In 1927 Carroll A. Edson was working as a Field Executive in Chicago. When Scout Executive George B. Stephenson left the council E. Urner Goodman was selected to be the new Scout Executive. Edson transferred out of Chicago when he was hired to be Scout Executive for Hudson Council, Jersey City, New Jersey where he founded Achtu Lodge.
Goodman’s tenure as Scout Executive in Chicago ended, on April 1, 1931, E Urner Goodman became the first BSA Director of Program. Chief Scout Executive James E. West’s appointment followed Goodman's four year’s as Scout Executive in the nations largest council not directly overseen by the national office.
Program Director was an extremely high executive, one of the four division director positions (business, operations and personnel being the others) that reported directly to the Chief Scout. As Director of Program, Goodman was responsible for the establishment of the BSA’s Cub Scout and Explorer programs. He also oversaw the writing of the first Scout Field Guide.
Goodman retired in 1951 after 20 years as Director and 35+ years as a professional Scouter. At the time of his retirement, the Order was active in two thirds of all councils and virtually all other non-OA fraternal camp societies had been replaced by OA or were in great decline.
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By 1925 the BSA had outgrown its national and regional structure; each of more than 20 departments reported directly to Chief Scout Executive West. The national office reorganized in 1931, in four departments – Program, Operations, Personnel and Business.
Goodman was now one of the most experienced Scout leaders in the country. He was both a Scoutmaster from the early days and a very successful Scout Executive. West chose Goodman to head the Program Division, in which Goodman would have leadership of professional and volunteer training, relationships with Scouting’s supporting and partnering organizations, all publications except Boys’ Life, public relations and publicity, research and development, and the Boy Scout reading program.
Goodman took his talents of dealing with people and effective public speaking to a national audience. He traveled the country, meeting with national BSA officers and supporters, and advising Scout Executives.
The new director of Program knew that, to be effective, he must have a first-rate team, and he had West agree that he could choose his own staff. A staff he could trust and whose judgment he trusted carried out Goodman’s careful organization and detailed planning of events and projects.
Goodman served in this position for 20 years, until his retirement in 1951. During this time Scouting developed the Cub Scout program for younger boys and reached out to older Scouts with an expanded Sea Scouting program as well as the experimental Rover program and the development of Exploring and Air Exploring. During this time BSA helped Scouts live through the Great Depression, had the first national jamboree, acquired and developed Schiff Scout Reservation and Philturn Rocky Mountain Scout Camp (later known as Philmont Scout Ranch), adapted Wood Badge to American Scouting, produced three editions of the Boy Scout Handbook, two editions of the Handbook for Scoutmasters and the first Scout Field Book, and supported the troops and home front during World War II.
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One of the peculiarities of the OA is its name. The proper name, Wimachtendienk Wingolauchsik Witahemui, was a secret name. For public usage the name was simply WWW. That changed at the 1922 Grand Lodge Meeting. Another group, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), was using similar letters. To avoid confusion, the public name became Wimachtendienk, W.W. That was really a mouthful for non-members to say. At the 1924 Grand Council Meeting held in conjunction with a Scout executive Conference at Estes Park, Colorado, it was decided to change the public name at the next Grand Lodge Meeting to Order of the Arrow. At the Fourth Grand Lodge Meeting the public name was changed to Order of the Arrow.
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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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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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According to Edson, he recalled returning to Treasure Island at the end of camp in 1916 where he and Goodman wrote the ritual for the Second Degree (then equivalent to Vigil Honor). Edson further recalled that Goodman was put through that ritual. It is presumed that this is the ceremony that Edson experienced when he kept his vigil.
There is no known copy of this ritual. Presumably the Second Degree ceremony was evolving just like both parts of the First Degree ceremonies were evolving.
By 1919, after the next group of Second Degree inductees had held their vigils and experienced the Second Degree ritual, the ceremony was formalized and set in print. This formalization was hurried along because of the formation of the Grand Lodge and the desire for all ceremonies to be similar in all lodges.
The printed version was used for the vigil class of 1921, which by that time were known as Third Degree inductees. The transition from calling what we know today as Vigil from Second Degree to Third Degree was ratified in the writing of the Second Wimachtendienk Constitution in 1920. That constitution changed what had been called “Pledge” to First Degree (Ordeal), what had been the second half of the old First Degree to Second Degree (Brotherhood) and what had been called Second Degree to Third Degree (Vigil).
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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 20th 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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In January 1921 OA Co-Founder Carroll A. Edson became the field executive for the South Shore District of the Chicago Council. Edson brought Wimachtendienk with him and on June 15th, 1921 formed the Order’s seventh lodge, Moqua Lodge 7 at the Owasippe Scout Reservation located near Whitehall, Michigan.Edson initiated a total of five lodges in Chicago Council; Moqua Lodge 7, Wakay Lodge 13, Checaugau Lodge 21, Blackhawk Lodge 23 and Garrison Lodge 25. In 1929 Owasippe Lodge 7 was formed out of the merger of these five lodges.
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 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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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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