Ranachqua Lodge 4 of The Bronx, New York formed Wimachtendienk’s fourth lodge on August 1, 1920. The lodge was founded by William A. Stumpp, who served as their first lodge chief, a position that he held for mor
e than two decades.
In the early part of July 1915, Mr. E. Urner Goodman, enlisted my aid in clearing what is today the ceremonial grounds of the Unami Lodge, on Treasure Island. Armed with an axe and a rake we prospected through the dense brush which covered the lower half of the Island, for a likely location and finally selected the present site.
The first ceremony took place on July 16, 1915. It was a great day for Treasure Island. It was my good fortune to act as guide and guardian of the trail on this auspicious occasion. The Scouts were gathered at dark around the flagpole and after being admonished to preserve silence were formed in a single file and led down by a circuitous route to the Council Fire.
---- Excerpted from a Harry A. Yoder article in Philadelphia Council Annual Report
Harry A. Yoder was one of the youth staff at Treasure Island in 1915. He was a trusted Scout who E. Urner Goodman enlisted to help him prepare the new Council Fire for the summer camp.
While Yoder was not considered a ceremonial team member in 1915, he was asked to be the guard and guide of the trail that led to the Council Fire because he was the only staff person who knew where it was located on the island.
Yoder was not inducted into the Wimachtendienk until the last week of camp in 1915. He met with his new brothers at Camp Morrell in November 1915 and was appointed the Chairman of the Membership Committee. In June 1916, his committee presented a report on membership in the Wimachtendienk and defined charter membership.
Yoder signed on as a charter member and remained active in the Wimachtendienk for a number of years. He was Unami Lodge Chief 1920-21. He was the fifth Third Degree member (Vigil) in the Wimachtendienk in 1921. As an adult Harry A. Yoder served as an Assistant Scoutmaster in Troop 3, Philadelphia.
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George Chapman shared in his writings the following:
“Shortly after camp opened, Urner Goodman had explored Treasure Island in order to select the most appropriate place for the location of the Council Fire. He selected a site in the south woods of the island, far removed from the ordinary activities of the camp, and Edson agreed with him that it would be an ideal spot.
It was considerably off the beaten path on even a small 50-acre island and because of its location was an excellent site. How well Urner Goodman selected the site may be judged from the fact that the location of the Treasure Island Council Fire has never been changed.
The site chosen was a natural amphitheatre formed by a ravine in dense woods. For some natural reason there was a clearing here with sloping ground on one side which was to serve as a seating place for the spectators.
On the afternoon of the first induction Urner Goodman and Harry A. Yoder, by means of almost superhuman effort, were able to get the selected site cleared of brush, an altar built, and a path cut through the thick underbrush from the camp to the site.
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One of the enduring mysteries of the early days of the Wimachtendienk is the question of what the very first sashes of our Order looked like. There are two differing written accounts, both from extremely reliable eyewitnesses that were present at the beginning in 1915. Harry Yoder, the first guide and charter member of the Order, wrote circa 1921,
In the early days of the Order the members wore a black sash with a white stripe running lengthwise instead of the white band with the red arrow.
George Chapman’s account is slightly different. Chapman, also a 1915 Charter Member of Wimachtendienk and first youth leader had a different memory. His account in the unpublished work The Arrow and the Vigil (1953) states,
As has been previously mentioned, the officers of Wimachtendienk wore black robes for the induction ceremony. Members wore a black sash with a white arrow on it, very similar to the sash worn today except for the color.
There are no other written accounts of the first sash. Neither founder, nor any other charter member or adult support staff is known to have described the original sash. The 1916 Constitution is also silent on the construction of the sash. There are no known physical examples of a 1915 sash. We likely will never know which account is most accurate and the exact first sash will likely remain a mystery of the Order.
At end of the camping season in 1915, E. Urner Goodman held a vigil on the Devil's Tea Table. There was no real ritual ceremony that accompanied his experience, just Goodman alone with his thoughts through a night that he often referred to as life changing for him.
Carroll A. Edson recalls the following as the events that happened at the end of the Camping Season in 1916:
By the summer of 1916 a basic organization had been set up, and essentially the present First Honor, a First Degree, as we then called it, ritual developed, and the lodge functioned actively at camp.
At the end of that season, there was a universal feeling among the members that Urner’s leadership had been so splendid that they should do something to raise him above the rest.
I was running a Sea Scout camp that summer, but at the end of the season ran up to Treasure Island for a few days. A few of us got together, and planned out what is now the Vigil Honor, but which was then called “Second Degree”. We developed the essentials of the present ordeal and ritual, and put Urner through it.
There is not a consensus among Wimachtendienk historians on whether or not the above quote is accurate and whether or not Goodman kept a second vigil. No ceremony existed for the Second Degree prior to 1916. Whether or not Goodman went through a Second Degree ceremony as defined by the 1916 Constitution of the Wimachtendienk and whom the identities of any ceremonialists were is unknown. If Goodman was not the first Arrowman to go through the actual ceremony for the Second Degree (Vigil) – because he had already kept his vigil prior to the ceremony being written, then Carroll Edson was the first to receive the full ritual in 1917.
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At the end of 1916 Wimachtendienk held their first annual banquet. This is a tradition that is still observed every year by Unami Lodge. The Order’s first social event would expand to other social happenings including today’s conclaves, fellowships and conferences.
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The Official Handbook: A Handbook of Woodcraft, Scouting, and Life-craft (now known as the 1910 Original Edition Handbook) was written by Ernest Thompson Seton and was influenced significantly by Baden-Powell’s Scouting for Boys (Baden-Powell’s book was based heavily off of Seton’s handbook for his youth group The Woodcraft Indians, The Birch Bark Roll.) This version was published from July 1910 to March 1911. While this handbook covered many aspects on the organization of Scouting and camping skills, it surprisingly ignored things like first aid, knife & axe use, and how to use a compass and map (all things that are basic subjects for current Boy Scout Handbooks.)
The Official Handbook for Boys was published in June of 1911. It covered Scouting virtues and morals at length, as well as including a standard Scouting program and regulations. As with Seton’s version, first aid, knife, and compass skills were once again left out.
From 1914 – 1916 the Philadelphia Council led by Scout Executive Walter S. Cowing used “Service” as its watchword. In 1914 the council recognized deserving individuals with a special “Badge of Service” pin.
When the Treasure Island staff planned the first induction, Urner Goodman had one Scout in mind as the model of cheerful service he wanted for its members - Billy Clark. Billy was a member of Philadelphia's Troop 1, led by Scoutmaster Goodman and is listed in their records as an “Assistant Scribe.” Years later Goodman described a troop campout at Treasure Island.
One time during our stay there, one of our charges came with a minor sickness. There was no medicine, no hospital on the island at all. So he had to stay in his tent and he had to be taken care of. Billy volunteered to be our live-in nurse for the two or three days he had to be there. And he did a good job of it.
Came to a crisis however the next morning. It had rained during the night. Now, there is a vessel used in hospitals they call a bedpan. And it was time to take that thing to the latrine and Billy, of course, cheerfully took on the assigned visit. However, in going from the tent to the latrine he had a little upset. It was the wrong kind of bath, to be put lightly. But Billy got up smiling from it all, if you can imagine. Now that's the picture of cheerful service.
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In 1915 I joined the staff of the Philadelphia Council, the head of the Field Department being E. Urner Goodman, afterwards Scout Executive of Philadelphia, and then of Chicago, and now a department head at the National Office.
Urner was designated as Director, and I as Co-Director of Treasure Island, the Philadelphia Camp. I found they had an award called “Treasure Island Scout”, for which an emblem TIS, was presented. The award was based on a point system, similar to a troop contest, so many points for passing tests, identifying nature objects, etc., etc. It seemed to me there should be some recognition of the spirit of Scouting, as the TIS was of the mechanics.
It happened that about that time I attended a meeting where Ernest Thompson Seton was the speaker, and he gave a splendid presentation of the value he had found in using an idealization of the Indian, in his work with boys, and it seemed to me that that gave the answer to the problem I had been considering.
I accordingly suggested to Urner that we organize an Indian lodge as our highest camp award, selection to be based on the demonstration of living the Scout Oath and Law. He agreed.”
--- Excerpted from Col. Edson’s 1942 letter to Moqua Chapter for their 20th Anniversary celebration
Edson was excited by his encounter with Ernest Thompson Seton and brought the idea back to Goodman and Treasure Island. The idea blossomed and became the Camp Honor Fraternity – Wimachtendienk.
It would help bring together young people from various so-called stations, break down the barriers that society has foolishly placed upon them, and establish in their minds when they are young a finer kind of humanity, a real understanding that the important thing is the association of a human spirit.
--- from Ernest Thompson Seton about his development of the League of Woodcraft Indians
The League of Woodcraft Indians was an American youth program, established by Ernest Thompson Seton. It was later renamed the "Woodcraft League of America". The program was also utilized overseas, and many of these overseas programs still exist today.
In the United States, the first Woodcraft "Tribe" was established in 1902 at Cos Cob, Connecticut. Seton's property had been vandalized several times by a group of boys from the local school. Seton thought over his options and decided that sugar might be better than vinegar. So he invited the boys over to his property for a weekend. Surprised and a little apprehensive the boys came. Seton, the great storyteller that he was, regaled the boys stories about Native Americans and nature.
The result of his weekend was a group of boys who became interested in nature and Native American customs and traditions. The unique feature of his program was that the boys elected their own leaders: a "Chief," a "Second Chief", a "Keeper of the Tally" and a "Keeper of the Wampum."
Encouraged by the boys’ response and a dream of broadening his program to other communities, Seton wrote a series of seven articles for Ladies' Home Journal from May to November 1902 under the heading "Seton's Boys." Those articles later were published under the name Birch Bark Roll.
Looking for people interested in his outdoor organization. Seton traveled to England in 1906 to meet with Lord Robert Baden-Powell. He gave Baden-Powell a copy of the Birch Bark Roll. Seton and Baden-Powell bonded around the concept of a program for youth. In 1908, Seton received a letter from Baden-Powell stating that he was going ahead with his vision for Scouting, using as a base Seton’s program. Baden-Powell wrote Scouting for Boys and incorporated many of Seton’s ideas, honors and games into his book.
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In April of 1915, E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson both were hired by Philadelphia Council and entered Professional Scouting at the age of 23. Philadelphia Scout Executive Walter S. Cowing appointed them both as Field Commissioners (now called Field Executives). The following month the Philadelphia Council Camp Committee appointed Goodman as Camp Director at Treasure Island Scout Reservation and Edson as his Assistant Camp Director in charge of commissary. Together they prepared for the coming camp season and in their capacity as Camp Director and Assistant Camp Director determined that a camp fraternity might be a good idea for the camp.
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