THEGIRLSCOUTS

We all know the boy scout organisation called The Junior Woodchucks which was invented by Carl Barks for his duck universe, but he also came up with an idea of a girl scout parallel which he called The Junior Chickadees. However, this organisation led a much more secluded and obscure life than the boys' which should come as no big surprise. To be of real interest to the reader the movement should have had a few identifiable members (such as the nephews who became JWs from time to time). It has been proposed that one of Barks' other inventions, the nieces April, May, and June, were members of the Chickadees but there is no evidence to back up such a presumption. Furthermore, Barks probably never did reflect on good plots for a girl scout story for the simple reason that such a story would probably have had less action - and consequently less appeal - to the average reader. So by failing to put interesting characters and plots into the stories, Barks must soon have realized that his girl scout idea was doomed.
Still, Barks must have had some reverence towards his Chickadees, because they received a mentioning in his last published work from 1999. It is titled Ode to the Disney Ducks and can be read HERE. But in his comic book stories the Chickadees only appeared three times.

THE STORIES
1955 WDCS181 'The Bridge Building Contest' Synopsis: The JWs and the Chickadees are in a bridge building contest. The good-natured and helpful Donald places his talents at the disposal of the JWs which only causes trouble and delay for the boys. Meanwhile the girls can concentrate fully on the project...		1964 WDCS280 Double Masquerade Synopsis: Unknown to each other Donald dresses up as Scrooge to avoid an appointment, while Scrooge dresses up as Donald. Scrooge's reason for setting up his masquerade is to avoid being forced to give a donation to a very persistent troop from the Chickadees.	1973 HDL21 Music Hath Charms Synopsis: Donald is tired of dusting and polishing the JW cups. So when the JWs are participating in a new competition - against the Chickadees - Donald borrows a special flute that can hypnotize children and he leads the JWs off, while the Chickadees win the competition.

THE CHARACTERS
In WDCS181 we are presented to the leader of the South Duckburg Chickadee Patrol. She is (according to Donald) A hard-shelled gal and an old-time WAC from the army engineers.		In WDCS280 The Chickadee troop following Scrooge for a gift for their Christmas fund is headed by a stern woman named Ramrod. She is a captain in the organisation.	In HDL21 the most noticeable of the characters in the Chickadee troop is the bulky girl who describes herself as being Five years old and five feet thick.

THE NAME

There are no known records of how Barks came to pick the name Chickadees for his girl scout organisation, but after having named the JWs after the lively woodchuck he probably might have felt that a quiet bird would be perfect for the girls.
The distinct call Chick-a-dee-dee-dee has given the bird its English name. With slight variations in the phrase it can convey unique messages such as its individual identity and threats from nearby predators.
Chickadees of many kinds are known in great parts of the world and they are often seen in our backyards. They are small songbirds that are especially recognizable by their black cap and bib. The colour of their underparts may vary from white over yellow to rusty brown depending on the particular species.

NB.: There is no such species as a Caledonian Chickadee, so when Donald ordered Broiled Bosom Of Caledonian Chickadees in a restaurant (WDCS144) it was just a figment of Barks' imagination...