You know it’s spring when the snowpack begins to melt, the crocuses begin to bloom and the local Brownie and Girl Scout troops are out selling cookies.

But like crocuses, Girl Scouts cookie sales last only a few short weeks.

Cindy Scoggin, of Bend, couldn’t resist the sales pitch of Brownie Troop 735, as the 7- and 8-year-old girls sold cookies in front of a west-side grocery store.

”Yes, I’ll buy a box,” said Scoggin, 27, with a smile. ”I remember doing this when I was a Girl Scout. I started as a Brownie, too, and went all the way to Girl Scouts. We had to wear a green sash back then.”

These days, a box of Girl Scout cookies will set you back $4, but most customers don’t seem to mind. Some say Girl Scout cookies are as American as apple pie.

The tradition of selling Girl Scout cookies dates back almost 90 years, probably a lot longer than most people realize.

”The Mistletoe Girl Scout Troop in Muskogee, Okla., is believed to be the first troop to sell cookies in 1917,” said Girl Scouts of Western Rivers Council historian Dory Delp. ”Troop members baked cookies and sold them in their high school cafeteria as a service project.”

According to Delp’s research, by 1922, the Girl Scout magazine, ”The American Girl,” provided a cookie recipe and tips on packaging and pricing.

”By the 1930s, Girl Scouts around the country were baking and selling cookies packaged in wax paper bags and sealed with a sticker for 25 to 35 cents per dozen,” states the Girl Scouts Web site.

”The Girl Scout Federation of Greater New York took the idea a step further by buying a Trefoil-shaped die and using the words ‘Girl Scout Cookies’ on their box.”

The Trefoil-shaped butter cookie is the oldest Girl Scout cookie still being sold today.

The Trefoil is shaped like three leaves put together, with each leaf representing one part of the Girl Scout Promise.

”The Girl Scout Promise is, ‘On my honor, I will try to serve God, and my country and to help people at all times,’” said Central Oregon Girl Scout Council President Peggy Munday. ”Yes, I remember selling cookies when I was a Girl Scout, too. We use to go door-to-door, wearing our uniforms. It was a lot of work, carrying all those boxes.”

Girl Scout leader Lorelei Kryzanek, 46, laughs heartily when hearing about the old Girl Scout troops making homemade cookies to sell.

”Oh my, can you imagine doing that now? I’m a lunch lady at one of the schools, and I have a food handlers’ card. I can’t imagine selling Girl Scout cookies I would’ve made …,” said Kryzanek. ”That blows my mind, but I bet they were delicious.”

Delicious they must have been, and continue to be, because each year since 1930 cookie sales have increased, except for the years during World War II.

”In 1943, the country was at war, and there was rationing of goods like sugar, and the companies who were contracted to make the cookies for the Girl Scouts couldn’t fill all the orders,” said National Girl Scouts USA spokesperson Marion Swan from her New York City office. ”But as the wartime shortages eased, the cookie sales returned.”

Swan says each Girl Scout council decides when to sell. About one-third of the troops sell their cookies in the fall season, with the rest of the troops usually opting for springtime sales.

”We only sell the cookies once a year, and for just a short time, because this creates a demand and clamor to get them,” said Munday, looking on her wall calendar in Bend Girl Scout Council office. ”The cookies arrived in our area on April 6th and we finish selling them April 23rd. We’ve had people calling our office asking us where they can buy them.”

Girl Scout Troop #802 leaders Kathy Schweitzer and Nancy Davidson recently stood outside a south Bend grocery store selling cookies in the rain with their troop.

The soggy weather couldn’t dampen the girls spirit, as they explained that each box of cookies they sell will earn money for a camping trip later this summer.

Schweitzer, 52, recounted her Girl Scout Cookie-selling, which she said was before the advent of cookie sales in front of stores.

”Well, it was 1961, and back then we sold the cookies for 50 cents a box. It was a single-sleeve box then,” recalled Schweitzer. ”I was allowed to go door-to-door by myself. Now we’re much more protective of the girls; they’re not allowed to go door-to-door without an adult present. Sad how times change that way.”

But one thing that has not changed since the Girl Scouts started selling their cookies is the business skill they acquire.

”It teaches the girls first to take responsibility. It empowers them to do things,” said Munday. ”It gives them ownership of the trip they’re trying to earn through their cookie sales. It gives them public-speaking skills, and it teaches them about working together as a team.”

Kryzanek smiles and nods in agreement with Munday. ”I use to be the shyest little girl when I was selling cookies, but I wore my little Brownie beanie like it was a crown, and I wore my uniform with pride, and I sold a lot.”

Flipping through her old Girl Scout cadette book, circa 1968, Kryzanek reads a few lines out loud: ”A Girl Scout has a queenly bearing, and stands without drooping.’ Or how about this one, ‘the art of flower arranging.’”

Kryzanek laughs at how much has changed since those days, but she still credits the Girl Scouts and the cookie sales for helping her overcome her shyness.

”I was the shyest girl, but I sold the most cookies of anyone,” said Kryzanek proudly. ”And I’ve seen that happen to a lot of girls in my troop.”

The national Girl Scout office reports the consistently most popular Girl Scout cookies are the Thin Mints, followed by Samoas (also known as Carmel Delights on the East Coast) and the peanut butter Tagalongs.

This year, the Girl Scouts offer eight varieties, a far cry from when the Girl Scouts made and sold only Trefoil shortbread cookies.

In keeping with the times, the Girl Scouts in recent years have introduced a reduced-fat cookie. Swan says all Scout cookies are also kosher.

By the end of the weekend, Girl Scout cookies will no longer be available for sale in Central Oregon.

Should you find yourself craving a Girl Scout Thin Mint or Samoa cookie in the middle of summer, Munday suggests you stock up, saying all the cookies freeze well.

Penny Nakamura can be reached at halpen1@aol.com.