GRAND CHUTE, Wis. - A Girl Scout who failed to receive a Golden Eaglet Award because she woke up with the mumps finally got the accolade — 69 years later.

Faith Iames Schremp, 86, joined Girl Scouts in 1938 and earned all the proficiency badges needed to win the award.

But the morning Schremp, of Wausau, was to leave for Girl Scout Camp, she woke up with the mumps. Attending camp was the final rite of passage in earning the award.

Schremp said she was heartbroken.

That is until Fran Raley, CEO of the Girl Scouts of the Fox River Area, presented Schremp with her long-deserved award Saturday during the Girl Scouts' 2007 Holiday Folk Fair.

Receiving the Golden Eaglet Award, the predecessor to the Gold Award, is the highest achievement in Girl Scouting.

Daughter-in-law Dee Schremp, of Appleton, a former Girl Scout leader, knew of the pins importance to Schremp. She worked with Raley to track down an Eaglet pin at Girl Scouts of the USA without success. They also were outbid on eBay for a discontinued pin, which fetched $800.

However, Raley remembered there was a pin embedded on an art project near the entryway to the scouting office.

An artist extracted the pin and had it repaired at a jewelry shop.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071202/ap_on_fe_st/odd_old_scout_award