Dolores Collins Crum

is honored with a Brick from Barney Collins, Bob Collins, and Kay Snyder.

A salute to our sister, Dolores! 1998 is a fitting year for a brick to be placed in the Plaza of Heroines for this wonderful woman. In February, she retired after 47 years of service to the Wichita Area Girl Scout Council. To Girl Scouting and to every phase of her life, Dolores brought warmth, devotion, and enthusiasm.

It was said at her retirement, "Dolores has worn so many hats in her tenure with Girl Scouting, it is safe to assume that she knows every facet of what it means to offer Girl Scouting to thousands of girls and adults." She has served as Director of Camping, Program, Training, Adult Recruitment, and Special Events. The National Association of Girl Scout Executive Staff inducted Dolores into its Hall of Fame. Dolores' influence continues with the Girl Scout Alumni and Friends' annual scholarship being named the Dolores Collins Crum Scholarship.

Dolores was the eldest of the five children of Katherine and George B. Collins. She was our leader; we all looked up to her for guidance. I am 21 months younger than Dolores, and she was my mentor and my confidant. She taught me to drive, she taught me how to have a conversation with a boy, how to shop for clothes; the list is endless. When we enrolled at KU in 1947, Dolores was a junior and I was a freshman. I was never homesick because I was with Dolores. After we graduated, we shared an apartment in New York City. Later, we were both married in 1959; we have had many years together working, traveling, and having a wonderful time!

My husband and I had six children, and Dolores has helped us raise our family. Her four nieces remember, as they reached each new level of Girl Scouting, Dolores would be at their door with a new uniform for them.

Dolores' care for her church, her family, and her community is reflected in her membership in the following advisory groups: Governor's Commission on Juvenile Delinquency, United Way Committee to Offer Camping to Low Income Children, Model Cities Task Force on Recreation, Citizens Participation Organization representing her neighborhood. She has long worked in St. Thomas Aquinas Altar Society, The Junior League of Wichita, Delta Delta Delta Alumnae, and League of Women Voters.

It is with warmth and love that my brothers, Bob and Barney Collins, and I place our sister's name in the Plaza of Heroines.

Submitted by Kay Collins Snyder

September 12, 1998