The Order of the Arrow
was founded in 1915 at the Philadelphia Council's Camp Treasure Island. The
Camp Director, Dr. E. Urner Goodman and his assistant Carroll A. Edison
created the Brotherhood based on the traditions of the Delaware Indians as a
method to honor Scout campers. The experiment was an immediate success and
soon spread to other Scout camps.
The O.A. became an
official experimentation of the B.S.A. in 1922. On June 2, 1934 the National
Council officially approved it as part of its program within Scouting until
May 1948 when it completely integrated and the National Lodge was dissolved.
Now each participating council has a local lodge and every lodge has its own
number and Indian name.
Annual conferences of the Order of the
Arrow began in 1921 and became biannual in 1927. Over 5,000 members
participate in the conferences. In 1940 the National Conference was held in
Ligonier, PA at Camp Twin Echo.
WAGION LODGE HISTORY
Boy Scouting first appeared in the Westmoreland Fayette counties in
1911. In 1920 a First-Class Council was organized at
Uniontown in Fayette County.
John Getz, Scout
Executive of the Uniontown, Pennsylvania Council, sent a formal application
"for the institution of a Lodge of the Wimachtendienk" to E. Urner