By Zach Sager
Arrowmen of Withlacoochee Lodge, part of the South Georgia Council, hosted memorable and inspiring OA centennial activities as part of their spring Ordeal and fellowship weekend at Camp Patten in Lakeland, Georgia. The centennial celebration activities included giving Arrowmen an opportunity to sign their name on cedar wood to be taken to NOAC 2015 in the lodge’s crate for the Centennial Fire. It also included the unveiling of a stained concrete gopher tortoise statue to honor the lodge’s totem, a decorated dessert cake for members at the Saturday evening meal, the burying of a time capsule on the camp property and a special event patch.
Each Arrowman had the opportunity to add an item to the time capsule. Items placed in the time capsule included: cedar wood from the lodge’s Legacy Project crate, lodge patches, a copy of the 2015 Withlacoochee Lodge charter, Arrowman Service Award cards, the program for the fellowship weekend and a stuffed tortoise.
Withlacoochee Lodge officers planned, resourced, and delivered each activity as a way to engage the membership and give Arrowmen a meaningful OA centennial celebration event. Similar centennial activities are planned for the lodge’s summer fellowship in August at Camp Osborn in Sylvester, Georgia. Withlacoochee Lodge Chief Noah Phillips wanted to include multiple centennial events in order to reach all Arrowmen in the lodge’s 28 county area.
The Withlacoochee Lodge time capsule at Camp Patten will be unearthed in 20 years. The concrete gopher tortoise will remain a permanent fixture at Camp Patten. The special event patches will be cherished in members’ collections. The decorated dessert cake is, unfortunately, gone. The memories of the Withlacoochee Lodge OA centennial celebration at Camp Patten will last forever.