Arapaho Listings for Chanco and Kecoughtan Lodge

Long before there was a Blue Book for OA Collectors the standard reference for Order of the Arrow emblem collectors was Arapaho II - A History of the Order of the Arrow Through Insignia. Arapaho II was a collaborative effort by Albertus Hoogeveen, Richard Breithaupt, and Dave Leubitz, first published in 1979 in loose leaf format. Although it was not the first attempt to catalog OA issues, it was a landmark publication is the scope of it's efforts to publish not only listings but also pictures of each Lodge's known issues.

Arapaho II remains a vital historical document since the authors diligently researched topics including lodge names, totems, and charter dates in official OA records while onsite at the BSA Headquarters, then located in New Brunswick, NJ. Those archives were later destroyed, leaving Arapaho II as the only remaining authoritative resource for this vital historical data.


When I began collecting OA patches in the 70's my flap patches were stored in ziplock bags with matching cards from Alhoo Supplies, Albertus' company for patch collecting goods. Albertus was a pioneer in cataloging the first issues of Council Shoulder Patches when they came on the scene in the early 70's, publishing Arapaho I which illustrated these colorful replacements for the prior red and white community and state strips. Although CSPs were popular because they were not restricted like most OA items were at the time, there were still rarities, like those from merged councils. Albertus gave me a CSP from the newly merged Grayback Council and I still treasure it as a great example of a senior collector aiding a newcomer to the hobby.

Recently a fellow collector asked me for a copy of the Kecoughtan Lodge listings from Arapaho II and when I wasn't able to quickly find my copy I asked Trey Walls if he could help out. He generously provided scans of not only Lodge 463 items, but also Lodge 483 as well. Albertus kindly granted permission for me to share these copyrighted items on my web site, so they are offered now as aids for researchers and collectors of those lodges.

You can download and view the 4.6 MB PDF document including these listings from Arapaho here.

In this modern age of computers, digital cameras, and the internet it's hard to appropriately appreciate the vast amount of effort and expense that went into early collecting publications like Arapaho II. Every image was shot on film and developed, every word typed and laid out painstakingly one letter at a time on typewriters, and every bit of information gathered and confirmed in person or by telephone call or postal letter. What we can accomplish in a few minutes then took weeks or months to share. We owe a lot to pioneers like Albertus for setting the standard high for accuracy and detail that remains valuable decades later.