1951 National Planning Meeting

The National OA Committee and Area Chiefs from around the nation gathered at Miami University at Oxford, Ohio for the second National Planning Meeting. This was the only National Planning Meeting where the Area Chiefs did not elect the next Conference Chief. National Conference Chief James R. Montgomery of Pellissippi Lodge, Knoxville, Tennessee had been elected at the 1950 NOAC. Following the meeting the OA actively promoted that “active youth participation would be the real National Meeting highlight…” Conference Chiefs would be running the show at the 1952 NOAC.

3, Elections, OA, Scouting

First Information for New Member Booklet Published

In June 1952 15,000 booklets were first published and distributed by the Order of the Arrow (OA). The title of the booklet was Information for New Members. George A. Mozealous of Owasippe Lodge, Chicago, edited the booklet. Mozealous was the 1940 National Chief when it was an adult position.

The eleven page booklet gave new members information about the history of the Order, words to the song of the Order, the legend of the Lenni-Lenape, membership and Honors of the Order, OA Insignia, and place to keep your personal record in the Order.

The booklets continued for 20 years and were discontinued in 1972.

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Wabaningo Lodge Emblem Handbook Produced

In 1952 Dwight W. Bischel published the Wabaningo Lodge Emblem Handbook, the “Wab” Book for short. It was a book sanctioned and actively promoted by the National OA Committee and was the first book to primarily feature OA patches. It was not a history book. It was an attempt to show a current or near current badge from each OA lodge that had issued what they called an emblem. (Note – they were called emblems in 1952 because they were emblematic; they stood for something. The ideal purpose for issuing insignia for the OA.)

Virtually all of the badges issued since 1952 are catalogued and known. Our knowledge of the insignia prior to the issuance of the Wab book is much more incomplete, the further back in time the less our knowledge. Dwight Bischel was not the first patch collector; swapping OA badges went back to the 1930s. What he was is the first to attempt a catalog. For that he is the founder of the modern OA patch hobby that has been present at all national and most regional, area, sectional and local OA events since publication.

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Dwight Bischel - "Wab" Book

Dwight Bischel became a Scout in Chicago, Illinois and during the war years moved with his family to Bay City, Michigan. While in Bay City, Dwight earned his Eagle Scout with Silver Palm and was initiated into the Order of the Arrow. Dwight served as Lodge Chief of Gimogash Lodge, Summer Trails Council at Camp Haley for the summers of 1945 and 1946.

Dwight left for college in 1946 and attended Northwestern University. Dwight became active in Wabaningo Lodge starting in the fall of 1946. In 1952 Dwight using his photography skills researched and published the Wabaningo Lodge Emblem Handbook (known as the “Wab” book). This is the first book to document the emblems used by various lodges. The book was written with the encouragement of the National OA Committee and the committee actively promoted the book including promotion in the National Bulletin. The Wab book had images of over 250 OA patches and gave information about their lodges. OA patch trading had existed for some time prior to the publication of the Wab book, but the hobby increased exponentially with its publication. Information about OA badges issued from the time of the book to the present is nearly complete, while information about badges prior to 1952 is far less complete; the further back in time the less is known.

In 1954 and 1956 Dwight recorded on a reel-to-reel tape recorder E. Urner Goodman’s closing challenges at the NOACs. Excerpts from these speeches were used in the short subject film; Our Founder’s Voice by Jake Topkis and the recordings are now preserved for posterity in the OA Archives. Dwight Bischel was the first Vigil Honor member of Wabaningo Lodge. Fittingly he was given the Vigil name Bambil Lekhiket, Honorable Book writer.

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1952 DSA Recipients

The Distinguished Service Award (DSA) is presented to those Arrowmen who have rendered distinguished and outstanding service to the Order on a sectional, regional, or national basis. Starting in 1952, the DSA was no longer limited to only three recipients. The following were presented the DSA at the National Order of the Arrow Conference; Gerald H. Blake, Andrew R. Groenink, Charles M. Heistand, Richard W. Marshall, Thomas G. McBride, John M. Pfeil, William S. Roth, Archie F. Wilson, J. Richard Wilson and Norman C. Wood.

3, Awards, OA, Scouting

Arrow Ribbon Points Right

The Universal Arrow Ribbon first introduced in 1942 had always pointed over the wearer's left shoulder. Starting in 1950 the OA decided to rid itself of code words that referenced “left” and instead used "right".  

The Admonition was no longer left for Kitchkinet; it was only right for him to convey. Starting in 1952 the Universal Arrow Ribbon would point over the wearer’s right shoulder; where it still points today.

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Chapman Retires

Effective January 1, 1953, George W. Chapman retired from the National OA Committee and as Vigil Secretary. Chapman agreed to stay on with the National OA Committee in the role of Editorial Advisor. Chapman had served the Order for nearly forty years. He had been there since the beginning, a charter member inducted by Goodman and Edson in 1915 at Treasure Island. He was the first youth leader in the Order elected the first Wimachtendienk chief.

The job of Vigil Secretary had vastly grown in his ten-year tenure. In 1943, Chapman’s first year as Secretary there had been 23 Vigils inducted. In 1952 there were 217. The National Secretary assumed the job of Vigil Secretary.

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1953 National Jamboree

The 1953 National Jamboree was held at Irvine Ranch, California, from July 17 to 23 with the theme “Forward on Liberty’s Team.” 45,401 Scouts and Explorers were in attendance for the Jamboree.

Because the Jamboree was held close to Hollywood, many movie stars including Roy Rogers, James Stewart and Bob Hope were able to make appearances. President Dwight D. Eisenhower (and Vice President Richard Nixon, who stayed overnight and helped to prepare breakfast for his home town troop) also visited the Jamboree.

Jamboree participants were able to see and swim in the Pacific ocean (92,000 accident-free ocean swims), participate in Troop and Section campfires, a mammoth Scoutcraft demonstration, field sports and see a spectacular fireworks show. Special Achievement awards were introduced to teach and test Scouts in Scoutcraft skills.

The “watchwords”: “What’ve you got?” and “What’ll you give?” were common referring to the sport of “Swapping” of items, ranging from horned toads, to Florida sea shells, to Sequoia tree cones and even some patches.

Based on the success of the first OA service troop at the 1950 Jamboree, the OA again selected Arrowmen to serve at the Jamboree. A total of 18 Arrowmen were selected by Area Leaders and were approved by the Regional Offices. The service troop operating out of the Camp Headquarters provided guard service, served as orderlies and assisted in numerous projects related to the operation of the Jamboree. Members of the service troop also paid their own fees and expenses in the same manner as all other Scouts attending the Jamboree.

A special fellowship assembly was held just for Arrowmen where members met and heard from top national OA leaders, joined in singing of camp songs, and renewed friendships with other brothers from across the nation.

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Third National Secretary

In the fall of 1953, the National OA Committee announced that J. Richard Wilson had stepped down as OA National Secretary and had been reassigned as a Field Executive in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Phillip W. Robins was named Third National Secretary. Robins was a Vigil Honor Member of Sanhican Lodge, Trenton, New Jersey. Like his predecessors, Robins was active as a youth in the program having been an Area Chief and he was under twenty-five. National Secretary was still a relatively low-grade Scout professional position largely consumed with administrative and clerical tasks assigned by the National OA Committee.

3, OA, Scouting

Second OA Nat'l Secretary

Effective June 1951, J. Richard Wilson, the 1950 National Conference Chief, became the second Order of the Arrow National Secretary. The position was still a low level BSA professional job and was not a glamour position by any means. It was a tremendous clerical and administrative job.

Outgoing National Secretary Norman C. Wood had taken another professional Scouting job in his hometown council in Springfield, Massachusetts after less than three years. Wood, only 26, decided that he preferred being a Field Executive and camp director.

Wilson was even younger than Wood when he was hired and would only serve until 1953 when he moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan to be a Field Executive. Wilson remains the only youth officer of the OA to later serve as National Secretary.

3, OA, Scouting

1948 DSA Recipients

The Distinguished Service Award (DSA) is presented to those Arrowmen who have rendered distinguished and outstanding service to the Order on a sectional, regional, or national basis. The following were presented the DSA at the 1948 National Order of the Arrow Conference when the award was limited to three recipients - George A. Mozealous, J. Rucker Newbery and John C. Norsk.

3, Awards, OA, Scouting

Regions and Sub-Areas

By 1948 the OA was active in every region and a new system for dividing areas for informational and fellowship purposes was needed. In the 1946 reorganization Area “U” had been divided into Area’s 12A, 12B and 12C. Now that the OA was a full National BSA program they were going to take full advantage of the BSA 12 region system. In September 1948 the new areas were announced. Regions with only one area, such as Region 1 only had Area 1A. Region 7 had six areas, Area 7A through Area 7F.

Over the years, even this system would be revised as the OA continued growth. However, using the 12-region structure proved flexible enough to be used for the next 25 years.

3, OA, Scouting