History

Amangamek-Wipit Lodge was granted its first Charter on March 12, 1952. The Lodge was originally chartered without a name or totem. In the fall of 1952, the Lodge co-founders, Jack A. Obermeyer (first Lodge Adviser) and Ralph Lutz, and other former OA members residing in the area, visited the various Troops in the Council to conduct elections. That fall, three separate Ordeals were held by Nentico, Blue Heron, and Nawakwa Lodges. By the time of the first Lodge Banquet on December 29, 1952, the lodge had 89 charter members (77 from the Ordeals and 12 from transfers). At the banquet, the first Lodge Chief, Robert L. Zink, was elected.

In June 1953, the Lodge conducted its first Ordeal on its own. The Lodge name and totem were also adopted at this meeting. The totem selected was an arrow and the Washington monument superimposed on a shark's tooth. The monument stood vertically in the center of the tooth and the arrow bisected the monument at an angle pointing upward to the left. The shark's tooth was chosen for the Lodge name and the principal object in the totem because of the large number of sharks' teeth that were found along the Chesapeake shores of Camp Roosevelt, which served as the early home for the Lodge. The Indian version of the Lodge name, "Amanquemack," was obtained in a telephone conversation with a Delaware Indian language expert at the Smithsonian Institution. There was no word for 'shark' in the language, only 'large fish'; the 'tooth' part was assumed. The first Lodge patch appeared in October 1953.

On March 27, 1954, Nentico Lodge provided the first Brotherhood Ceremony for the Lodge at Camp Broad Creek. The Lodge held its first Brotherhood Ceremony on its own later that August. The Lodge's first Vigil, Ralph P. Lutz, was inducted at the 1954 Area III-C Pow Wow held at Camp Rock Enon in May.

Sometime in November or December 1955, additional research was done on the lodge name. It was discovered that the word "Amanquemack" did not exist in the Delaware language and the name had been written down incorrectly in the original telephone conversation with the Smithsonian. The correct word for 'large fish' was "Amangamek" and the word for 'tooth' was "Wipit." The new lodge "Amangamek-Wipit," name first appeared in early 1956; it was probably adopted at the December 1955 Lodge Banquet.

The lodge was a charter member of old Area III-C and hosted the Area III-C Pow Wow in 1956 at Camp Roosevelt and in 1965 at Camp Wilson. In 1973, the Lodge was included in the area realignment and became an active member of Section SE-1. The lodge hosted the 1976 SE-1 Indian Seminar at Ft. Belvoir, VA, and the 1980 SE-1 Conclave at Camp Happyland, VA.

In January 1982, Amangamek-Wipit was among the five northern lodges split off to form Section SE-9. Later in May, these five lodges were transferred to the Northeast Region to form the new Section NE-6. In June 1988 three Pennsylvania Lodges joined NE-6; in June 1994 the section was re-named NE-4C. In July of 2008 the Northeast Region was realigned with 12 sections in seven areas. Amangamek-Wipit was joined with the three other lodges situated south of the Mason-Dixon Line to become NE-6A. The lodge hosted section conclaves in 1985 at Camp Happyland, VA and in 1991 at Prince William National Forest, VA, for NE-6; and in 1996 at Camp Rock Enon, VA, and in 2003 at Goshen Scout Reservation, Goshen, VA, for NE-4C. In May 2009, Amangamek-Wipit will host the first section conclave for the new NE-6A at Camp William B. Snyder. The 2013 section conclave will be held at Camp William B. Snyder.

Since formation, Amangamek-Wipit Lodge has produced one national vice chief, two region chiefs; two area chiefs and five vice chiefs; eleven section chiefs, six vice chiefs, eight secretaries, and one section adviser; two region OA Chairmen; six national OA Committeemen; one National OA Bulletin Editor; and nineteen Distinguished Service Award, 85 Founder's Award, and 1,728 Vigil Honor recipients. The lodge has been recognized with three E. Urner Goodman National Camping Awards. In recent years, the lodge has consistently been the first or second largest lodge in the Order and has often achieved National Quality Lodge status.

Amangamek-Wipit Lodge Chiefs, Lodge Advisers, and Lodge Staff Advisers

Area Officers/Section Officers & Advisers from Amangamek-Wipit

Note -- Areas were the precursors to Sections, Section came into existence in 1972. Section and Region reorganizations were done in 1972, twice in 1982, in 1984, and in 2008. 

National Officers from Amangamek-Wipit

National Order of the Arrow Committee Members from Amangamek-Wipit

Distinguished Service Award Recipients from Amangamek-Wipit

Amangamek-Wipit Founder's Award Recipients

Amangamek-Wipit Servant Leadership Award Recipients

Last updated 01/08/2013