 On
the weekend of July 27, 2003, Otena and Kotso Lodge came together at Camp
Wood Lake for a special weekend called "The Gathering" During the
weekend a special vote was held by both Kotso and Otena Lodges to approved
the joining of both lodges by January 1, 2004. The Texas Trails Council
had informed the group earlier in the weekend that only one OA Lodge Charter
would be issued for 2004.
Meetings of a Lodge Unification Committee were held to make the joining as smooth and seamless as possible with little to no interruption of current lodge plans and activities. Members of the Lodge Unification Committee consisted of Joey Ellis, Otena Chief; Robert Orchard, Kotso Chief; Korey Kennedy, Kotso Vice-Chief of Service; Aivars Jurkis, Kotso Lodge Adviser; Sam Mangrum, Otena Lodge Adviser; Jeremy Moon, Kotso Staff Adviser; and Les Zimmerman, Otena Staff Adviser. The committee, following a contest for a new lodge name, selected the name "Penateka," which is a tribe of the Comanche Indians that lived in the area of the Texas Trails Council. Pronunciation is " Pen-ah-took-uh." The name means "Honey Eaters." On Saturday, December 13, 2003, a Celebration Banquet was held at the First United Methodist Church in Coleman to elect the new officers for the lodge and celebrate the signing of the new lodge charter papers. Ninety-three Arrowmen and guests attended the Celebration Banquet at the First United Methodist Church in Coleman. Seven officers were elected at the banquet by the youth Arrowmen in attendance. The new Chief, Joey Ellis, along with the Adviser Aivars Jurkis and Supreme Chief of the Fire, Kent Brown, signed the charter for the new Lodge which will become effective January 1, 2004. Each lodge had special historical displays on the history of their respective lodges with Otena presenting a power point presentation on its past and present history. Go to the link below for a history of the Penateka Indian name written by Steve Ellis of Brooksmith. History of Penateka Indian Name Chapters Organized The former Kotso and Otena Lodges now operate as chapters for 2004 and it is planned by 2005 that there will be four chapters, one for each district in the Texas Trails Council. The first chapter to choose its name was the Kickapoo and Noreast Districts. They chose the name "The Black Arrow Chapter" in honor of the first camp honor group in the former Comanche Trail Council. Their first activity was held April 2-4, 2004 at Camp Billy Gibbons with some 80 Arrowmen in attendance. It rained on them that Friday but Saturday and Sunday turned out as great days for service projects and fellowship. Their chapter chief is Jared Blair. The former Kotso Lodge chose as its name "Tosa Tasiwoo Chapter" which translates to White Buffalo in the Comanche language. It is phonetically spelled as TOH-sah tah-SEE-woo. Their first big event was hosting the annual Webelos Lock in April 16-17, 2004. Then on April 30 - May 2, they had a Tosa Tasiwoo Chapter Brotherhood Fellowship at Camp Tonkawa. Their first chapter chief is Korey Kennedy. Patches
The totem selected for the new lodge was the Medicine Wheel. A special "Charter Year" patch featuring the Kotso Buffalo, the Otena Indian Head and the Penateka Medicine Wheel was designed and issued to all members who joined the new lodge during the charter year. |
Ordeal Patch |
Brotherhood Patch |
Vigil Patch |
2005 National Jamboree Lodge Patch |
2006 NOAC Lodge Patch |
| New Ordeal, Brotherhood
and Vigil patches, designed by Charlie Moon, were issued. Each registered
Arrowman in the lodge could purchase up to five patches each, depending
on their honor in the lodge. The restriction applied only during
the first six months of 2004. Charlie Moon received the first patch of
each new design in appreciate of the work that he did in designing the
patches. The Scout Executive, Kent Brown, was presented with the
second set of patches. Each newly elected officer received a patch
of his current honor in the lodge.
First Officers of Penateka Lodge First lodge officers, who
served until July 30, 2004 were:
The new officers met and prepared a constitution and by-laws as well as developed a budget and calendar for the new lodge. Each Chapter had selected a name for their chapter other than their former lodge name.
The lodge received a plaque from Section SR-2 as a National Quality Lodge for 2003 and a plaque recognizing Penateka Lodge for 2003 "Best Lodge in Promoting Camping." The two former lodges were combined in determining the awards from the new charter but the recognition was for the Penateka Lodge. Each of the former lodges were also presented with a certificate of appreciation from the National Order of the Arrow for their participation in the "One Day of Service" in 2003. The speaker for the banquet was the Supreme Chief of the Fire Kent Brown. He told the youth and adults that only they could make the lodge great by their leadership, service and hard work. An auction was held at the end of the banquet with over $600 raised to help the new lodge. Items auctioned ranged from Dublin Dr. Pepper to a coffee table with the lodge flap inlaid into the top of the table. There was lots of friendly bidding from the some 60 people who attended the first banquet. The banquet consisted of barbecue with all the trimmings. Founder's Award The Founder's Award was created by the Order of the Arrow to honor and recognize those Arrowmen who have given outstanding service to the Lodge. The bronze medallion bearing the likeness of E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson is reserved for an Arrowman who demonstrates to his fellow Arrowmen that he memorializes in his everyday life the spirit of achievement as described by our founder. At least one award must be to a youth under 21 years of age. The award was first presented
in the Penateka Lodge at the first Banquet on on July 17, 2004 at Camp
Tonkawa.
Vigils
2004 - Christopher Brooks,
Ray Easterling (A), Steve Ellis (A), Alex Huse, Chad Iley, Cole Leatherwood,
Judd Smith and Les Zimmerman
Lodge Chiefs 2004 - Joey Ellis (To July)
Lodge Adviser 2004 - Present - Aivars Jurkis Staff Adviser 2004 - Present - Les Zimmerman Lodge Conducts Scouting for Food Drive In association with United Supermarkets and local food banks, the lodge conducted their second annual good turn - Scouting for Food - on November 20, 2004. The annual food drive is designed to help the local food banks and pantries in the Texas Trails Council territory obtain some extra food for the holidays. The Arrowmen of the lodge organized the food collection and made arrangements with the food banks that warehouse and distribute the food to those in need. Local Packs, Troops. Posts and Crews collected over 26,000 pounds of food. All food collected throughout the area stayed within the community in which it was collected. This is the major service project of the lodge outside of their service to Camp Tonkawa and Camp Billy Gibbons. The drive has been continued each year since the new lodge was formed. For more information about the lodge to go: http://www.texastrailsbsa.org/OA/oa_home_page.htm We want to thank Dr. Roger Schustereit for providing us with the NOAC and Jamboree Lodge patch scans. Last Updated: October
10, 2007
|
The
first official Lodge Banquet was held at Camp Tonkawa on Saturday, July
17, 2004. New officers were elected in the afternoon for a full twelve
months. They are Ben McAnally, Lodge Chief (center), Jared Blair,
Vice Chief of Service & Activities (left); and Chad Iley, Vice Chief
of Chapter Operations (right). Four other positions will be filled
at a later time.
The
Vigil Honor is the highest honor that the Order of the Arrow can bestow
upon its members for service above self to the lodge and local council.
The first person to receive the Vigil Honor in the Order of the Arrow was
its founder E. Urner Goodman, who received this honor in 1915. Date shown
is the year of the induction, not necessary the year of selection.
The first induction was held June 26-27, 2004 at Camp Billy Gibbons. The
second induction was held at Camp Tonkawa October 29-30, 2005. Pictured
at left is Steve Ellis receiving his Vigil Certificate from Ben McAnally,
Lodge Chief, at the July 2004 Lodge Banquet.