The Goodman National OA Committee Red Sash

In 1950 the National OA Committee created a reversed color OA Vigil Honor sash so that National OA Committeemen could easily be identified. There were as few as 15 of these special felt Vigil Honor sashes issued. One of these special sashes belonged to E. Urner Goodman. The sash was only used for a few years and after 1954 the sash retired from usage.

At the 1956 NOAC Urner Goodman was wearing his National OA Committee sash when he was told that the sash was no longer in usage. Goodman a stickler for proper uniform immediately took it off and turned to the young man next to him and asked him if he wanted the sash. That young man was Dr. Carl Marchetti, who has now served on the National OA Committee since 1962 including as Chairman from 1984 to 1993.

When Dr. Marchetti received the second OA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004, Dr. Marchetti had Goodman’s sash incorporated into the award ceremony by wearing it. Every Lifetime Achievement Award recipient since has worn the Goodman National OA Committee Sash. On occasion it has been placed on public display in the NOAC museum.

At the 2011 National Planning Meeting Dr. Marchetti announced that he would be donating this incredible artifact to the Order of the Arrow.

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NOAC 1950 - 35th Anniversary Meeting

While today the 1950 meeting is called a National Order of the Arrow Conference or NOAC, back then they called it the 35th Anniversary Meeting or Convention. This meeting was like a modern NOAC. It was held for the second time at the University of Indiana, Bloomington. Approximately 1,100 delegates attended. There were group discussions and classes on topics ranging from regalia, ceremonies and lodge functions. This time many of the classes were taught by youth including Area Conference Chiefs.  The OA Distinguished Service Award was presented.

Chairman H. Lloyd Nelson reported that there were now 388 lodges with 40,000 Arrowmen. The number of Arrowmen had not grown since the 1948 NOAC. This was because once the OA was a national BSA program all active OA members had to have BSA registration.  Director of Camping Wes Klusmann noted that the OA was now active in three quarters of the nations councils. Goodman once again gave the keynote address.

In what would be a conference last, the national election for the next National Conference Chief was held and James Montgomery of Pellissippi Lodge, Knoxville, Tennessee was selected to lead the next gathering in 1952. In what would be a National Conference first E. Urner Goodman in his closing address gave a challenge to the assembled Arrowmen. This tradition of the Founder giving the closing challenge would continue for 14 consecutive National Conferences through the last conference he attended in 1979 prior to his death in 1980.

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Brotherhood Barn Fireplace Completed

In 1950 a massive fireplace was completed in E. Urner Goodman’s “Brotherhood Barn” located in the Green Mountains of Vermont. The fireplace project had begun in 1948 as a tangible recognition of the admiration all Arrowmen had for the Order’s founder.

National Chairman G. Kellock Hale, Jr. and Robert H. Heistand, 1946 National Chief (as an adult) and member of the National OA Committee, shepherded the gift project. Much to Goodman’s surprise, in late 1948 and early 1949, heavy packages with postmarks from all over the country started showing up at Goodman’s Vermont retreat. The packages contained stones that were marked with the sending lodge’s name and in some cases the lodge’s number that would eventually be assembled into a fireplace. Lodges were also asked to write and mail their histories to Hale and make a contribution (if they decided to do so) of $3.00 to help with the construction of the fireplace.

The “Brotherhood Barn”, where the fireplace was built, was also of significance to the Order. In its time, it served as a “hostel for Brothers” that took the journey to Vermont. As quoted from a letter to Goodman, after visiting the barn,

 . . . speaking of the fireplace, it is a masterpiece of craftsmanship, and something we all should be proud of.

The fireplace project and completion of the fireplace was meant to serve as a cheerful reminder to our founder that ten’s of thousand’s of boys and men shared his idea of true brotherhood among men. This is where there would always continue to burn the fire of brotherhood that was kindled thirty-five years before.

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First OA National Secretary

As soon as the OA was integrated into the BSA Wes Klusmann, BSA Director of Camping, needed to select the first National Secretary. This was not a high level assignment although it would be at BSA national headquarters. This job would have a huge clerical component. The National Secretary would be responsible for, among other duties, local lodge charter renewals, theNational Bulletin, maintaining Vigil Honor lists and coordinating supplies for local lodges.

Klusmann selected a very young professional, 22 year old Norman C. Wood. Klusmann approached Wood at the 1948 NOAC where he was the junior chairman for a group discussion on registration. Wood served as OA National Secretary from 1948 – 1951. He left to become a field executive and camp director with his home council in Springfield, Massachusetts.

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Truman Becomes President

Truman took office as the 33^rd President of the United States three months into Roosevelt’s fourth term following Roosevelt's death. It was a rough time, and World War II was still raging. Truman was the one who made the decision to utilize the atomic bomb – a controversial decision.

Harry S. Truman was a strong supporter of the Boy Scouts. In addition to being the Honorary President of the BSA, Truman personally attended and opened the 1950 National Scout Jamboree at Valley Forge, PA.

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Japan Surrenders Ending WW II

World War II ended within days of the United States dropping of Atomic bombs over the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan unconditionally surrendered on September 2, 1945.  Both Goodman and Edson lost sons during the war. George Goodman and Stuart Edson were killed in action in Europe. Edson, having served in the reserve since his service in World War I returned to active duty as a lieutenant colonel and then attained the rank of Colonel shortly before his discharge in 1945.

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14th & Last "National Meeting" Held

After World War II, National Lodge could meet again. The original plan was to hold the 1946 meeting where the 1942 National Meeting had been scheduled. However, with all of the returning military the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill informed the National Lodge that they would not have the dorm space available. The OA was now too large to meet at a Scout camp and universities were filled with returning military. An alternate site was needed.

984 delegates from 114 lodges (both records) descended upon Chanute Field Army Air Corp in Illinois. The Arrowmen bunked in the more than ample barracks. Owasippe Lodge, Chicago took the traditional role of a host lodge handling registration and other activities. Even though Chicago was over 100 miles away, Owasippe was the only lodge with the Arrow-power to handle the responsibilities.

Surprisingly, there was insufficient time to hold the very successful classes and group sessions presented at the 1938 and 1940 National Lodge Meetings. The OA Distinguished Service Award was presented. The meeting was set on a tight schedule with the opening on a Tuesday at 2:00 PM and ending on Thursday at noon.

1946 was the last meeting with elections of adult leadership. Robert H. Heistand of Nentico Lodge, Baltimore, Maryland was elected National Chief. John C. Norsk from Allogagan Lodge, Springfield, Massachusetts was elected to a second term as National Secretary. J. Rucker Newbery was elected National Treasurer. The National Executive Committee was expanded. The two immediate past National Chiefs would be on the board. They were H. Lloyd Nelson and George Mozealous. Four other committeemen were elected, each from a different geographical section of the country. Elected to the committee were G. Kellock Hale, Jr., John M. Pfeil, Herbert L. Gaskin and Andrew R. Groenink. In addition the National Council had two representatives, Founder E. Urner Goodman and Director of Camping Wes Klusmann.

1946 would be the last “National Lodge Meeting” (verbiage on the 1948 patch notwithstanding). From humble Grand Lodge Meetings with fewer than 10 lodges and less than 20 delegates the OA had become an official BSA program. In 1948 the Order of the Arrow would be fully integrated into the BSA. What would come next would be a NOAC!

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NBA Begins

The NBA was founded as the Basketball Association of America on June 6, 1946. The first game was played between the New York Knickerbockers and the Toronto Huskies. The league changed its name to the National Basketball Association, (NBA) when the BAA merged with the rival National Basketball League (NBL) in 1949.

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First Modern Day African American Baseball Player

Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play modern Major League Baseball on April 15, 1947 at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York. Born in Georgia, the son of sharecroppers, the youngest of five children (Brother “Mack” won a Silver Medal behind Jesse Owens in the 200 Meter Dash at the 1936 Olympics), Robinson went to UCLA and served his nation in the military.

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J. Rucker Newbery

J. Rucker Newbery is best known as the editor of the first Order of the Arrow Handbook in 1948. Newbery officially joined the OA on June 11, 1936 when he chartered the Bob White Lodge, Augusta Georgia into the Order while serving as their Scout Executive. Newbery remained a member of the Order until his death in 1978.

Early in 1942 Frank Dix of the National Executive Committee tendered his resignation. Dix had been selected to the National Executive Committee as the Southern representative. When he was re-assigned by the national office as a Deputy Regional Executive to Cincinnati, he could no longer serve. It was a national BSA policy requiring balance on the lead OA committee that a Southern representative was required on the committee. Dix suggested J. Rucker Newbery as his replacement and in 1942 Newbery was appointed to the National Executive Committee.

In 1943 Newbery transferred to Charleston, South Carolina and became Scout Executive of Coastal Carolina Council. He immediately chartered Unali’yi Lodge. In 1946 Newbery was elected National Lodge Treasurer at the National Meeting at Chanute Field. Newbery also kept his Vigil at the 1946 Meeting and was given a Vigil name meaning “The Willing One”.

In 1948 J. Rucker Newbery edited the first Order of the Arrow Handbook. The book was an immediate success and was a requisite requirement for the OA becoming fully integrated into the BSA. Newbery was also an early patch collector. The OA Handbook was the first time groups of patches were photographed for members. This contributed to the growth of patch trading. Newbery was honored for his leadership and service with the OA Distinguished Service Award in 1948, a time when there had been fewer than 25 recipients.

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OA Official Part of BSA

It was announced at the 1948 NOAC that the Order of the Arrow would be fully incorporated into the Boy Scouts of America. In a process that had started in 1921 with the first national organization, the Order of the Arrow had finally realized its most ambitious and desired goal. This announcement was met with some acrimony from Arrowmen concerned about the BSA taking over the Order. While the national OA leadership had been fully dedicated for over 15 years to achieving this goal, many Arrowmen took pride in the autonomy of the Order.

It had happened incrementally. In 1922 WWW was labeled an Official BSA experiment. Starting in 1932 the OA was thoroughly investigated by the BSA and made a Scout program in 1934, effective January 1, 1935. Once an official program the Order grew rapidly. The OA grew from 43 active lodges at the end of 1934 to 362 active lodges in 1948. The OA had become a true national organization operating in every region of the country.

The OA did have to make some changes to gain full integration into the BSA program. Because of religious objections that had existed for decades regarding the ceremonies everything had to be reviewed and often re-written. Another issue was some members of the OA while elected as Scouts had allowed their BSA registration to lapse. As a BSA run only active members of the Scouts could be active Arrowmen. The OA also had to change some terminology.

There was also an agreement regarding youth leadership. As in Scout troops, leadership positions in lodges and eventually areas and regions would be changes to youth leadership with adult advisers. That however did not affect the national leadership that negotiated with the BSA. The OA would form the National OA Committee and would have their jobs made dramatically easier with BSA supervision. For example, supply problems had beleaguered the OA since the beginning. With the fantastic growth of the Order, it made supplying the local lodges incredibly difficult for volunteer Arrowmen (although many were Scout professionals, this was something they did as volunteers.) Under the BSA, National Supply would take over service to the local lodges. A professional would be provided to the Order to handle the clerical and administrative duties allowing the National OA Committee to focus on other matters such as policy and developing area meetings throughout the Order.

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US Enters World War II

The United States entered World War II after the surprise attack by Japan on December 7, 1941, on Pearl Harbor.

Many Scouts served valiantly in the service of the country expanding on the service that was rendered during World War I. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, an Arrowman, signed a letter asking Scouts "to take an important commission as Government Dispatch Bearers for the Office of War Information (OWI)." The Boy Scouts of America would become the "Official Dispatch Bearers" for the OWI and the main workforce for a poster distribution system. Thousands of young men were responsible for the delivery of posters to shops all across America.

Scouts also did many other things such as planting trees, and collecting tin, aluminum, rags and tires for recycling into war materials taking a lead role in "the war at home". Carroll A. Edson was called back to active duty, having served in the reserve since World War I, and served in the infantry in Kansas. Before leaving the military, Edson rose to the rank of Colonel. It is known that at least Unami Lodge, Philadelphia and Delmont Lodge, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania issued celluloid buttons with broken arrows to honor fallen Arrowmen during World War II.

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