Etna Girl Scout leader honored for 50 years of service

Ruth “Ruthie” Hidek is a woman of her word.

Following through with a pact that she made in high school, she’s been a Girl Scout troop leader for the past 50 years.

Hidek was a scout until high school. She ended up leaving the program because “they wanted to have tea parties instead of going camping.” Before she said goodbye to her fellow scouts, she and a friend made a pact that they would become troop leaders when they were older.

Hidek forgot about the promise until years later when the same friend called Hidek’s mother asking for a recommendation for troop leadership. She decided then and there that it was time to follow through with her end of the bargain.

In 1973, Hidek was named the official leader of Brownie Troop 1378 in her hometown of Etna. For years, she worked with first, second and third graders. For the past 30 years, she has worked with second and third-graders because the Brownies age group changed.

Fifty years later, she is still the leader of the Brownie troop in Etna and was honored for her commitment to the community and program.

“The most important thing I’ve seen my mom do as the leader is to show the girls how to live out the last Girl Scout law, which is to be a sister to every Girl Scout,” said Hidek’s daughter, Darcy Osby. “In her troop, for the past 50 years, every girl has belonged. Every girl has friends.”

Hidek was surprised on Nov. 13 at the Emmanuel Lutheran Church Etna with her current and past Brownie scouts, family and three citations declaring Nov. 13, 2023, as Ruth Hidek Day. She received her citations from Etna council president Dave Breki, Allegheny Council member Anita Prizio and a citation from the House of Representatives.

“I’m just me,” Hidek said. “I just come and have fun on Monday nights. I’m proud that I can help these kids. You just teach them and work with them and all of a sudden they become these little human beings.”

If Hidek had it her way, she would never receive recognition. She said that she has hosted every one of her meetings in the basement of the church. Each week she and her troops make crafts to donate to Meals on Wheels. On the night of her recognition, she was told by her daughter that the pastor wanted the troop to do their flag ceremony in the nave. Scouts that had previously been a part of Hidek’s troop waited in the pews with flowers to present to their childhood leader. Hidek was brought to tears as her current and past scouts recited the Girl Scout Promise with her.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Hidek said. “To me, girls need a place to go and just be a girl. A lot of these badges are fine, but they don’t need a place to sit and work. They need a place where they can sit and play and learn at the same time.”

She said that she and her assistant leaders try their best to make every badge-earning experience fun. Hidek shared that during a prior week, she had gotten on a pogo stick with the girls to help them earn one of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) badges.

At 72 years old, Hidek still takes her troop camping each year with the help of Osby, and her assistant leader and best friend, Sue Benedek. Hidek has arthritis and the extra hands help her keep the groups of second and third-graders on task, and able to complete the outdoor activities.

Osby, 37, officially started scouts when she was in kindergarten, but her mother had taken her camping and on other trips as a baby. Hidek had already been a leader for 18 years, and was her daughter’s scout leader once she reached Brownies. Osby remembers that the badges she earned were in broad categories like art, outdoors and government leadership. Now, her mother is challenged with helping her scouts earn badges aligned with STEM.

“My mom’s mindset is that they get that in school,” Osby said. “She would rather explore all the other things that they don’t get to do there. Right now she’s doing an engineering badge with her second graders.”

Hidek has no plans of stopping her leadership any time soon. Much like the scouts have found a community where they can be themselves, so has Hidek.

“I enjoy it,” Hidek said. “I just have fun. I come here and I forget that I’m as old as I am. If I have a bad day, I forget all about it when I’m here.”

In her leadership career, Hidek has gone on 75 camping trips, marched in 100 parades, helped girls earn 300 types of badges, has had approximately 500 girls come through her troops, hosted about 1,600 meetings, has recited the Girl Scout Promise over 2,800 times and made about 63,000 favors for Meals on Wheels.