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William Hinkle

William Hinkle was the gentle spirit of maturity and age among the enthusiasm and spirit of the young leaders of the emerging Wimachtendienk. He is a mystery person from the beginnings of the Wimachtendienk. He never emerges to the forefront, but his record of service and recognition places him in the same league with the founders and their key group of adult supporters.

Hinkle was a medical doctor who believed so much in Scouting that in 1918 he gave up his practice and joined the professional Scouter staff as a part-time Field Executive in the Philadelphia Council. Perhaps Hinkle’s greatest gift to the Wimachtendienk was his ability to write the words for the First and Second Degree ceremonies. The Legend of the Order is often credited to Hinkle.

Goodman speaks of Hinkle with great respect.

The Second Degree as now held was developed by Dr. Hinkle who, by the way is responsible more than anyone else for the present ritual of the first and second degrees, had drawn up such ritual and after which it was largely adopted. Up to that time the work illustrative of the three principles of the Order was as stated above given publicly at the camp council fire, the explanation was made in private.

--- Goodman to Kern, 1925

In a newspaper article about the Wimachtendienk in 1921, Hinkle is identified as one of two Medicine Men for Unami Lodge (along with George Lower). Hinkle served as a Medicine Man in the teens for both the First Degree and Second Degree Wimachtendienk ceremonies.

While serving as the Chairman of the Committee on Ordeals and Rituals for Unami Lodge in 1921, Hinkle reported that the ceremonies needed to be rewritten to preserve the mystery because an outsider had observed them. Hinkle led the way on the re-writes of the First and Second Degrees.

When the Grand Lodge was formed in 1921, Hinkle’s work was adopted and used for over a decade. In recognition of his quiet leadership, great wisdom, skillful writing and strong mentoring, Hinkle was elected the seventh Third Degree (Vigil) member and was included in the inaugural class of the Order of the Arrow’s Distinguished Service Award in 1940.

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Grand Lodge Changes Ceremonies

Dr. William Hinkle presented the following report to the Grand Lodge in 1921:

Report of Committee on Ordeals and Ritual - 1921

The committee on Ordeals and Ritual beg leave to make the following report:

At the last annual meeting, the committee was requested to find a suitable name for the Lodge. After canvassing the matter thoroughly, the name - Unami - was decided to be the most appropriate, meaning as it does in the Delaware language - Brotherly Love.

As it was understood that meddlesome outsiders had access to the Ritual and became more or less familiar with it, at Treasure Island during the summer of 1920, it was decided to revise both the ritual for ordeals and for the different degrees, so that knowledge thus illicitly obtained might be useless.

The committee, furthermore, at the suggestion of Sakima, have prepared a ritual for the opening of the Lodge. A ritual for the installation and consecration of Sakima, and one for the installation of each of the elective officers of the Lodge (sic). It is hoped that those will meet with the approval of the Lodge, since by their use the Lodge will have work provided for one or two extra meetings during the year.

The committee further recommend that a Lodge of Instruction be formed so that there will always be a reasonable chance of having present at the meetings and initiations a sufficient number of officers who know this ritual well enough not to have to read their parts.

They also recommend that Sakima, with the Senior and Junior Vice-Chiefs have charge of this Lodge of Instruction: that at the annual election the only candidate be balloted for will be the Junior Vice-Chief – the old Junior becoming Senior, and the Senior becoming Sakima by complementary vote, unless there is reason for their removal, either through lack of interest, or some other cause. They also suggest that the candidates for Junior Vice-Chief be drawn from the Lodge of Instruction.

Finally, they strongly urge that the rituals finally adopted shall be limited to three copies. One in the hands of the Ritual Committee, one for Medeu, and one for Sakima. All other copies should be destroyed, and a pledge exacted from the holders of the three copies never to allow it out of their possession for any purpose whatever.

With reference to the adoption of the alternative ritual, patterned after the copy secured by Medeu, which is now in use by another Scout organization, they feel that while it has many commendable features, which appealed to them strongly; they, nevertheless, cannot recommend any change at the present time, as the ordeals seem somewhat too strenuous, to be imposed on boys of the age at which they become members of the W.W.W.

SIGNED FOR THE COMMITTEE

Dr. W. M. Hinkle

Chairman

The result of this report to the Grand Lodge was the writing of new First and Second Degree ceremonies for distribution to chartered lodges.

The new First Degree ritual contained significant changes. The Pre-Ordeal was introduced. There were two significant tasks that a candidate was asked to do.

The first task was that the candidate would bare his left breast and have water poured on the bare breast area. The water symbolized the cleansing experience to rid oneself of all selfishness and evil.

The second task was to chew on a piece of rootstock that was supplied to the candidate. This symbolized the increasing of strength and vigor so one could serve others.

The new First Degree ritual changed the names of some Principal characters and added others. Medeu became Gegeyjumhet (Supreme Chief of the Fire) Medicine Man became Meteu Sakima remained Sakima (Chief) Nutiket remained Nutiket (Guard/Guide) Nischeneyit Sakima is introduced as a new character (Senior Vice Chief) Pow-wow became Kittakima (Chief of the Fire) The new First Degree ritual also added a “closing ceremony”.

The new Second Degree ceremony made the same character changes as the First Degree. The ceremony was rewritten, but the content of the Second Degree ceremony was not changed.

3, Ceremonies, OA, Scouting

Eleventh Lodge Formed

On September 17, 1921, Wawonaissa Lodge of Fanwood, New Jersey, Central Union Council, became the Order’s eleventh lodge. Due to a clerical error this lodge was given the number ten. In 1922 the council was absorbed into a neighboring council and the lodge disbanded.

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Charter Member Lodges

The first eleven lodges were considered the “Charter” Lodges of the Wimachtendienk. All other lodges since have been required to submit a request for charter from the Grand Lodge. Wimachtendienk did form at other Scout camps prior to the first Grand Lodge Meeting. The identities of these lodges were unknown to the Charter Lodges. When the first Grand Lodge Meeting was held in October 1921, it was stated that it was attended by 8 of the eleven known lodges.

Those eleven lodges were:

• Unami, Lodge 1, Philadelphia Council formed in 1915
• Trenton, Lodge 2, located across the river from Philadelphia in Trenton, New Jersey.  This lodge would later be known as Sanhican Lodge and was formed in 1919
• Pamunkey, Lodge 3, formed in 1919, located in Richmond, Virginia.  This lodge did not attend the 1921 Grand Lodge meeting and would disband and use a different fraternal society and then re-chartered as Nawakwa Lodge
• Ranachqua, Lodge 4, formed in 1920, located in The Bronx, New York
• Indiandale, Lodge 5, formed in 1921, located in Reading, Pennsylvania.  This lodge would change its name to Minsi Lodge in 1922
• Umpah, Lodge 6, formed in 1921, located in Uniontown City, Pennsylvania.  This lodge would change its name to Wagion.
• Moqua, Lodge 7, formed in 1921 at Owasippe Scout Reservation of the Chicago Council.  This lodge would merge with the four other Chicago lodges to form Owasippe Lodge in 1929.
• Unalachtigo, Lodge 8, formed in 1921 at Camp Biddle, a Lone Scout camp for Philadelphia Council.
• Cowaw, Lodge 9, formed in 1921, chartered in 1922 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.
• Wawonaissa, Lodge 10, formed in 1921 in Fanwood, New Jersey.
• Pamrapaugh, Lodge 14, formed and chartered in 1921 located in Bayonne, New Jersey.

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Third Lodge Formed

Richmond Area Council, Richmond, Virginia formed Pamunkey Lodge 3 on November 25^th, 1919. Pamunkey Lodge disbanded in the 1920s and lost its charter after not paying dues. In 1945 Richmond Area Council (now known as Heart of Virginia Council) revived the OA. The Council retained its original charter number and became Nawakwa Lodge.

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Fourth Lodge Formed

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 more than two decades.

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Chief William Stumpp

William A. Stumpp was always called “Chief”. Chief Stumpp was a long serving Scout Executive in the Greater New York Councils for The Bronx. He also was Camp Director at Camp Ranachqua, a camp along Kanawaukee Lakes. From that position Chief Stumpp initiated many lodges into Wimachtendienk including founding the Order's fourth lodge, Ranachqua Lodge, in 1920 to serve his own council. Stumpp is credited with starting more lodges than any other Arrowman by spreading the word to the camps around Kanawaukee Lake. Among the lodges Stumpp is credited with starting are Cowaw, Wawonaissa, Pamrapaugh, Chappegat and Shu Shu Gah lodges.

In 1923 Stumpp was elected the third Grand Lodge Scribe. During his term in 1924 he created what is known today as the National Bulletin. On October 31, 1924 Stumpp became the 31st Third Degree (Vigil) honor member. Stumpp’s Vigil name meant “Singing One”. In 1926 Stumpp became the sixth Grand Lodge Chieftain of Wimachtendienk.

While speculation has often been that Stumpp was called “Chief” because he had been a Grand Lodge Chieftain, or long serving Scout Executive or Camp Director, but none of these was the reason. Chief Stumpp was called “Chief” because he was, and always will be, the longest serving lodge chief in the Order’s history. Stumpp became the first chief of Ranachqua Lodge in 1920 when the lodge was formed. That was the custom of the day that the Scout Executive as Supreme Chief of the Fire was often the chief of the lodge. However, long after Scout Executives gave up the position and let other, typically young men, serve as lodge chief, Stumpp continued holding that office. Stumpp finally stepped down as lodge chief of Ranachqua Lodge in 1949 after serving for 29 years. Stumpp was forced to step down after the OA became an official BSA program and adults could no longer serve as lodge officers.

Stumpp was acknowledged for his years of service in 1940 at the National Meeting when he was awarded one of the inaugural 11 Distinguished Service Awards. His certificate recognized Stumpp for his “wise discretion” and “forceful perseverance.”

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First Membership Cards

To the best of our knowledge the Wimachtendienk did not issue membership cards prior to the formation of the Grand Lodge in 1921. However, there is an example of a receipt for dues paid that dates back to 1918-19.

In 1921, the year the Grand Lodge was formed, Unami Lodge issued a beautiful membership card solely for its own members. The card had membership information on the front side and a picture of the lodge that was built on Treasure Island on the reverse. This 1921 membership card is the earliest known local lodge or Grand Lodge issue.

Unami Lodge continued their tradition of issuing their own membership card for many years. Unami was not the only local lodge that maintained their own membership cards throughout the history of the Wimachtendienk/Grand Lodge/National – Order of the Arrow.

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Sixth Lodge Formed

Umpah Lodge of Uniontown City Council, Pennsylvania became the Wimachtendienk’s sixth lodge on June 7, 1921. Umpah disbanded in 1925 and formed a non-Wimachtendienk honor society. In 1939 the Order would return to the area with a new name, Wagion Lodge 6.

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Tenth Lodge Formed

In August of 1921, Pamrapaugh Lodge of Bayonne, New Jersey formed. Due to a clerical record-keeping error when the lodges were officially and retroactively numbered in 1926, Pamrapaugh Lodge was relegated to lodge number 14 instead of their rightful placement of number, 10.

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WWW Name

The original name of the OA was not Order of the Arrow. That name would not be accepted as the public name for the Order until later. The Original name selected was Wimachtendienk Wingolauchsik Witahemui or WWW and was known as 'The Wimachtendienk'. In a fascinating tale, the WWW name was not received in camp in time for the first ceremony at Treasure Island. Local Philadelphia Scouter Horace “Shorty” Ralston was given the responsibility of developing a name for the new camp fraternity. Ralston was aware that Goodman and Edson were using Native American themes and decided that the indigenous Lenni Lenape language might be a good source for the name. Ralston located a Lenni Lenape dictionary written by Moravian monks at the Pennsylvania Historical Society. The words he selected were Brotherhood (because it was a fraternity) Cheerful and Service. In the first Unami Constitution they would translate WWW as “A Brotherhood of those who serve cheerfully”.

By the time Ralston had secured a name, summer camp at Treasure Island had already begun. With no telephones at camp in 1915 and insufficient time to mail the name by letter, Ralston decided to transmit the name to Goodman via telegraph. However, when Shorty Ralston attempted to wire the name to Goodman at Frenchtown, New Jersey the telegraph operator called his supervisor over. Together they refused to send the wire.

It seems that the Germanic roots of the Moravian monks combined with the natural diction of the Lenni Lenape language made these three long strange nearly unpronounceable words that start with a “W” appear to be a form of German. With World War I embroiling Europe and the United States being neutral at the time the telegraph company refused to send what seemed to be German code words. It is unknown if the name was known at Treasure Island prior to the conclusion of the 1915 camping season.

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First Sash (Black)

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.

3, Insignia, OA, Scouting