Ceremonies

First, Second and Third Degrees

The original Constitution of the Wimachtendienk written in 1916 describes the levels of membership as Pledge, First Degree and Second Degree. Although they are not spelled out in a separate article in the Constitution they are referred to in the section entitled Insignia as follows: 

The tortoise shall be the general insignia of the order:

- for the first degree the insignia shall be the arrow superimposed on the back of the tortoise;

- for the second degree the insignia shall be the triangle superimposed on the back of the tortoise.

- The pin of the order shall bear the above insignia;

- the pledge pin shall be the arrow.

The Pledge was the candidate who participated in the public induction ceremony at Treasure Island during the camping season and is most similar to today’s Ordeal Honor.

The First Degree was given to the Pledge who completed his initiation during the October annual “member’s only” meeting of the Lodge back in Philadelphia and is most similar to the Brotherhood Honor of today.

The Second Degree was given to a member of the Wimachtendienk whose life and service was far above the other members and is most similar to today’s Vigil Honor. The Second Degree was originally conceived by Goodman as being given to someone who did a heroic lifesaving type of deed.

By the late teens leaders of the Wimachtendienk decided to reorganize the honor levels in the Order. The term Pledge was dropped. A Scout initiated at summer camp would henceforth be called First Degree. What had previously been called First Degree would now be called Second Degree. The Second Degree would have a separate and distinctive ceremony from the one given at camp and no longer would be considered the second half of the initiation ceremony. The old Second Degree would be named the Third Degree.

These decisions were ratified in 1920 in the Second Constitution of Wimachtendienk:

5. DEGREE

A. Members attain the first degree through regular initiation at camp.

B. The second degree is conferred upon the first degree candidates present at the ceremonials in the city in the fall and spring.

C. The third degree shall be open to these members, in good standing, who are elected thereto by the third degree members, by reason of some heroic act, exemplary of the principles of the order, or of some special contribution to the welfare and spirit of the lodge. There shall at all times be at least one third degree member for each fifty active members of the lodge.

2, Ceremonies, OA, Scouting

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.

1, Ceremonies, Founders, Goodman, OA, Profile, Scouting

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.

1, Ceremonies, Founders, Goodman, OA, Profile, Scouting

First Vigil Honor Ceremony

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.

3, Ceremonies, Founders, Goodman, OA, Scouting

WWW Founded

Goodman and Edson had explained their plans for the establishment of a camp honor society to camp leaders at Treasure Island.

The date of the first induction had been set, July 16, 1915. Two of the Troops on the island had held an election of members.  George Chapman described the event in The Arrow and the Vigil as follows:

Friday, July 16, 1915, dawned bright and fair. In addition to the heavy heat, which often hangs in the valley of the Delaware, there was something else in the air. It was an almost indescribable feeling of expectancy and mystery. Only a very few of those on the island had been taken into the confidence of Goodman and Edson and this was done only to have sufficient personnel to carry out the planned program. So while everyone on the island was aware that Friday night was the big night, few knew exactly what was to take place and all waited with interest and an enthusiasm which was difficult to control.

The day wore on slowly. Ordinary camp activities provided little interest and the camp chores and duties were carried out with a total lack of enthusiasm. By sundown the air was charged with a tense excitement. Something that was to be a vital factor in the lives of uncounted thousands of boys and men was about to be started. The importance of this undertaking was unconsciously exerting a strange influence on those that were present.

The first members were inducted in a manner somewhat differently from the way in which the Ordeal is conducted today. All of the campers, obviously non-members, were witnesses to the induction. As darkness fell, Harry Yoder, who acted as first guide, lined up the campers in single file. In dead silence the campers followed the guide by a circuitous route to the Council Fire.

The path led under a fallen tree and the Council Fire was so located that as the boys approached the fire they had no knowledge of it until they passed under the tree and the Council Fire was suddenly revealed.

At the first induction, and on subsequent inductions during the first year of Wimachtendienk, Urner Goodman served as Chief of the Fire and Carroll Edson served as Vice Chief of the Fire. Both were dressed in black robes, similar to an academic robe, which had been made by Mrs. Cooper, the wife of a neighboring farmer. The Chief wore on his robe the totem of the Unami Clan of the Lenni Lenape Indians, a turtle, superimposed on a triangle, which denoted leadership. The Vice Chief of the Fire wore on his robe a turtle without the triangle.

The first candidates to be inducted into the organization were Robert Craig and Gilpin Allen. Goodman and Edson had no formal induction into the Order as it was felt that this was not necessary.

1, Ceremonies, Founders, Goodman, OA, Scouting