By Kyle Brendel
Samoset Council in Wisconsin is home to Tom Kita Chara Lodge. Founded on July 26, 1936, the lodge had an eventful first call-out ceremony. Tradition holds that during the ceremony, a buck leaped through the Grand Council Ring. The legend of what happened during that fateful ceremony inspired lodge members to make the Chippewa translation of leaping buck, Tom Kita Chara, into their lodge's name.
The first lodge meeting was held in 1937. At the meeting, by-laws were approved and officers were elected. That year the first National Jamboree was held in Washington, D.C. Most of the 35 person council contingent were members of the Order. Samoset's contingent was housed in "paper teepees" which became so popular that the lodge made and sold over 100 teepee kits to other lodges around the country.
None of the lodge's buck-wild history would have been possible without help. Scout Executive of Samoset Council, William E. Hoffman, took the initiative to make the creation of Tom Kita Chara Lodge a reality by contacting Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan Lodge 40 of North Shore Area Council. Hoffman would go on to be selected to the national executive committee, which was a predecessor of the national Order of the Arrow committee. In 1946, he was one of six Distinguished Service Award recipients recognized for service above the lodge level. At the time of the awarding, he was one of only twenty recipients, and to this day, he is Tom Kita Chara's only recipient of the award.
In 1947, Kurt Krahn, a member of the Tom Kita Chara Lodge, wrote a Lenni Lenape legend to be used in the call-out ceremony and it was published in the national Order of the Arrow bulletin. The national Order of the Arrow committee adopted Tom Kita Chara's version and there are lodges that still use it today.
The lodge gave significant service in celebration of Camp Tesomas' 50th anniversary. A gateway to their camp council ring and the archives room were both constructed in honor of William E. Hoffman. Other activities during the year included a reenactment of the original call-out ceremony as well as the displaying of new lodge history albums.
1996 marked 60 years of cheerful service by Tom Kita Chara and they hosted an awesome Conclave for their section. Camp Tesomas celebrated its 70th Anniversary in 2005 and it was quite the occasion. Robert Tank, the lodge's first chief, was invited to the camp to participate in a weekend of remembrance and celebration. All past lodge chiefs that could make it signed a Vigil honor sash which is proudly displayed in the archives room.
Tom Kita Chara has honorably served Samoset Council for nearly eight decades. Service to their council is extremely important to the lodge as is evident by their participation at Camp Tesomas. They also greatly contributed to the program nationwide through their programs and events.
What makes your lodge interesting and historical? What artifacts and stories exist from your lodge's history of cheerful service? Look to observe and preserve your lodge's history as it is a noble goal and purpose heading towards the Order's centennial celebration in 2015.