Elusive pictures arrive!

This past week has been exciting for new content at kecoughtan.com. I've been provided with photographs of items that I've needed for a long time. Larry Johnson sent me several very cool pictures, including one of the last coffee mug from Kecoughtan Lodge. It's not a design masterpiece, in fact it features a generic national OA logo with "Kecoughtan Lodge 463" imprinted underneath. But when it's the last photo you need to show every mug ever issued by the Lodge, it's welcomed as quite a prize!

I was also granted permission by auction hostess Melynda to share a picture of a 1992 NOAC leather round from Kecoughtan Lodge whose existence I was beginning to doubt since I had no details about it other than the fact it was reported to be a leather emblem. There's no sign of it on oaimages.com nor is it listed in the Blue Book. The only one I am aware of is now in the collection of Sam Fairchild who won the auction. This photo was the last one I needed to complete the Kecoughtan event emblems of the 1990's.

Now will someone please help me find out if there really was a leather patch for the 1976 Kecoughtan Lodge Spring Ordeal?

Down to nine Kecoughtan Lodge activity patch needs

I've been fortunate to pick up some Kecoughtan Lodge activity patch needs from recent auctions and after doing to checklist updating realized that I am down to just ten to complete this collection. I may even be down to just nine since I have not been able to confirm the existence of one of the patches (a leather patch reportedly issued in 1976 for the Spring ordeal).

Should you happen to have any of these available for trade or sale, please contact me. I've got a number of 463 activity patch duplicates as well in case you have holes to fill in your collection, and I'd be happy to send you a list of them.

Here's what I need (click on the decade links if you'd like to see pictures):

50's/60's
57 Fellowship (w/349)
66 Fall Fellowship - silkscreened neckerchief
67 Fall Fellowship
69 Winter Ordeal

70's
76 Spring Ordeal - leather (does this patch exist?)

80's
84 Fall Ordeal
86 Christmas Banquet
88 Summer Ordeal

90's
90 Spring Ordeal
95 Spring Ordeal

40th Anniversary Kecoughtan leather emblem

I was able to add a long-sought after item to my Kecoughtan Lodge collection recently. The 40th Anniversary Vigil Rededication leather emblem was issued to Vigil Honor members in 1991, and until I acquired this item through an ebay auction I had never even seen a photograph of it.


You can now find a picture of it on the web page listing Kecoughtan Lodge activity emblems from the 1990's. If you can provide any additional information like the number that were issued or who created the emblems, please send me an email.

Bayport 2007 patch gallery completed

Larry Johnson kindly sent along images of the Bayport Scout Reservation 2007 Staff and Rivah Base emblems to help complete the gallery of patches issued so far this year.

Four diamond-shaped patches were issued for the summer camp sessions, including a camper version with purple border, a black bordered collector's edition for the camp's inaugural year, a white bordered staff issue, and a blue bordered version for Rivah Base.

In addition, registrants received a round patch for early payment. Pictures of each of these emblems are available on the Colonial Virginia Camps page in the Bayport Scout Reservation section.

Converting image views to Lighbox

I've spent several hours recently going through the site and converting the emblem image views to use Lightbox, a web presentation effect that places a dark translucent screen over the web page the image is linked from and displays the image centered with a white background.


While the effect is visually appealing, there are a couple of other reasons that I chose to implement it on this site.

The prior image presentation method of using popup windows was a serious pain to manually code and many browsers and adware/spyware blockers are configured to block popup windows.


The lightbox effect includes navigation when an image is displayed. If you mouse over the image you will see "next" and "previous" links so that you can view other images in a series (you can also use the "n" and "p" keys on your keyboard to accomplish this).

For example, you can go to the Kecoughtan Chenilles page, click on the link to the C1 emblem, and then proceed to view all of the other Kecoughtan chenilles by just pressing the "n" key on your keyboard while the lightbox effect is active.

I held off on a mass conversion of the site to lightbox until I could verify that the effect works without issues when browsing images from an Apple iPhone. I was mighty relieved when I saw it works fine on the iPhone's Safari browser since I was not at all eager to go back to popups or research another display solution. When I get a chance I will take some photos of Kecoughtan patch images from this site displayed on the beautiful iPhone LCD screen and post them to this blog.

New Bayport Scout Reservation patches

Colonial Virginia Council showcased Bayport Scout Reservation, their new Scout camp in Middlesex County with a grand opening council-wide Camporee on May 18-20, 2007. The Camp replaces the 40 year old Camp Chickahominy, which was sold by the Council to US Homes Corporation in 2004 due to encroaching development around it. With an estimated attendance of 1,700 the Camporee is believed to be the highest attended event in the Council's history. Tim Ewing kindly sent along an image of the patch that was issued for the occasion which was appropriately themed "The Adventure Begins." The patch notably does not include any text reference to Bayport but the design features a tower emblazoned with icons of activities available at the new camp.


While the May Camporee was the first council activity at the new camp, Wahunsenakah Lodge has already held their 2006 Summer Ordeal and 2006 Fall Fellowship at Bayport, pitching in plenty of cheerful service to help get the new camp ready. Reports about both events are available in the online archives of the Lodge's newsletter, Duck Calls.

Larry Johnson kindly sent along pictures of several new patches for inclusion on the web site, including a commemorative shoulder patch issued by the council, as well as several variations of the diamond-shaped camp patch. You can find the camp patches included in the new Bayport section of the Colonial Virginia Council Camps page.

New community strip images

Before colorful Council Shoulder Patches (CSP's) made their way onto the scene in the early 1970's, Scouts wore Community and State strips on their left shoulder to identify the home of their troop. The strips were made of red twill with white lettering which is why they are also known as RWS patches. These were originally lettered in red on dark khaki decades ago, and can sometimes be found on old uniforms unearthed from the attic or basement.


Recently I was provided images of an old Newport News KRS and a Fort Monroe RWS to add to the Peninsula Council Community Strips page. If you have knowledge of other community strips from troops that were in Peninsula Council, please let me know so that I may add them to the list. If you can provide pictures that's even better!

2007 SR-7A Conclave images added

Way back in May Tim Ewing sent me a picture of the new Wahunsenakah Lodge flap issued for the 2007 SR-7A Conclave that was held April 27-29 at Pipsico Scout Reservation. Larry Johnson sent also me pictures of the Conclave patches, Vigil rededication tokens, and hatpin. For some reason I prepared the pictures and uploaded them to my server but completely forgot to link them from the appropriate pages. So today I added links on the SR-7A page to the 2007 Conclave items, and added the Conclave flap to the Wahunsenakah Lodge 333 page.

July 1993 Kryer added to online archive

Tim Ewing kindly supplied me with a scanned version of the July, 1993 edition of the Kecoughtan Kryer, which I have converted to PDF and added to the online archive.

This edition is particularly interesting as it reports on the final SE-8 conclave hosted by Tutelo Lodge in April of 1993 at Camp Powhatan before the section was dissolved as part of the national realignment of OA lodges into four regions. This newsletter also reports about the very first Conclave of Kecoughtan's new Section SR-7, hosted by Occonneechee Lodge 104 at Camp Durant near Raleigh, NC on the same weekend. Kecoughtan sent delegations to both events.

Note: According to the History of Itibapishe Iti Hollo #188, the 1993 Conclave at Camp Durant was in fact the last SE-7 event:

In April of 1993, Itibap attended the last SE7 Old North State Conclave hosted by Occoneechee Lodge 104. Following that weekend, the section was redrawn to include four new lodges from Virginia. The section is now named SR7 because of the new Southern Region.

This Kryer also includes two high-quality photo pages that include identifying captions for the Arrowmen that are featured in the pictures. One photo shows then Lodge Chief Dan Raymond serving breakfast to the two "tooth docs," Ron Godby and Barry Green, who purchased his services in an auction the night before.

The SE-8 conclave report mentions that attendees to the final section event were given an SE-8 chenille patch. I'm working to gather more information about this patch for a future article on this web site.

Black bordered Chanco flap mystery

My friend Tim Ewing has a black bordered flap from Chanco Lodge. This item is quite a mystery, because there is no listing in any emblem reference of Lodge 483 ever producing a flap with a black border. I've consulted DeWitt Holland, who knows more about Chanco issues than anyone else I know, to see if he might be aware of a prototype or sample Chanco flap, and his reply was: "I AM 100 PERCENT SURE CHANCO LODGE NEVER MADE ANY FLAP WITH A BLACK BORDER."

The patch appears to be the same design as a Chanco S1 flap, as there is no FDL and it has a cloth back. There are imperfections in the green background embroidery just to the left of the word "Lodge" and directly above the brave's head where the twill base material is evident. These areas are also evident on the back of the patch.



Michael McCaughan, an avid collector of Virginia OA items, speculates that the patch may have been rebordered as a sample by the manufacturer. That theory may explain why some trace of yellow is visible under the black threads. A permanent marker would probably bleed into nearby areas beyond the merrowed edge.

Do you have information or theories about this patch? If so please post your comments here.

Kryer archive reaches 101 editions

Former Kecoughtan Chief Morris Friedman kindly loaned me his collection of Kecoughtan Kryer newsletters to scan and post to the online archive of the newsletter of Lodge 463. With the addition of these editions the number of Kryers now available has reached 101.

There are still many years the Lodge was in existence for which I have no editions of the Kryer, or just one or two. Some of these are during the Lodge's final years of service before the merger with Chanco 483 in January of 1996. Please take a moment to dig through your Scout memorabilia and see if you might have an edition that's not in the archive to help complete this unique collection.

New 2007 Wahunsenakah Activity Patches

Wahunsenakah Lodge brothers have been hard at work preparing their new Camp Bayport for its very first season of summer campers. Arrowman Tim Ewing of Lodge 333 sent pictures of the Lodge's first activity patches for 2007. Very similar in appearance, both are three inch rounds featuring a flying duck and a tree in the background.

The Winter Ordeal issue features a solid embroidered royal blue background with a darker blue border. Notice the tree is bare of leaves. The fleur d'lis (FDL) is a cool blue with white shading, reminiscent of snow. The Winter Ordeal was held Feb. 23-25.


The Spring Ordeal issue has a solid embroidered light green background with darker green border, The tree in the background has begun to leaf out. The FDL is green with lighter green shading. The Spring Ordeal was held April 13-15.


It will be interesting to see if the summer and fall activity patches follow this design theme!

The Kecoughtan 463 YC1 Chenille Prototype

One of the rarest Kecoughtan 463 collectibles is the 463 YC-1, the prototype of the Lodge's first chenille emblem. Four of the prototypes were made by the Standard Pennant Company of Big Run, Pennsylvania to be examined by the Lodge before the final order was placed. They are distinguishable from the final released issue by the lettering "A63" instead of "463."
The patch was designed and ordered by Sam Fairchild, with the order placed in the Fall of 1974 (the Blue Book erroneously lists the date of issue as 1976). Sam, who at that time was serving as Newsletter Advisor and 25th Anniversary Committee Advisor, recalls:

"I remember vividly that we ordered the chenille before the planning began on the Lodge's 25th Anniversary. That planning began in early 1975 as I recall. I ordered the prototype chenille from Standard Pennant in the fall of 1974 and it arrived before Christmas. The Executive Committee of the Lodge approved the design, with the requisite substitution of the number "4" for the holding place letter "A". The Kryer editors, Tommy and Dicky Wiggs, published a notice in the newsletter that invited Lodge members to preorder one chenille per person for $5.00. We took the total number of pre-orders and ordered exactly that number of chenilles. There were 74 in total, and they arrived four weeks later."

Sam confirmed that Kecoughtan was the first Virginia Lodge to issue a chenille emblem, saying:

"We were the first, without question. The guys at Powhatan wanted to do one, but they had to wait until the merger with Koo-Koo-Ku-Hoo before they could issue one. Shenshawpotoo issued their first chenille at the SE-1 conclave in 1975."

Virginia Lodges and their chenille emblem issue dates

3 Nawakwa - C1 - 1981
161 Koo Koo Ku Hoo - none
161 Tutelo - C1 - 1979
258 Shenandoah - C1 -1990
276 Shenshawpotoo - C1 - 1975
349 Blue Heron - C1 - 86-88
456 Powhatan - none
463 Kecoughtan - C1 - 1974
483 Chanco - YC1 prototype (only one made) 1993 (see related story)

Where multiple years are indicated I was not able to find a specific date for the issue, and had to rely on dates supplied for patches issued before and afterwards


A fake version of the first Kecoughtan chenille exists, cataloged in the Blue Book as 463ZC-1. It can be identified by the grayish color of the acorn, the alignment of the numeral "6" on the arrow, and the canvas backing versus the cloth backing of the authentic version.


Three additional chenille emblems were issued by Kecoughtan Lodge before its merger with Chanco Lodge in 1996. No prototypes of these issues are reported to exist. Of the four prototypes of the first chenille, three have been located as of April, 2007. The whereabouts of the fourth is currently unknown.

My sincere thanks to the following Arrowmen who provided invaluable information for this article: Sam Fairchild, Joe Maloy, Jeff Godby

If you have additional information about any of the Kecoughtan Lodge chenille patches, please feel free to share it in the comments.

RSS Feed updated

The RSS feed for the Kecoughtan Emblems and History Site news has been fixed and now updates correctly. If you would like to view the content of this site in your newsreader you can subscribe to the RSS feed here.

Eagle Class of 2006 shoulder patch issued

Colonial Virginia Council issued a special shoulder patch to honor their 2006 Class of Eagle Scouts. 250 of the patches were ordered but they were only distributed to the 156 Eagle Scouts and their sponsors who attended the Council's Eagle Recognition Banquet on March 17th.

A unique aspect of this patch which is sure to cause confusion and consternation for years to come is the fact that there is no Council name or other indicator of its origin. Reportedly the name omission was not planned. While collectors and patch historians will surely debate whether the patch constitutes an "official issue" of the Council as a result, the fact remains that it was ordered by the Council and distributed to honor their Eagle Scouts and sponsors, and so it is included in the Colonial Virginia Council emblem listings on this site as a matter of historical record.

Colonial Virginia Council 2007 Friends of Scouting issues

Colonial Virginia Council recently issued the fourth design in their series of shoulder patches given to contributors to their "Friends of Scouting" program. Following the 12 points of the Scout Law, the theme for this issue is A Scout is Friendly.

The patch illustrates the legendary story of American publisher WD Boyce, lost in the fog while visiting London in 1909 and receiving aid from a local Boy scout. The lad refused a tip for his services, explaining to Boyce that he could not accept a tip for "doing a Good Turn." Boyce was reportedly so impressed that he sought out Lord Baden Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts, to learn more about his program. Upon his return to the states, Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America in 1910.

The standard FOS 2007 issue has a blue border and the issue provided to Eagle Scout contributors has a silver border. Minimum contribution for either issue is 25.00. No word yet on whether there will be a third border variety for contributors who donate to the Council via the local United Way campaign as there was in 2006.

Chanco Emblem Issues Reference online

DeWitt Holland, a longtime member of Chanco Lodge and designer of many of it's patches, provided me with a copy of Chanco Lodge 483 Issues 1952-1991, the emblem reference guide that was distributed to attendees of the 1992 Section SE-8 Conclave that was hosted by Lodge 483 at Camp Siouan.

The booklet features photocopied pages with typewritten details and photographs of each patch issued by Chanco Lodge, and has been updated to include emblems released until the merger with Kecoughtan Lodge at the end of 1995.

Compiled by DeWitt Holland, Tom Queen, Ron Godby, and Ray Johnson, this document is now available online in PDF format, and while it may seem primitive by today's standards, it remains a priceless reference for collectors of Lodge 483 memorabilia. Every lodge flap, neckerchief patch, activity patch, and more issued during Chanco's 43 years of existence are included.

New Colonial Virginia Council FOS issue

My friend Tim Ewing sent me a picture of a third version of the Colonial Virginia Council Friends of Scouting issue for 2006 which is themed "Helpful," one of the 12 points of the Scout Law.

The prior versions featured a silver mylar border (given to donors who are Eagle Scouts) or an orange mylar border (which Tim informed me is considered "copper") for general donors to the Council's Friends of Scouting program. A third version with gold mylar border has been issued for donors who contribute to the council via the local United Way campaign.

Earlier Friends of Scouting CSP issues in the series were themed "Trustworthy" and "Loyal" (the first two points of the Scout Law) and did not have border variations.

New Kiskiack Chapter jacket patch issued

Tim Ewing was kind to send me a picture of the newly issued Kiskiack Chapter backpatch from Wahunsenakah Lodge 333. Six inches in diameter, the patch mirrors the design of the 3 inch diameter pocket patch with loop that was released in September of last year. You can find images of both in the Chapter section of the Lodge 333 Emblems web page.

The design of the two patches feature a theme common to the original neckerchief patches and later flap patches of Kecoughtan Lodge: silhouettes of the three ships which carried the English immigrants who in 1610 settled in the area of Virginia now served by the local council. As such, they pay tribute to the history of the local area as well as preserving the some of the emblematic heritage of their prior parent lodge.

1962 Kecoughtan Kryer added to online archive

I received a nice Christmas present from Sam Fairchild when he sent me an email in late December advising me that he had an original copy of the Kecoughtan Kryer newsletter dated August 9, 1962. Sam kindly sent it to me to scan and it is now online for your reading pleasure. It is by far the oldest Kryer in the online archives, and is probably one of the first newsletters issued by the Lodge since several later historical documents refer to 1962 as the first year of publication.

Happy New Year to all and please remember to check your boxes of Scout stuff in the attic while the weather is cold to see if you might have any issues of the Kryer that are missing from the online archive, or other Lodge documents that will help chronicle the history of Kecoughtan Lodge.

Glenn