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Philmont Donated to BSA

Waite Phillips (Jan. 19, 1883- Jan. 27, 1964) was much more than the prototypical oilman, wildcatter and businessman. He was also a philanthropist. The generosity of he and his family resulted in a major change for Scouting – the creation of its High Adventure Program.

A bout of acute appendicitis claimed Wiate’s life on July 16, 1902, when the 19-year-old young men were in Spokane, Washington. Distraught over the loss of his twin brother, Waite returned to Iowa. After a short time in college he went to work for his older brothers, Frank (Silver Buffalo recipient 1942) and L.E. Phillips, as they continued their oil and gas business out of Bartlesville, Okla., in 1906. Frank and L.E.’s company became Phillips Petroleum Company.

By 1918 Waite and Genevieve had moved to Tulsa, Okla., where his 40-year career took firm hold. In Tulsa three of the structures Phillips built have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places – Philtower, Philcade and Villa Philbrook, a 72-room Italian Renaissance-style home, which, after being donated to the city of Tulsa in 1938, was renovated into the Philbrook Museum of Art.

After buying and selling several ranches, Phillips developed a 300,000-acre spread on the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rocky Mountings extending into the western fringes of the Great Prairie. He named it the UU (Double U) Ranch. There as with all of his other business interests, he threw himself into creating a diversified operation involving farming, ranching and – for recreation – the ability to get into the backcountry for hunting, fishing and camping expeditions.

In 1937 Phillips made one of the most magnanimous gestures in philanthropy – the family donated 35,857 acres of their UU Ranch – much of what Philmonters call “the South Country” to the Boy Scouts of America. That generous donation included the Villa de Philmonte, cattle, horses, hunting cabins and more.

There were just three stipulations:
--that it remains a working cattle ranch, which it is.
--that his favorite horse “Gus” be allowed to roam freely and live out his life on the ranch. He did.
--And that the Phillips family be allowed to visit whenever they please. They have.

The first couple of years were limited operations, but seeing the potential and the enthusiastic response in 1941 Phillips added another 91,520 acres bringing the total to 127,395. The gift included the best of Phillips’ camp lands, as well as the ranching headquarters and the Villa de Phimonte – the family’s mountainside home with its majestic view of the Tooth of Time. To help the BSA finance the annual operations of the ranch he added the Philtower Building in Tulsa.

The camp was first named Philturn Rocky Mountain Scout Camp and then later was renamed Philmont. Waite Phillips died on January 27, 1964. Waite and Genevieve Phillips are buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

1, OA, Scouting

Waite Phillips

Waite Phillips (Jan. 19, 1883 - Jan. 27, 1964) was much more than the prototypical oilman, wildcatter and businessman. He was also a philanthropist. The generosity of he and his family resulted in a major change for Scouting – the creation of its High Adventure Program.

Lewis “Lew” Franklin Phillips and Lucinda Josephine “Josie” (Faucett) Phillips sixth and seventh of 10 children were twin boys – Waite and Wiate -- born to the couple at their home near Conway Iowa. As 16-year-olds the twin boys left their small farm and headed west where they worked a variety of jobs including building railroads, mining, lumbering and even one winter spent fur trapping in the Bitterroot Mountains. A bout of acute appendicitis claimed Wiate’s life on July 16, 1902, when the 19-year-old young men were in Spokane, Washington. Distraught over the loss of his twin brother, Waite returned to Iowa. After a short time in college he went to work for his older brothers, Frank (Silver Buffalo recipient 1942) and L.E. Phillips, as they continued their oil and gas business out of Bartlesville, Okla., in 1906. Frank and L.E.’s company became Phillips Petroleum Company.

In 1909 Waite married Genevieve Elliott in Knoxville, Iowa. Waite and Genevieve had two children, Helen Jane (July 1, 1911 - May 19, 1963) and Elliott "Chope" Waite (January 11, 1918 - ) (Silver Buffalo recipient 1998; Silver Sage recipient 2005). After eight years Waite sold his shares to his brothers and struck out on his own as an independent oil producer, refiner and marketer. By 1918 Waite and Genevieve had moved to Tulsa, Okla., where his 40-year career took firm hold. In Tulsa three of the structures Phillips built have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places – Philtower, Philcade and Villa Philbrook, a 72-room Italian Renaissance-style home, which, after being donated to the city of Tulsa in 1938, was renovated into the Philbrook Museum of Art.

Phillips’ industriousness was not just confined to the petroleum industry. He was also actively involved in banking and real estate and the development of a number of ranches in the Rocky Mountains, and it was there his admiration for a new youth program and his love of the mountains would meld into Scouting’s crown jewel of high adventure. After buying and selling several ranches, Phillips developed a 300,000-acre spread on the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rocky Mountains extending into the western fringes of the Great Prairie. He named it the UU (Double U) Ranch. There as with all of his other business interests, he threw himself into creating a diversified operation involving farming, ranching and – for recreation – the ability to get into the backcountry for hunting, fishing and camping expeditions.

All through the times he was working for his brothers and then on his own, Phillips followed the successes of a bourgeoning youth movement – the Boy Scouts of America. One of the earliest troops in the United States was formed in 1909 (before the founding of the BSA in 1910) in nearby Pawhuska, Okla. In 1937 Phillips made one of the most magnanimous gestures in philanthropy – the family donated 35,857 acres of their UU Ranch – much of what Philmonters call “the South Country” to the Boy Scouts of America. That generous donated included the Villa de Philmonte, cattle, horses, hunting cabins and more.

The first couple of years were limited operations, but seeing the potential and the enthusiastic response in 1941 Phillips added another 91,520 acres bringing the total to 127,395. The gift included the best of Phillips’ camp lands, as well as the ranching headquarters and the Villa de Phimonte – the family’s mountainside home with its majestic view of the Tooth of Time. To help finance the annual operations of the ranch he added the Philtower Building in Tulsa.

1, OA, Profile, Scouting

150th Lodge Formed

On June 5th, 1939, the Order added its 150^th Lodge. Nakona Lodge 150 of Lubbock, Texas had received its charter into the still rapidly growing Order.

2, OA, Scouting

Change in Designation of Areas to Letters

In 1940, the OA, which had previously been divided into Areas 1 - 15 in 1938 was changed again. This time they used letters A - O. Each area was basically assigned the letter that corresponded with the number previously assigned (i.e. Area 1 became Area A, Area 2 became Area B, and so on). As new lodges were added to an area, if they became too large, then a new lettered area was added. In December, 1942 letters A – U were assigned in BSA Region order. Region 1 was assigned the letter “A”; Region 2 was assigned letters “B”, “C” and “D” and so on until Region 12 received Area “U”.

As the OA spread from council to council, certain regions saw greater growth. In March 1944 three more areas were added. Lodges in the regions that had new areas added were always re-allocated. In July 1945 two more Areas were added, “Y” and “Z”. In August of 1946 they were out of letters. Area’s A – Z remained the same except for Region 12’s Area “U”. Area “U” was divided into Areas 12A, 12B and 12C, a forerunner of further changes.

3, OA, Scouting

25th Anniversary of the OA

The twenty-fifth anniversary of any organization is a time for celebration and reflection. The celebration took place at the 25th Anniversary National Meeting held at Camp Twin Echo. The delegates wore silver colored neckerchiefs. The Distinguished Service Award recognizing those individuals most responsible for leadership and service in the Order was created. From such humble beginnings Wimachtendienk has become a growing nationwide Scout phenomenon.

At the end of the first summer of OA in 1915 there were 25 Arrowmen. 25 years later the Order was active in 164 councils with an active membership of 16,000 Arrowmen. Over 37,000 Scouts and Scouters had been inducted.

The most significant milestones were the formation of The Grand Lodge in 1921. That gave the Order a national structure. In 1922 the OA was recognized as an official BSA experiment. That allowed the Order to grow on its own merits. In 1934 the OA achieved recognition as an official BSA program. That allowed them to grow in the regions around the country and gave them the legitimacy needed to have a national structure.

What remained was full integration in to the National BSA; that would allow the Order to expand to nearly 100% of the councils in the nation. Professional Scouters still led the Order on the National level (with the notable exception of H. Lloyd Nelson). The National Executive Committee had not yet been transferred to volunteer Scouters with support from Scouting professionals. Likewise adult Scouts, both professional and volunteer led the lodges. That still needed to evolve to volunteer advisors working with youth leaders.

2, OA, Scouting

First known African American Vigil Honor

On October 24^th and 25^th, 1936 the Owasippe Lodge held a Fellowship Conference. The conference is remarkable for two things. The first was that Owasippe invited other lodges to attend their fellowship. Ay-Ashe Lodge from Manitowoc, Wisconsin and Tomkita Chara Lodge from Wausau, Wisconsin attended. Later, after National Chief Joseph Brinton read of the Fellowship Conference he was eager to share the concept of multi-lodge events in the National Bulletin.

The second noteworthy event of the Fellowship weekend was Emerson James was elected and kept his Vigil the night of October 24 through the morning of October 25th. In so keeping, Emerson James became the earliest known and presumptively the first African American Vigil Honor member. Emerson James had served as Camp Director at Camp Belnap and continued in that capacity for a number years following his Vigil Honor. He had been a leader in the formation of Takodah Chapter of Owasippe Lodge, the earliest known segregated chapter. James, along with Dr. Benson and H. Isbell had been the first known African American Arrowmen to take the Brotherhood Degree. In the year where African American Jesse Owens had broken barriers in Berlin, Germany winning four gold medals, Emerson James had broken a barrier in the Order by meriting the OA’s highest honor. The OA was ahead of the curve, Major League Baseball would not integrate for another 11 years and the Civil Rights and Voting rights Acts were still more than a quarter century off. The significance was not lost on those that elected James. They chose the Vigil Name Netami, ‘The First’.

2, OA, Scouting

Ceremonial Rituals are Changed

In 1933, the Grand Lodge was making the preparations necessary to become an official BSA program. In August of that year, a document entitled: A Statement of Principles Applying in the Case of National Approval of the Order of the Arrow, was produced to give guidance to the transition needed within the Order of the Arrow (OA).

One of the sections made reference to the Rituals of the Order of the Arrow and stated the following:

A competent committee will review the Ritual in its entirety with a view to assuring that it is free from:

1. Any words or phrases, which may cause offense to religious bodies
2. Any performance or expressions, which may be interpreted as acts of religious worship
3. Any employment of the element of secrecy as in obligation, which may prove inconsistent with the policies of Scouting.

Between 1933 and early 1935 the OA’s rituals underwent strong examination and rewrites to ascertain that the rituals were in compliance with the guidelines set forth in 1933 necessary for National Council BSA approval.

Meteu’s prayers were a topic of concern and required changes. Thomas Cairns wrote to George Lower, author of those prayers and asked for his help in rewriting the prayers. Lower was at first reluctant but after Cairns persistence and good humor (remarking that he would lose what little was left of his hair if Lower did not respond) did eventually help in the rewrites.

Some of the changes made included the dropping of “Gitchee Manitou”, a reference to a deity, from all ceremonies. The word “Password” was changed to “Admonition”. Previous to 1933’s guidelines, the words “altar” and “sacred” had already been replaced and the word “Fraternity” had been replaced with “Brotherhood”.

In 1936 a series of five new pamphlets with all the approved changes were printed. The Ordeal cover was red ink. The Brotherhood cover was green ink. The Vigil Honor cover was blue ink. The Local Lodge Manual cover was brown ink and the Constitution and By-Laws cover was black ink. All the pamphlets were produced in 1936 except the Vigil Honor pamphlet, which was not printed until 1940.

The 1936 versions of the Ordeal Honor and Brotherhood Honor ceremonies remained virtually unchanged through and until 1948 when final changes were necessary for the OA to become fully integrated into the BSA program.

3, Ceremonies, OA, Scouting

George Lower

George Lower was inducted into the Order of the Arrow (OA) at Treasure Island during the second summer of Wimachtendienk in 1916. He was one of the two major contributors to the writing of the rituals used by the Grand Lodge from 1921 until 1936. Prior to 1921, Lower was one of the quiet adult forces within the Wimachtendienk. In a newspaper article in August 1921, he is pictured in a sash and black robe and identified as one of two Medicine Men along with Dr. William M. Hinkle.

In 1921, for his leadership and influence in the Wimachtendienk W. W., George Lower became the sixth Arrowman to receive the Third Degree.

On November 8, 1934 National Chief Thomas Cairns wrote to George Lower asking for his assistance regarding transformation of the ceremonies critical to the integration of the OA into the BSA:

As you may know, the Order of the Arrow has been officially adopted by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and is to be a part of their official program for campers.

This step has brought to light a number of rather interesting questions and I should like, if at all possible, to secure your help in answering one of these.

In the Ritual (copy enclosed) on pages 9, 11, 13, and 22 the Meteu is called upon to say a prayer. This Ritual has been submitted to the National Scout Committee on Church Relations and by them to their subdivisions on Protestant, Catholic and Jewish Scouting. There is a common agreement, conveyed to me by Urner Goodman, of the desirability of eliminating from the Ritual these prayers as such since it is extremely difficult to have any one prayer which is acceptable to all three groups.

George Lower wrote back to Thomas Cairns on January 6, 1935. George Lower had become inactive in the OA and was a teacher at the Westtown School, Westtown, Pennsylvania. Along with agreeing to do the re-writes, George Lower wrote:

Receiving your request recalled to my mind the hours and hours Dr. Hinkle and I spent on this ritual years ago and I was quite surprised to see that it had not been changed since our last revision.

Lower completed the revisions of the ceremonies and the OA published them in 1936.

3, Ceremonies, OA, Profile, Scouting

Change in Vigil Honor Totem

At the 1931 Grand Lodge Meeting the delegates unanimously passed a motion to change the Third Degree (Vigil Honor) symbol from a triangle to an arrowhead with arrow superimposed on it, upon which was placed the totem of the local lodge. There is no evidence that the new Vigil Honor totem was ever used or produced and this action was reversed at the next Grand Lodge Meeting in 1933. Nine years later this design concept became the basis of the design of the Distinguished Service Award.

3, Awards, Insignia, OA, Scouting

Takodah Chapter of Owasippe

When Carroll A. Edson became a Field Executive in 1921 in Chicago Council it was only natural that he would bring Wimachtendienk with him. Chicago in 1921 had five geographic districts and a sixth “division” that was an overlay of the entire council. This division was the Douglas Division and it was for African American Scouts. No matter where in Chicago you lived, if you were Black then you were segregated into the Douglas Division. The Scouts of the Douglas Division also had their own camp, Camp Belnap. Camp Belnap ran the same camp program as the other camps within Owasippe Scout Reservation, except they did not have Order of the Arrow. This was for two reasons. Initially the Grand Lodge would not allow more than one lodge in a camp. But ultimately, the reason Belnap did not have OA was because of the Blood Rite (a ritual exchange of blood between participants) required in the Brotherhood Degree.

When E. Urner Goodman was placed in charge of Chicago in 1927 as Scout Executive he merged together the five Chicago Lodges and they formed the original five chapters of Owasippe. Shortly thereafter, the sixth chapter, Takodah Chapter was formed at Camp Belnap. The Arrowmen of Takodah Chapter are the oldest known African American Scouts in the Order of the Arrow. In 1932 three Takodah Chapter members, Emerson James, Horatio W. Isbell and Dr. William Benson became the first known African Americans to take the Brotherhood Degree.

In 1933 several members of Takodah Chapter including Emerson James and William Benson became the earliest verified African Americans to attend a Grand Lodge Meeting. In 1936 James presumptively became the first African American Vigil Honor member.

Takodah Chapter held social events as any other lodge and chapter of its era. In the 1930s their annual chaperoned dance was the big event. The dance program card from the 1935 Dance held at the renowned Savoy Ballroom is testament to the quality of the event. In the 1940s and 1950s Takodah held chapter fellowships. Eventually segregation ended in Chicago Council and the members of Takodah joined chapters based on their geographic location and not the color of their skin.

2, OA, Profile, Scouting

OA Becomes Official Experiment

For the first 17 years of its existence, the Order had operated autonomously. While made up exclusively of Scouts the Order did not report to the national office. The one nod to the BSA authority was the Scout Executive, the Supreme Chief of the Fire, who possessed the authority to terminate the lodge.

The national authority of the Order was the Grand Lodge and in 1932, led by Grand Chieftain Robroy Price the Grand Lodge sought recognition by the National Council of the BSA. Since the beginning of the Grand Lodge, virtually all officers had themselves been professional Scouters and Robroy Price was no exception serving as the Scout Executive in Schenectady, New York. When the Grand Council of the Order met with National Council representatives at the national BSA office in New York it was a very friendly audience. E. Urner Goodman along with past Grand Chieftain Arthur Schuck and four-time Grand Scribe Harvey Gordon represented the National Council. Also representing the BSA were Mr. McDonald, Mr. Wyland and Dr. Hurt.

The meeting went most favorably for the Order. It was decided that Dr. Huber William Hurt would be designated by the National Council to investigate the Order and that he would send questionnaires to all local lodges and prepare a report. The Order itself would also canvas local lodges to inquire about how to accomplish National Council recognition. It was also agreed that the Order of the Arrow would again be designated as an official experiment of the Boy Scouts of America for a period of one year. The process had begun that would lead to a “new relationship” between the OA and the BSA in 1934.

1, OA, Scouting

Formation National Executive Committee

Grand Chieftain Thomas Cairns authorized by the Grand Lodge at the 1933 meeting formed the Transition Committee to handle negotiations required for the Order to become an official BSA program. He renamed it the Grand Lodge Committee. This committee replaced the old Grand Council that was the executive board for the Grand Lodge. Cairns placed on the committee the Grand Lodge Officers, H. Lloyd Nelson, L. J. (Bert) Case and Joseph Pattison. Recognizing the need for the very best leadership to strategize, interface and negotiate with the BSA, Thomas Cairns consulted with E. Urner Goodman and appointed three more Arrowmen to the Committee – Alfred C. Nichols, Robert S. Henderson and Charles M. Heistand. Goodman was added to the committee as the National Council representative. During the transition, this committee became known as the National Executive Committee and it is the direct precursor to today’s National OA Committee. There were two notable differences. Every member of the National Executive Committee with the exception of Nelson was a professional Scouter, whereas today’s committee is primarily volunteer leadership; And National Executive Committee members would be required to stand for election at the end of their two-year terms.

The National Executive Committee took over the role of the Grand Lodge. The Committee ran the business of the Order. No longer would elaborate meeting with parliamentary procedure dominate the national gatherings. That was a good thing too, because with the national recognition by BSA the national meetings would be too large for parliamentary debate. The time could be put to better use with training and gatherings to exchange ideas. H. Lloyd Nelson served on this committee and its successor, the National OA Committee every year until his untimely death in 1955.

1, OA, Scouting