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Goodman - Adult Family Life

Goodman matched his professional success during his years in Philadelphia with personal happiness. On June 18, 1920, he married Louise Wynkoop Waygood, a local girl whom he had first dated the same week in 1911 that he joined Troop 1. Louise and Urner had three children, Theodore Wynkoop, born August 12, 1921, George Walter, born February 26, 1923, and Lydia Ann, born April 21, 1927.

Family life centered on Urner’s job, the children, and church involvement. Both Urner and Louise were talented musicians, thus the children learned to play instruments, so the family often entertained each other with music evenings. Sundays were devoted to church and family activities, including the learning of Psalms in the afternoon. The Goodmans were very ecumenical. The family moved several times while the children were growing up and, if there were no Presbyterian church in the neighborhood, they would worship at Methodist churches or Quaker meetings.

When Goodman took a job in Chicago in 1927, the winters proved too cold for George, and Louise and her mother would take Ted, George and Ann to Florida for the winter, where the children attended the Sunshine School in a thatched building on the beach.

The children were all involved in Scouts. Ted was a Boy Scout and Sea Scout, and became a member of the Order of the Arrow at Treasure Island. George was a Boy Scout. Ann was a Brownie and Girl Scout, with Louise as her leader. When Louise learned there was no Girl Scout program for African-American girls in their town, she organized one.

The family loved to take car trips and Urner bought large cars just for that purpose. A favorite outing when they lived in New Jersey while Urner was national director of program was to Schiff Scout Reservation, to visit “Uncle” Bill Hillcourt and his wife, Grace. One summer, the family traveled by train to the west, where they visited the newly acquired Philturn Rocky Mountain Scout Camp (now Philmont).

Ted and George both served in World War II. George went overseas for the invasion of Europe, and was killed in action in 1944.

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First Meeting of the Grand Lodge

In 1921 Wimachtendienk, W.W. (a common way at the time of referring to what we know as the Order of the Arrow) was ready to have a national structure. Patterned similar to the Freemasons, it was decided that each lodge would become a member of the Grand Lodge. On October 7 and 8, 1921, the first Grand Lodge Meeting hosted by the Philadelphia lodges, Unami and Unalachtigo was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and at their Camp Biddle. These meetings would later become known as National Meetings and are the distant predecessors of today’s NOACs. The first meeting was attended by eight of the eleven known lodges. The use of the term “known” was deliberate in the meeting minutes. Our young Order had spread by word of mouth. In the early days of Scouting it was common for multiple councils/camps to share the same lake. For example, in upstate New York near Tuxedo Park there were more than thirty Scout camps around the Kanohwanke Lakes including council camps for Ranachqua Lodge and Pamrapaugh Lodge. It is still not known exactly which other lodges had formed in these early years, but clearly Goodman and Edson were aware that others had formed and they had no way to contact them.

Co-founder Edson was selected to chair the first meeting. During the meeting four committees were formed. One of the committees was formed to frame the Grand Lodge Constitution. Another committee was formed to re-write and provide for further revisions of the ceremonies. Committees were also created regarding insignia and record keeping. Grand Lodge officer elections were held.

At the conclusion of the first day of the meeting the delegates traveled to Camp Biddle and held a re-dedication ceremony. The image of this ceremony is a significant historical photograph of our Order. In the image can be seen the founders in the original black robes with turtle totems. It is also the only known image that shows the three-part Third Degree (Vigil) bib sash.

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WWW Threatened with Extinction

In 1922 the BSA was 12 years old. It was still a young organization. To improve the Scout program and to train the professional corps, the BSA held Biennial National Meetings of Scout executives. In September 1922 the Scout executives gathered at the Blue Ridge Assembly near Asheville, North Carolina. During the meeting the Camp Commission released a report that raised concern about fraternal and secret organizations at Scout camps. The unease was understandable. There did exist secret societies at the time that were not in keeping with Scouting principles. Some groups involved cliques, undemocratic principals and even overtly racist foundations. So it was not unreasonable for Scout executives to have apprehension about secret societies operating in their Scout camps. The result was a motion to pass a resolution “that camp fraternities be discouraged in connection with Boy Scout camps”.

The existence of Wimachtendienk was potentially in peril. Goodman was first to rise and be recognized in opposition. He knew the great benefits possible from camp societies and told the assembled executives how a camp fraternity could “further emphasize the Scout principles and ideals in the life of boys.” He cautioned those in attendance that were unfamiliar with such groups to not automatically reject them.

Then Edson rose in defense of our Order. He said,

…for some eight seasons now I have been connected with a camp honor society which has proved of such wonderful help in the council where it was first started that it has since been organized in…other cities as well, where it is proving equally valuable.

He went on to state that,

This organization is a service organization, using the form of ceremony and symbolism which has a very definite appeal to the boy and which has proved of great value both in camp and throughout the year in the city in many of the councils of this country promoting Scouting ideals.

After further motions the original resolution was watered down to the point that it no longer affected the Order. It essentially stated that organizations that were contrary to Scouting were disapproved and even this version barely passed. This potential problem for the Order had been averted.

Following the session at the Scout executive conference, Goodman reported that members of the Grand Council (which would have included Goodman, Edson, Schuck, Carrick and others) met privately with Chief Scout James West. Goodman reported that West told them:

 

that (he) would be glad to see the work proceed under careful supervision and would be interested to mark its progress and to review the literature of the Order.

He also admonished that the Order must grow on its own merits.  And so it was, the Order would grow on its own merits,

Goodman and the Order had made a most powerful ally. West himself would be inducted in the Order in 1938 and received an inaugural Distinguished Service Award for his role in acknowledging the potential of the Order in 1922.

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WWW Becomes Official BSA Experiment

As a result of actions taken at the 1922 Scout executives Conference Wimachtendienk, W.W. and two other camp fraternities were deemed “official experiments” of the Boy Scouts of America. The other two groups, Tribe of Gimogash and Ku-Ni-Eh were active in as many or more councils at the time as WWW. Essentially this was the approval that the camp societies could continue to operate. WWW was not a part of the Boy Scouts of America. It was, however, exclusively for Scouts and had a national leadership comprised entirely of professional Scouters. This significance cannot be understated.

Becoming an official experiment was the first step of many incremental steps necessary for the Order to become Scouting’s national honor society.

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Edson's Second Degree

There is a lack of consensus regarding the date of Carroll A. Edson’s Second Degree induction. Evidence exists that point to three different years: 1915, 1916 and 1917. (As an editorial decision the OA History Timeline has placed the date of Edson’s Vigil as 1917 as the most likely year based upon the evidence.)

The evidence that points to 1915 or 1916 as the year of Edson’s Second Degree is found in the writings of George W. Chapman. Chapman wrote the following excerpt that would seem to indicate that Edson kept his Second Degree (Vigil) in 1915 or 1916:

The second man on whom the Vigil Honor was conferred was Carroll Edson. The minutes of Unami Lodge carry a brief mention of this under the date of October 18, 1915, saying, ‘Carroll A. Edson, Sachem, was given the test. He was given the name Ahoweapowi, making him a member of the Second Degree.”

The Second Degree (Vigil Honor) was conferred at the annual fall meeting of Unami Lodge, held at Van Renesalaer Cabin, a week-end camping spot of the Philadelphia Council near Camp Hill, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

There are multiple errors of fact contained in this account. First, October 18, 1915 (a Monday) was prior to the first organizational meeting at Camp Morrell. The term Second Degree was not even in use in 1915, that required the framing of the 1916 Constitution of Wimachtendienk. Second, the term Unami Lodge had not been created yet, indeed it had not been invented by 1916 either. Finally, the first annual fall meeting of Wimachtendienk was not until 1916. It is believed that the above entry was written after the fact and was in error. Efforts to obtain copies of the Unami Minute Book have revealed that the book has not existed for decades.

The most persuasive account of Edson’s Second Degree initiation comes from the best possible source, Edson himself. Edson wrote a letter in 1942 to Moqua Chapter of Owasippe Lodge in Chicago at their request for the Moqua Chapter 20^th Anniversary yearbook. In it Edson discussed the beginnings of the Wimachtendienk. As a part of that letter Edson shares the following story of his induction into the Second Degree:

… Shortly after that, I went to the National Staff, and shortly after that entered the Army. It was while in service, I believe in the fall of 1917, that I spent another weekend at one of the outlying camps of the Philadelphia Council, at an Order meeting. While there I received the 'Second Degree' initiation, we then called it – the present Vigil Honor.

This account is persuasive because it was written by Edson and he references specific events that also track to 1917. Edson was not on National Staff until 1917. He did not join the army until 1917 when the United States entered World War I. He has specific recall of being on Army leave (from New York) to travel to the fall Camp Van Renesalaer (the outlying camp) meeting for his initiation.

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Carroll A. Edson

Carroll A. Edson was born on December 29, 1891. He received his Bachelors of Science degree from Dartmouth College in 1914. In 1915 Philadelphia Council hired 23-year old Edson as a Field Commissioner (what we call a Field Executive today). Edson was subsequently appointed to serve as Assistant Camp Director in charge of commissary for the summer of 1915 at Treasure Island Scout Reservation. In this capacity he worked with E. Urner Goodman as they founded Wimachtendienk. While Goodman was known for his vision, Edson was known for his ability to get the job done. Edson served as one of the two ceremonialists in the first Wimachtendienk initiations in 1915. Edson took an active role in developing Wimachtendienk that first summer. He worked with Goodman on the ceremony lines, initiation tests and Native American symbolism. Edson was actively involved in the formational meetings of the Order and he kept the second Vigil in 1917, his Vigil name was Ahowapowit, “The Strong”.

In 1921 Edson became a Field Executive for the South Shore District in Chicago Council. From that position he chartered and developed five separate lodges in Chicago. In 1921 Edson was called upon to be Chairman for the first Grand Lodge Meeting. However Edson lost to Goodman in the election for the first Grand Lodge Chieftain. Edson persevered and after losing for a second time for chief in 1922, he was elected the third Grand Lodge Chieftain in 1923.

In 1922, it was Edson, who along with Goodman rose to defend camp fraternities at the biennial Scout executive conference. It was Edson’s impassioned speech about how an organization such as the Order can serve the boy and the council that helped to carry the day and preserve the right of the Order to exist in the BSA.

In 1927 Edson accepted the Scout Executive position in Jersey City, New Jersey where he founded Achtu Lodge. Edson left Scouting around 1933. In 1940 Edson was one of the 11 inaugural Distinguished Service Award recipients. His DSA medal is placed on display at the NOAC museum each Conference.

In the early 1960s Edson became active again in the OA and was recognized as co-founder of the Order. A favorite keepsake for a generation of Arrowmen was to have their Order of the Arrow sash signed by the two founders. Edson remained active and a mainstay at NOACs and Jamborees until his death on October 25, 1986 at the age of 94.

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Second Lodge Formed

On February 1, 1919, Trenton Lodge^* located in Trenton, New Jersey of the Trenton Council became the Order’s second lodge. This was the first expansion of Wimachtendienk into another council. News of this novel idea of a fraternity based on cheerfully serving others would spread, until within fifty years nearly every council in the BSA had their own lodge.

* It was common in early Grand Lodge Meeting minutes to see lodges referred to by their city (e.g. the Lodge from Philadelphia or the Reading Lodge.) This was so Arrowmen would know where other members were from. It is possible that the name Trenton Lodge was only referencing the city. This lodge would later become known as Sanhican Lodge 2.

Pictured is mid-1920s Sanhican Lodge Second Degree (Brotherhood) totem pin.

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First Youth Vigil Honor

Howard L. Seideman was inducted into the Wimachtendienk on August 5, 1915. He was one of seven Scouts inducted during the fourth week of inductions at Treasure Island, the largest class of new Arrowmen the summer of 1915. Seideman was inducted into Wimachtendienk as a youth, as was the case with all Arrowmen selected that first summer other than the founders. He was 17 years old at the time. By 1917, Seideman was on the Treasurer Island camp staff and also served as a member of the First Degree (Ordeal) ceremony team at camp as confirmed by the diary of Edward Frazier Evans. Seideman is the first youth Arrowman confirmed to have served as a ceremonialist (Harry Yoder had served as Guide and Guard at the first ceremony in 1915, but was not a part of the ceremony.)

His service to the Order continued in 1919, when he was elected Sakima, Chief of Wimachtendienk. In 1919, in recognition of his service to the Wimachtendienk, Howard Seidemen was elected to the Third Degree (Vigil). He kept his vigil with Horace P. Kern and is considered to be the fourth person to receive the Third Degree.

Seideman’s election to the Third Degree is significant because he was the first Arrowman originally inducted as a youth to keep the vigil. Seideman had just turned 21 the year he became a Third Degree Arrowman.

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First Ceremony

There is no written copy of the ritual used for induction of members into the Order throughout the 1915 Treasure Island camping season.

In 1965 the Unami Lodge released a copy of a ceremony purported to be the first ceremony. However, after discussions with Arrowmen active in the Lodge in 1965 and with the 1975 Lodge Chief, Phil Hittner, it is clear that the “first ceremony” released was a composite of later ceremonies and editorial license was taken based on what was believed to have happened. Factually the following is known:

- Robert Craig and Gilpin Allen were the first two inductees on July 16, 1915.

- E. Urner Goodman was the Chief of the Fire and wore a black robe similar to a graduation gown. He had a white triangular badge on his robe with a black tortoise superimposed on the white triangle.

- Carroll Edson was Sachem and wore a black robe, the same style as Goodman, with a while tortoise shaped badge on his chest.

- Harry A. Yoder, a camp staffer guided the entire camp to the new campfire circle. He was the only camper who knew where the campfire circle was because he had helped construct it earlier in the day with Goodman. Yoder was not a ceremonialist for the First Ceremony.

- The two Scouts who were to be inducted wore a black sash. Stories share that the black sash could have had a simple white strip length-wise superimposed on the sash OR a white arrow superimposed on the sash. No original black sashes are known to exist.

The exact words spoken at the First Ceremony are not known, but some of the actions have been reported. Harry A. Yoder reported that there were two tests that each pledge/candidate was asked to complete.

The early candidates were handed a bundle of sticks and told to break it. After each had tried and failed, the Chief took the bundle and separating the sticks broke them one at a time with ease.

As a second lesson each scout was told to encircle a large tree with his arms. After each had tried and failed they were instructed to join hands and thus encircle the tree.

George W. Chapman, the first Chief of the Wimachtendienk, recalls the actions in the first ceremony in his unpublished manuscript The Arrow and the Vigil as follows:

Unfortunately, no written records were preserved of the original ceremony of induction. Urner Goodman recalls the three steps, or parts, of the original ceremony to be as follows:

1. An attempt on the part of each candidate to individually encircle with outstretched arms the trunk of a large tree, followed by a joint encircling of the same tree by the candidate and one of the officers of the Council Fire. In the first instance it was, of course, not possible for the candidate to reach around the tree. For two persons, it was a comparatively simple matter. This demonstrated Brotherhood.

2. The candidate was directed to make an endeavor to scale an elevation, adjacent to the Council Fire, unaided. Failing, he was then assisted by one of the officers of the Council Fire and with his help he was able to scale the elevation. This demonstrated the principle of Service.

3. The candidate was given a bundle of small dry twigs and told to place them on the Council Fire. When he did this the twigs caught fire readily and blazed up brightly. This demonstrated Cheerfulness.

E. Urner Goodman was asked by Horace Kern in 1925 on the 10th Anniversary of the Wimachtendienk to share his memories about the first ceremony in 1915. Goodman’s memory of the first ceremony was as follows:

The ritual was rather simple to start; indeed it can hardly be signified by the use of that term. The first Council fire, however, was accomplished with a great deal of dignity and Mr. Edson, who had much of the speaking part to carry through, used most solemn tones in so doing. In the early sessions part of the Ritual of the Camp Council fire consisted in what was termed, open initiation of the candidates for the Order. The several boys initiated each week were put through three steps in public before the entire camp Council fire but the meaning of those steps were not divulged until a later gathering that same evening with the boys. As I remember them the three steps were illustrative of the three stages of the Order and consisted of:

1. Attempting to encircle a trunk of a tree by each scout individually with outstretched arms followed by a joint encircling of the same tree by a candidate and one of the officers of the Council Fire. In the first instance it was, of course, not possible for the Scout to touch hands around the tree – for the two persons it was comparatively a simple matter. (Brotherhood)

2. A candidate was directed to make an endeavor to scale an elevation adjacent to the Council fire unaided. He then was assisted by one of the officers of the Council fire and he was able to scale. (Service)

3. My recollection of the third step is somewhat faulty. Perhaps I am wrong but I seem to remember that the candidate was expected to place a stick upon the Council fire thus making it burn more brightly while illustrating cheerfulness in his own countenance. (Cheerfulness)

Because there are no written copies of the ceremonies and no eyewitnesses remaining, it is difficult to know which memory is most accurate, however the concepts and feel of that First Ceremony is evident.

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Harry Yoder

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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Treasure Island Ceremonial Grounds

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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First Vigil

The founders had intended that the first Vigil Honor should be for a youth who achieved an outstanding accomplishment or performed a heroic deed. At the close of 1915 Treasure Island summer camp season a small group including Carroll Edson, Harry Yoder and non-member Horace Kern decided that Goodman should be selected for what in 1916 would be called the Second Degree and today is recognized as the first Vigil Honor. While Goodman initially felt it was a shame that it was not a boy chosen for the honor, the men that selected Goodman were confident in their selection. They felt that the Founder was the most deserving and appropriate selection for the first Arrowman to keep a vigil. The selection of Goodman had the approval of all members of the Order in camp. Non-members at Treasure Island were also pleased with the selection of the popular Camp Director. Goodman himself later recognized the importance of his selection to keep the first vigil.

In August of 1915, E. Urner Goodman kept his vigil on a rocky outcrop overlooking Treasure Island at a place called the “Devil’s Tea Table”. Goodman left the camp at twilight and Harry Yoder, acting as guide rowed (or paddled) the two of them across the river. Then the two began the steep climb up the New Jersey embankment of the Delaware River to the Devil's Tea Table. When they arrived Goodman found that a pile of wood had already been prepared for him and the brush had been cleared. Just as Yoder had spent the day of the first initiation on Treasure Island preparing the ceremonial circle for the first ceremony, Yoder had spent the day preparing the trail and the site that Goodman would keep his vigil.

Goodman had been given instructions before he left camp. There was no real ceremony and Yoder left Goodman to be alone with his thoughts, the outdoors and his Maker.

Goodman later said of his experience,

I suppose you can imagine how my spirit brooded over the camp and its activity through the watches of the night as I thought of the possibilities of the things we were starting then. I confess, however, that if I could have seen this sight (the National Meeting), if I could have conjured up a vision of the growth of the Order of the Arrow, I could scarcely have believed my own senses at the time.

The name Nuwingi, “The Willing” was given to Goodman by the camp staff because in their opinion he was the most outstanding camper of the 1915 season and deserved this recognition that had been announced at the beginning of the camping season.

It was not until June 1916, when the Wimachtendienk was established through the acceptance of the Constitution and By-Laws that the three levels of membership were officially formalized; Pledge, First Degree, and Second Degree (Vigil Honor).

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