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 Kecoughtan fake patches surface on eBay

In early March, 2011 several auctions for Kecoughtan patches appeared on eBay for items that typically sell for far more than the seller was offering at "Buy it now" prices. A close examination of the pictures accompanying the auctions led me to believe that the items were not authentic, but I withheld judgement until I had a chance to compare actual samples with versions that I know to be authentic.

The patches in question are the silver A6 arrowhead patch issued in 1976 for the Lodge's 25th Anniversary, and the round R5 issue that features an acorn on a black background with an arrow extending on both sides beyond the circular border. This patch, designed for use on a baseball type hat, was originally issued in 1993.

These patches are not easily discerned as reproductions. The seller, in fact, describes them in his eBay auctions as "A PERFECT CONDITION OA KECOUGHTAN LODGE 463 PATCH." The silver arrowhead, in particular, is very close to the original, and from the front could easily be mistaken for an authentic A6 if you didn't have a known real issue to compare it with. The fake round patch has a noticeable curve to the bottom tip of the acorn that is not present on the original. The easiest way to tell them from real versions is to examine the backs - the fakes have a smooth white fabric reverse material while the originals have very evident rough grid patterns. See the pictures at kecoughtan.com for more details.

When I contacted the seller with my findings he offered to refund my money and told me he purchased the patches at a Chicago collectibles show in March of 2010 from a booth selling many types of patches. The eBay seller says he is not familiar with Scout patches and says he was convinced by the booth seller they were authentic.

Don't be fooled by these recent fakes whose only worth is as a curiosity. The real versions of the 463 A6 arrowheads are generally valued between $50-$75 and the real R5 typically goes for between $20-$35. The seller is offering "Buy it now" prices of $14.99 for each of these fakes as well as auctioning some. There is no telling how many of these were actually produced.

Wahunsenakah Winter Service weekend patch design

Adviser George Homewood recently shared information about the designs for Wahunsenakah Lodge's activity emblems for 2011. The designs honor the six chapters of the Lodge and feature each chapter's totem. The first event is the 2011 Winter Service Weekend to be held Feb. 25-27 at Bayport Scout Reservation. The patch for the event features the red hawk, totem of Piankatank Chapter which serves First Colony District. Notice the clever way the W's have been blended into the cheek feathers of the hawk.

I expect to have a picture of the actual emblem soon and you'll find it on the Activity emblems page. Watch this site for additional sneak peeks at the awesome designs of the Wahunsenakah Lodge activity patches that will be issued during 2011.

2010 Wahunsenakah LLDC patch

Larry Johnson sent along a scan of the 2010 Wahunsenakah Lodge Lodge Leadership Development Committee patch. The design is the same as the 2009 issue, except the border color is blue rather than red. The Wahunsenakah 2010 LLDC was held on April 17 at the Yorktown Coast Guard Base, which will host the event again this year.

1997 Pamunkey Chapter event patch discovered

A recent group of eBay auctions by a former member of Kecoughtan and Wahunsenakah Lodge included this unique patch I've never seen nor heard of before. Although it was listed as a Kecoughtan patch the date of 1997 is after Kecoughtan Lodge 463 and Chanco Lodge 483 merged to form Lodge 333, so this is actually an activity patch for Pamunkey Chapter of the new Wahunsenakah Lodge. You will find it listed on the Wahunsenakah Lodge Activity Issues page in the Chapter Activities section.

Thanks to Larry Johnson for the picture.