SR-7A conclave emblem previews

Section SR-7A will hold their 2012 conclave April 27-29 at Camp Rock Enon in Gore, VA, hosted by Shenshawpotoo Lodge 276. Registration for the conclave is now open online, and a tour of the order form for Trading Post items reveals design artwork for several emblems, including the pocket and jacket patch (pictured above).

This will be the tenth regional gathering of Arrowmen to be held at Camp Rock Enon. Prior Pow Wows and Conclaves at this historic camp include:

• 1954 3-C Pow Wow
• 1962 3-C Pow Wow
• 1968 3-C Training Institute
• 1973 SE-1 Pow Wow
• 1981 SE-1 Conclave
• 1984 SE-8 Conclave
• 1991 SE-8 Conclave
• 2000 SR-7A Conclave
• 2006 SR-7A Conclave

Check out the new 2012 SR-7A Conclave page at va-oa.org for additional images, including pictures of the conclave hat, polo shirt, and more, including the special SR-7A 15th Anniversary patch that will be issued.

Wahunsenakah 2011 SR-7A Conclave flap

Larry Johnson provided this first look at the colorful flap Arrowmen from Wahunsenakah Lodge will be wearing and trading at the upcoming SR-7A Conclave hosted by Nawakwa Lodge 3 at Camp Brady Saunders on April 29-May 1.

For more news and info about Virginia conclaves past and present be sure to check out my new web site, va-oa.org which offers details about the events as well as pictures of the patches and delegate issues from each lodge.

New site about Virginia OA

I've been working on a new web site that documents the events attended by Virginia OA Lodges, like Pow Wows, Conclaves, and the like.

It's far from complete and I have big plans for expansion to include other content, but I'm finally ready to share the link and encourage you to take a peek when you have a chance!

http://va-oa.org

I really hope to make it far more than just a catalog of items issued, and have worked hard to gather relevant information about each event including special guests who attended, election and competition results, and much more. I encourage you to share your memories, pictures, and items like newsletters or meeting notes to help preserve the rich history of the Order of the Arrow in Virginia.

Tracing Virginia OA Area and Section history

Recently I decided to undertake a complete audit and rewrite of the pages I have on my site devoted to the emblems and memorabilia issued at the events held by the regional Area and Sections that Virginia OA Lodges have belonged to. These pages have always been a challenge to complete because there is no comprehensive reference like the OA Blue Book to rely on. Plus, events that happened decades ago are difficult to research because the documents they were chronicled in (newsletters and lodge meeting notes) aren't available online or in the public library.

Sadly, this is a project I wish I had started many years ago. An African proverb says "When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground." The deaths of Si Simons and John Hannabass in 2008 took two of Virginia's greatest Arrowmen, each with over half a century of cheerful service. I can't delay my efforts to excavate and preserve the history of the Order of the Arrow in Virginia since so much of that history is unwritten and stored only in memories.

I am extremely grateful that I already have eager and helpful assistance from several others who share my deep interest and dedication to this subject. Step 1 is to catalog all of the events like Pow Wows, Conclaves, Indian Seminars, and Training Conferences with their dates, locations, and host lodge. Step 2 is to determine every pocket patch, neckerchief, Vigil totem, jacket patch, etc. issued for each event, and by the Area and Section.

While this effort began as an attempt to create a comprehensive emblem reference guide I will be the first to admit that "scope creep" has already taken over.  I've decided that a dry catalog of issues isn't enough to convey the rich tradition and heritage built throughout the nearly six decades of service by Virginia Arrowmen for their councils, camps, and communities.  So I will try to include pictures, stories, anecdotes, and newsletter accounts of the events so that the Arrowmen of 2011 and later will have an opportunity to learn about and appreciate those who came before and gave so much.

I'll be logging my progress on this site. If you'd like to help, just let me know! I'd be grateful for any assistance you can provide. You can be certain your efforts will receive proper attribution as well as my eternal thanks.

2010 SR-7A Conclave patch

The 2010 Section SR-7A conclave was hosted by Tutelo Lodge 161 at Camp Powhatan on April 23-25. The pocket patch issued for the conclave features a complex design of an Indian standing in front of a fire with a lodge in the background, and woods, mountains, and a sunset all reflected in a lake. Ghosted into the design are the numbers of the lodges that comprise Section SR-7A. At the bottom of the patch the theme of the Conclave From the fire's heart is embroidered, along with a fleur d'lis. Surrounding the design are OA sash designs.

Above is a picture of the pocket patch with annotations indicating the position of the various ghosted lodge numbers. I've added the patch to the Section SR7/7A Emblems page, but still need pictures of other emblems that were issued at the conclave, including neckerchief, jacket patch, hatpin, Vigil rededication token, etc.

Wahunsenakah 2010 SR-7A Conclave Flap

The 2010 Section SR-7A conclave was hosted by Tutelo Lodge at Camp Powhatan on April 23-25. Theme for the Conclave this year was Heart of the Fire. Wahunsenakah issued a single yellow-bordered flap with totems of each lodge in the section as the main feature of the design, along with the SR-7A logo. 600 of the flaps were issued.

Also issuing special flaps for the conclave were Blue Heron Lodge 349 (with matching pocket patch), Nawakwa Lodge 3 (trader and delegate versions), Shenshawpotoo Lodge 276 (trader and delegate versions), and host Lodge Tutelo 161 (with matching pocket patch). The Blue Heron issue does not appear to include lodge name nor number.

Also spotted was a flap patch recognizing National Vice-Chief Will Swingle of Nawakwa Lodge, who was elected at the National OA Planning Meeting on December 27th, 2009. The patch has a red border and white background with the SR-7A logo in the center, "Will Swingle National Vice Chief" in red lettering across the top, "WWW" and "Order of the Arrow" letterer in red on opposite sides and an FDL each of the Section's Lodge numbers ghosted into the white background.

Wahunsenakah 2010 Conclave flap design updated

Advisor George Homewood sent along this updated design for the proposed Wahunsenakah Lodge flap that will be issued for the upcoming Section SR-7A Conclave to be hosted by Tutelo Lodge April 23-25. The original design did not receive approval from BSA due to licensing concerns about the Pac-Man styled components, so they have been removed.

Wahunsenakah Lodge 2010 Conclave flap design

Lodge Advisor George Homewood kindly shared this design for the Wahunsenakah flap to be issued for the upcoming 2010 SR-7A Conclave.

Tutelo Lodge 161 will host the Conclave on April 23-25 at Blue Ridge Mountains Council Scout Reservation in Pulaski County, Virginia. The theme for the 2010 Conclave is "Heart of the Fire."

Update (20 February 2010): Lodge Advisor George Homewood sent me an email indicating that the BSA rejected the patch design above due to possible trademark conflicts, so a new design is in the works.

SR-7A Conclaves-Filling in the missing pictures

Awhile back my friend Larry Johnson reviewed all the items on the SR7-SR7A Emblems page and discovered more than a few items not listed that he has in his collection, so he scanned pictures and sent them along for me to add them to the web site.

I finally found some time to prepare and upload the pictures and add links to the listings. Several are pictures of participant conclave patches (typically these are identical to the pocket patch with the addition of a button loop to enable it to be worn immediately), or variations like a staff version that has a different color border than the standard pocket patch. Also added are pictures of some Vigil Rededication tokens, as well as the unique Passport Pin pictured above from the 2008 Conclave hosted by Shenandoah Lodge 258.

Larry provided me with pictures of many more items Conclave items that I will be adding soon.

2009 SR-7A Conclave patches

Wahunsenakah Lodge 333 hosted the 2009 Section SR-7A Conclave at Bayport Scout Reservation in Jamaica, Virginia on April 24-26, welcoming over 900 Arrowmen to the first OA conclave at the new camp.

The theme for the event was Legacy of Brotherhood. A number of patches were issued, and I hope to have pictures of them all here in the near future. You can find the items issued by the Section on the SR-7A web page and the items issued by the host Lodge on the Wahunsenakah Lodge page.

Thanks to Tim Ewing and Larry Johnson for the excellent patch pictures from the conclave.

New 333 conclave flap designs

Wahunsenakah Lodge Advisor George Homewood kindly shared these design images for upcoming flaps to be issued for the 2009 Section SR-7A Conclave. The Beaver Day flap shown above is restricted to Arrowmen who have performed at least 14 hours of service during the many Beaver Days the Lodge has scheduled to prepare Bayport Scout Reservation for the Conclave.

Lodge 333 2009 Conclave Host Staff flap

Lodge 333 2009 Conclave Host flap

Lodge 333 2009 Conclave Delegate flap

2008 SR-7A Conclave item photos added

Michael McCaughan of Blue Heron Lodge kindly sent me pictures of items issued at the recent SR-7A conclave, hosted by Shenandoah Lodge at Camp Shenandoah from April 25-27. In addition to the participant pocket patch you will find images of the jacket patch, pocket patch, pin, passport booklet cover, and embroidered neckerchief on the SR-7A Emblems web page.

The impact of the recent economic downturn was evident when I originally sought pictures of these items from several conclave attendees and was told by each that they decided to reduce on their usual conclave memento purchases after high priced gasoline made traveling to the conclave so much more expensive.

The design of the patch includes a clever insertion of the "WWW" found on Order of the Arrow flaps. Look closely and you'll find it in the flaming arrow tips.

Wahunsenakah 2008 Conclave flap

Shenandoah Lodge 258 hosted the 2008 SR-7A Conclave on April 25-27 at Camp Shenandoah near Swoope, Virginia. The theme of the conclave this year was "Test the Bow of Brotherhood."

Wahunsenakah Lodge issued a colorful delegate flap that nicely mimics the colors and design of the official conclave pocket patch.


Thanks to Nathan Light of Nawakwa Lodge for the pocket flap picture and Mike Evans for the conclave patch picture!

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.