Troops from the Chelsea area and other Girl Scouts of North-Central and South Alabama decided to raise the roof on this classic camp activity this Sunday, October 6, 2024.
Kit Killingsworth, Director of Girl Programs for North-Central Alabama, presented the idea a year ago to take on the standing world record for the most people roasting s'mores simultaneously, currently sitting at 1,150 people. The record was most recently set by a group in North Dakota in May.
“Girl Scouts are the ones who created S'mores,” Killingsworth noted. “The first time a S'more recipe appeared was in 1927 in a Girl Scout cookbook called, “Trailing and Camping with the Girl Scouts.” Thus, they were called Some Mores.
“So that got abbreviated to S'mores and it's been a Girl Scout camp classic since then,” she stated.
At 2 p.m., the Chelsea Girl Scouts and residents of the 280 area rallied at Kanawahala Program Center (one of the GSNCA campgrounds) to begin their roast. Holding to their "scout's honor," the organizers at the 14 participating locations initiated the world record attempt at the same time to meet the world record requirement of "simultaneous."
"The hardest part for some of the girls who roasted their s'mores was not eating it until it was officially done," joked Kimberly Selzer, Director of Membership and Support Analytics for GSNCA.
Thirty minutes and many sticky hands later, happy adults and kids bit into their s'mores, satisfied with their claim to fame.
When it was over and the fires were extinguished, was Killingsworth ready to declare a new record? “I’m feeling pretty confident,” Killingsworth said. “We should hear back in eight to 12 weeks.”
Several scout leaders expressed a sense of pride and nostalgia seeing the young members of their troops unite around the campfire.
Girl Scouts can earn patches for participating in events like the s'more roast or completing a task like first aid training. For many of the Girl Scouts, a world record patch would be a shining addition to their sash or vest.
Selzer added, "They get a s'mores patch that they can put on their vest for participating today. If we break the world record, anyone who participated, not just the scouts, can buy a world record patch."
The results of the roast will be verified in a few weeks after a board reviews the compiled signatures from the participating locations. Stay tuned to find out if the Chelsea scouts will become world record holders!
To join or learn more about GSNCA, follow this link to their website.