Order of the Arrow: then and now

It was a week of recognition for my grandsons, Paul and Miles.

Paul got the spotlight. He both graduated from high school with honors and was awarded his Eagle Scout Badge by the Boy Scouts. He is a conscientious, hardworking, fine young man of whom I am extremely proud. His parents threw a lovely open house for him on Sunday afternoon, the room decorated with memorabilia from Paul's first 18 years and a slideshow of memorable faces the kid has made over the years.

But younger brother Miles also was recognized this weekend. He was inducted into the Boy Scouts*' Order of the Arrow. From the official Boy Scout website:

For over 100 years, the Order of the Arrow (OA) has recognized Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives.  This recognition provides encouragement for others to live these ideals as well.  Arrowmen are known for maintaining camping traditions and spirit, promoting year-round and long term resident camping, and providing cheerful service to others.  OA service, activities, adventures, and training for youth and adults are models of quality leadership development and programming that enrich and help to extend Scouting to America's youth. 

Although only in 7th grade, Miles was recognized by his troop for his leadership and, I like to think, his cheerfulness. In a weekend initiation at a Boy Scout camp near his home, he was expected to maintain a vow of silence and do a service project.

While never achieving the rank of Eagle (only Life), this grandfather was also a member of the Order of the Arrow. In the mid-late 1960s, the award was given during a week-long Boy Scout Camp that was held at a now defunct camp near West Okoboji, Iowa.

On the Thursday of the camp, all Scouts gathered in a large circle around 3 huge bonfires late in the evening. Ceremonies included past OA scouts dressed as Native Americans (wearing war paint, of course) and dancing with garter snakes in their mouths, drums thundering in the night. But at one point, these same scouts began running inside the circle with flaming torches. Once each round, these frightening figures would face an inward facing scout, and with a scream and forceful shove, push the unknowing boy into the arms of other scouts behind him. This is how we learned we had been inducted into the OA.

We were then drug to our tent to gather our sleeping bag and led blindfolded to a remote wooded part of the camp. There we were expected to spend the night alone and find our way back to the dining hall the next morning. On getting back to camp, our breakfast consisted of a raw egg. We did not have the option not to eat it.

During the day, we too were to maintain a vow of silence. We were also to carve an arrow from a shaft of wood which would then later hang in the dining hall along with past years' OA arrows**. If we talked during the day, we had to carve a notch in our arrow and if we cut ourselves, we were to adorn the arrow with a drop of blood. (No, I am not making this up.) I don't remember anything else of the ordeal.

I did not see Miles induction into the Order of the Arrow. I only got to pick him up at camp early Sunday morning. In the past 50 years, I expect the ceremonies have become more culturally sensitive (or maybe not given the images on the camp totem pole) and a good deal safer. Having qualified to be an adult scout leader***, I know the Boy Scouts take the safety of the young men and women in the troops very seriously.

But I sense from both boys' involvement in Scouts that it is still a great deal of both fun along with useful learning and experience. It was for grandpa, anyway.

My paltry collection of merit badges from the late 1960s.

* I like to refer to the Boy Scouts as my favorite para-military youth organization.

** I had heard the arrows from the Okoboji camp were sent to a camp in Nebraska when it closed. I have no idea if this is true or not.

*** I've been lucky enough to accompany the grandsons on a number of Scouting camp outs and trips, including a High Adventure outing to the Boundary Waters in 2015. Planning to do Philmont with Miles in 2020.

Comments

[Kenn Gorman]

My congratulations to your grandsons. I am sure they are proud to have such a great (terrific) grandfather!