S2a S3
PART 1
When I first joined the Lodge in 1973 after my son graduated from
Webelos into Scouts, we had ONE Lodge flap (S2a, and later the S3, the
25th Anniversary flap),
S2a S3
ONE Lodge neckerchief (blue with a gold patch),
an annual Lodge Fellowship & Training Conference (LF&TC) patch,
and no Chapter patches that I knew of. I was in Heidelberg, and my mentor in
Scouting, Wood Badge, and the OA, was Council old-timer, Wally Buote.
We became best friends and remained so until I left Germany in June 1978
(he died a couple of months later). Wally wore a different Black Eagle
Lodge flap on each of his several Scout shirts. They were the only
OTHER Lodge patches I saw except for a W1
on Ed Bishop's vest. Nobody else knew much about other patches, etc., and there was no real interest, I guess because we only had the one patch and N/C, and that's all we knew since most of us only stayed for 2 or 3 years. I was always curious, but except for Wally's patches, and he never mentioned much about early issues, there just wasn't anywhere to turn.
In May 1975, the Three Rivers District Chapter Advisor (we didn't have a separate Chapter name in those days) (and I think it was Captain Dr. Rex Legler [we always called him Doc, not Rex]) was getting ready to rotate back to the US, and subsequently the Lodge Advisor asked me to replace Doc and become the new Chapter Advisor. (The Lodge Advisor was Major Jim Davis.) I accepted. In May 1976, Jim Davis and Wally Buote asked me to become the Lodge Advisor since Jim was going back to the US. I accepted again. In June 1977, I was named to be the one of the two Wood Badge Course Directors for 1978, so I reluctantly gave up my Lodge Advisor role. During these years, I was preoccupied with my various Scouting jobs, so thoughts of early Lodge issues sat on a backburner. In June 1978, it was my turn to return to the States, and Black Eagle Lodge and TAC was now behind me. Or so I thought.
Not long after I got back to Columbia, MD, I went to a Traderee, and was able to buy a couple of Black Eagle Lodge patches that I hadn't seen before. I added them to my small collection of items issued during my six years in Heidelberg. WOW. I had assembled more Black Eagle patches than anybody I knew (at the time), and now I wondered what other ones had been produced. A couple more Traderees, a few more old Lodge alumni located, and soon I had a real collection of Black Eagle stuff. Now it was time to document it, in order to fill in the blanks. I became reacquainted with Dr. Hal Yocum who also had a sizable collection, and also met Bob Cylkowski who specialized in Far East and Transatlantic Councils. Trades and purchases from them and other dealers built my collection up even more. I started Xeroxing what I had, and asked others to send a copy of what they had which wasn't depicted in my growing monograph. The PROJECT was now getting somewhere.
By now, Walt Steffen was in the TAC office, having been promoted from District Executive (for North Star and Berlin, I think). Each year I'd send a few bucks to him, and he'd send me the latest patches, and usually answered my queries as to how many were produced. As far as getting information about earlier issues, there was no help from the TAC office since a file-clearing operation had destroyed nearly all historical records. I was now about the only record that remained. As I discovered TAC alumni over the years, an occasional patch that I had not seen before came to light, and I slowly built a fairly good record of all Lodge and Chapter issues.
Over the years, I have, and STILL DO, rely upon a lot of very helpful Scouts and Scouters, some still in Europe, and others scattered around the country.
I started to assign arbitrary numbers to patches as I discovered them. They were then added to the monograph as discovered, and usually wherever they fit on a page. This now served as a pretty good reference to those serious collectors (and I provided a copy to the TAC office, although I don't know if it was ever available to anyone). Arapaho I had been published several years earlier, so I assigned numbers to new flaps as best I could, to continue the sequence of the earlier numbers. Then Arapaho II came out a couple of years ago, with a 1996 supplement, and my flap numbers now were not those used by the rest of the collecting community. So early in 1997 I redesignated my flap numbers to coincide with Arapaho II. Since then as new flaps are issued, I again try to continue the Arapaho sequence. The numbering system on the Chapter issues, as well as the miscellaneous Lodge and Chapter activity issues has not been changed, and may never be, in order not to confuse collectors. As new (or old) issues are reported, they will be assigned the next sequential number.
Also in 1997 I reorganized the monograph itself in order to picture the issues from one chapter all together. The monograph is now a good representation of the total Black Eagle issues, unless, of course, a new old patch is discovered that I never knew about. And, I really do expect that to happen about once or twice a year for the next few years. And, YOU can help. If you know of an issue that is not depicted in my monograph, let me know, with a good clean copy of it, with colors, size, and date and quantity issued (if known). AND, I'd like to add to my collection via a trade or purchase.
The monograph itself currently consists of 44 pages. Now, you ask, how many patches, neckerchiefs, pins, etc. were issued. That's Part 2 of the history.
PART 2
In Part 1, I related the story of how I assembled my Black Eagle collection and came to document it in a 44 page monograph. Here I'm attempting to tell what is known about the early Lodge patches, R1, R2, F1 and F2. Unfortunately, this early history is difficult to unravel since the early participants have either "gone home" or are scattered and no one knows who or where they are today.
To set the scene, I wish to acknowledge and thank Dave Hulteen, present Lodge Advisor (Now past advisor), and Dan Coberly, a long-time and frequent member of the Lodge, for their research into the history of the Lodge gleaned from National records, Scout Executive magazine, personal recollections, and other sources. I was a relatively late-comer in the lodge, but over the years, I have accumulated a few notes from a variety of folks who have shared their knowledge with me.
From Dan: Evidently there was an unofficial "Direct Service Lodge" formed in the 1940's, under BSA Wartime Criteria. The official BSA term for such a Council and Lodge was "Extra Regional". In 1948, Military High Commissioners invited Scouting to set up a program in Europe (and Asia) under the Displaced Persons Program of BSA. In 1951, when that program was expanded to include US military and civilian personnel and their dependents in the area, it became known as the EUCOM (the US Army's European Command) BSA (or Scouting) Advisory Council. It was assigned Council #802, a number that had previously been held by the Peking, China Council, and later the Co-Ordinating Committee of the BSA, Philippines.
Walt Queen (a dealer and collector in Texas) reports that the early professional Scouters assigned to the Council wore a Direct Service flap: White twill background, Red number 555, WWW, and arrow. I personally have never seen one of these, but I'm sure some of the readers have. If anyone has one of these, I'd sure like to add it to my collection.
The Lodge was chartered on September 25, 1952 as the Bald Eagle Lodge
#482, evidently in deference to the American Bald Eagle. Lodge flaps
were only beginning to come into being, so, as was common in those days,
a round patch was selected for issue in 1952 (R1),
and again in 1953 (R2).
The Council issued nearly identical patches as dated Scout Camp patches in 1952 (like the R1), and in 1953 and 1954 (like the R2). All 5 patches were fully embroidered with a likeness of a bald eagle in its center, even though the two Lodge patches stated "Black Eagle" around the top half. The R1 patch is a "silvery-blue", while the R2 is pale blue. The quantities of any of the 5 patches produced are unknown.
Sometime in 1954, the EUCOM Scouting Advisory Council became the
Transatlantic Council. Also by now, flap patches were fast becoming the
norm for OA Lodge identification, replacing the rounds and other shapes
that had been used for decades, but I suppose the supply of R2 patches
was sufficient to carry the Lodge along until sometime prior to July
1956, when F1 (for Flap #1)
made it's first appearance. The first Lodge
Chief, Charles Ackenbaum, designed both F1 and its successor F2.
Even though the common name of Black Eagle was being used, the Lodge again chose a representation of the Bald Eagle (although scrawny and with a rather unusual mixture of white and black coloration). The patch is an orange twill background, and again contains the words Black Eagle. F2 was introduced at the Lodge Conclave during 27-29 Dec 56, but wasn't actually available for sale until the summer of 1957.
After the F1 patches were received, Lodge personnel recognized that they had erred and had omitted "WWW" from the design. Hal Yokum reports that they immediately reordered to get the "WWW" on the flap. In any case, F2 was received with the "WWW", but again the quantities ordered for each version were probably sufficient to hold the Lodge for several months or even a year or more, hence the usual dates associated with the F2 are 1957-1959. Quantities produced remain unknown.
By the summer of 1957, the next flap (W1)
was already in its early design phase, but for the time being, was not favorably considered. Apparently in either 1959 or 1960, the W1 flap was approved and issues.
There are other interesting stories about the early days of the Council and the Lodge, but I will leave them to others to publish when the Lodge history is written.
PART 3
In Part 2, I covered the first round Lodge patch, and the first three flaps, bringing us to about the end of the 1950's. Over the next couple of years, apparently the Lodge went inactive, although some Chapters may have had some activity. Luther (Luke) Rogers states that when he arrived in 1962, it was inactive. In 1963, Luke, Wally Buote, and a few others revived the Lodge. Most activity of any sort still seemed to be centered in those Chapters that were still functioning. Bill Evans from DC also states that it was generally inactive about then. The next several years are quite cloudy. It's tough to find anyone today with any knowledge of the first half of the 60's.
Unfortunately, this early history is difficult to unravel since the
early participants have either "gone home" or are scattered and no one
knows who or where they are today. Records are non-existent. We do
know that by 1960, the first of three woven flaps, the white W1,
made
its appearance. Arapaho I and II, and the Blue Book of Lodge issues
show that the next flap was F3,
another standard twill flap. There are
three versions of this flap: the original F3 came in a dark yellow
twill with a 1mm wide arrow shaft. Probably it was reordered, and it
came in a much brighter yellow twill, with a 2mm diameter arrow shaft. )
It also came in two varieties, most likely caused by errors in the loom
run, one version having no eye, and the other with the yellow twill
showing in the eye socket. Another woven, W2,)
came along right after that, probably as soon as the F3's were sold out.
Of these two wovens, the white W1 has been fairly easy to find, so there must have been a sizable quantity ordered. In contrast, the W2 is much more difficult to find, hence probably were in fewer numbers. Similarly, the dark yellow F3 is scarce, while the regular yellow F3 with the twill eye is readily available. The version without the eye is scarce. The dates of issue of all except the W1 are really up in the air. Hopefully an OAA member with a terrific memory or old box of records will come forward and enlighten all of us.
In 1964, Namassakett Chapter in England issued the first known Chapter Activity patch (Pow Wow) in commemoration of the first 10 years of the Chapter's life.
In 1965, the Lodge held a Conclave in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the OA, and issued an orange twill patch. To my knowledge, this was the first Lodge conference, and first Lodge Activity patch.
Another Lodge Conclave was held in 1966,)
at Augsburg, and a red twill patch with green embroidery was issued. During the summer of 1967, 200 arrowmen and a handful of advisors traveled to Camp Mohawk in England for the next Lodge Conclave. A fully embroidered patch picturing an Indian dancer was issued.BR>
I mentioned early in this article that the Lodge had been inactive for a period in the early 60's. Roger-Lee-Tiffany states that sometime in the 60's, there apparently was a period where there were no youth members registered in the Lodge. National suspended the Lodge Charter. (Most of the troops were being sent to Vietnam at the time, so there were probably drawdowns in Europe and few replacements were arriving.) General Lyman Lemnitzer was a strong supporter of Scouting, and was upset over this turn of events. He directed that efforts be taken to get youth members. The result was that approval for the Lodge to be reinstated came at the Council Executive Committee in Garmisch on 31 Oct 1964. Mr. Robert Rusby, the Council Executive appointed temporary Lodge Officers and an Advisor by January 1965. During this period of suspension, most likely the Chapters continued to function with no knowledge of it.
Roger states that at this time, there was no flap currently being
issued,. About Mar 1965, the first official Lodge N/C was designed and
soon produced. The N/C was orange with no piping, because of the
availability of orange cloth, and possibly because it came closest to
being a gold color representing the 50th anniversary of the OA in 1965. ,)
The patch was already available, so it was just sewed on. That year the
first Lodge Conclave was held at Dramstadt, to also commemorate the 50th
anniversary. Things get misty again, until the 1968 Lodge Conclave
held at Garmisch,
< and a white twill patch (which became F4),)
was issued
in early 1969. Dan Coberly attended a Camporee (probably the Winter
1968, or early 1969) and reports that he saw adults wearing the W1, the
F4, and possibly a yellow flap (still trying to verify the yellow one).
There are conflicting views of which was the next Lodge N/C. Bob Nett,
who was the Lodge Chief at the time reports that there were one or two
which came before what is generally believed to be the next one: a large
1/4 circle embroidered patch sewed on black material with red piping
(Bob designed it). ,)
This is the largest patch the Lodge ever produced, and to many, the most beautiful. The exact sequence remains to be determined when more old-timers, with memories, are located.
Roger reports that he has one of what reportedly is the first Lodge N/C produced. It is square, with half of it being blue, and the other half red. It was developed so that it could be worn with the blue side showing for troop activities, and with the red side showing for OA activities. No other verification of this.
Also, according to the Arapaho and Blue Books, W2 and W3 didn't come
right in sequence, but had F4 and S1 in between. Any comments by
anyone?
W2 W3
F4 S1
PART 4
In Part 3, I covered the Lodge flaps and neckerchiefs issued in the 60's. We now come to the era of the fully embroidered flaps. (Note: the most recent version of the Blue Book of Lodge Issues is used to identify all patches, etc.)
The first fully embroidered flap was S1, in white.
It was probably
issued about 1970, as soon as supplies of the F4 white twill ran out.
Dr. Rex Legler arrived in TAC in Dec 1971 and reports that about half of
the active members were wearing the S1. The other half were wearing the
new yellow S2, and this is what he was issued.
I arrived in Germany in
Jun 1972, but didn't get into Boy Scouts until a year later (was still
in Webelos). By then, the only flap I can recall seeing is the S2. At
the time, all we knew was one version. Since then, the collecting world
has begun to look at each patch for minor variations in lettering,
coloring, and stitching. So, we now have an S2a with "thin" letters
and
where the peak of the eagle head feathers touches the letter "L" in the
word EAGLE above the head. Similarly, S2b has "thicker" letters, and
the peak of the eagle head feathers do NOT touch the letters above it.
The variations most likely resulted from a reorder as the supply of the first order ran out. Which variety was first? We'll probably never know.
In 1976, the 25th anniversary of the Lodge was approaching (1977), and
it was decided that a special flap was needed. A blind contest was
held, with only a few entries. As it turned out, I was the ultimate
designer. Based on the large size of the Lodge at the time, and the
fact that it was a special 25th Flap,
I suspect that about 1000 were ordered. During the period of it's issuance, there were no other flaps available in Council stock.
In 1977 - 1978, there were a few boy members of the Lodge Executive Board who wanted to replace the Germanic-style eagle on the flap with an American Bald Eagle. They had a design and were ready to submit it to the Chief of the Fire (Council Executive). I was now the former Lodge Advisor, but I knew he would never approve the discarding of 26 years of tradition, so I recommended they have a backup design, just in case he turned them down. He did, and they didn't, so when the 25th Flap ran out, a reorder was placed for the S2 flap. This flap was in use up to about 1980. Apparently the failed flap design had been sent to Howard Ang in Taiwan to have a prototype made. As far as I know, there were only 2 patches made. Howard is a personal friend, and he gave me the one he had kept as his reference copy.
When Rex arrived in Dec 71, he was also issued the white N1 silkscreened
neckerchief.
By Jun 1972, at the LF&TC, half of the attendees wore the
P1 embroidered N/C and half the N1. (Incidently, there is an N1a with
25mm high "482" and 14mm high "WWW", and an N1b with 19mm high "482" and
9mm high "WWW".) Apparently few folks liked the silkscreened N/C which
had been ordered as a cost saving device, so a yellow fully embroidered
patch on a dark blue N/C were ordered as replacements. By the time I
got active in 1973, the only neckerchief being worn was a dark blue one.
It could have been either the X3
or X4,
but at the time, I wasn't that concerned. The X3 had one problem: after its arrival, probably about 1972, it was found that WOAPALANE had been misspelled: the second "A" had been left out. The X4 was ordered to correct the misspelling, again probably in late 1972 or early 1973. When the order of 50 arrived, WOAPALANE was spelled correctly, but the patch was on a turquoise N/C. These were never issued to the open membership, but were held back by Bob Goepfert, the Professional Staff Advisor. They were made available only to Lodge and Chapter Officers and Advisors. The correct N/C arrived soon after. And, since everyone now looks for variations, we have the X4a with "thick" letters, X4b with "thin" letters, and X4c with the turquoise N/C. I don't recall seeing the X4c turquoise version being worn.The X4 dark blue N/C was used up to 1978, and even after.
Now we jump to the 1978 time-frame, with the same group of boys on the
Lodge Executive Board, who, along with a couple of adult members,
decided on a new Lodge N/C. It was a variation of the failed flap, with
a design embroidered directly onto a blue N/C, and is listed as N3.
The
design consists of 3 mountains representing the US on the left, and
Europe in the center and the right. An American-style eagle and the
typical Black Eagle were depicted, along with an Indian head above the
peaks. The design included 3 rivers which represented Three Rivers
District, where several members of the Lodge Executive Board were
stationed. The animals depicted on the field were antelopes and
buffaloes, including a white buffalo. These animals represented the
Wood Badge patrols of several of the adult members of the Lodge
Executive Board. I don't think all of this was picked up by the Lodge
membership at the initial issue at the June, 1978 LF&TC at Camp Dahn,),
but as time passed, it soon became evident to many. When the initial stock of 500 of this N/C ran out, the X4 N/C was reordered, and was used at least until until 1982, and probably 1985.
PART 5
In Part 4, I covered the Lodge flaps and neckerchiefs issued in the 70's. The 80's were a period when several chapters went all out in the issuance of Chapter items, and the Lodge got carried along in the exuberance of the Lodge Officers. (Note: the most recent version of the Blue Book of Lodge Issues is used to identify all patches, etc.)
The first Lodge issue of the 80's was the F5 flap in 1980.
This flap
was the first significant departure from the tradition flap design since
about 1958 or 1959 with the F2. This flap was intended to be a "service
or trading" flap, while the S2 versions were still being used as the
"official Lodge flap". This flap was produced with 6 white stripes in
the shield. When the supply was exhausted, a couple of years later, it
was reordered, but it came somewhat changed from the original. This new
flap, F6,
came with a more blue and larger arch than in the F5, along with 7 white stripes.
By now the supply of the yellow S2 flaps was gone, as well as the S3
25th anniversary flap, so a new order was placed, probably about 1980 or
81. And although it was to be like the S2, the S4
arrived with more
space between the head of the eagle and the top line of print, the head
was very skinny, there were no periods after the letters BSA, and the
shield was much smaller than the original, and with only 3 white stripes
instead of 6 or 7. Apparently the order quantity of the S4 was
relatively small, as a new order was placed and received in 1982, and
either this new order was produced in at least 2 loom runs, or a small
order was shortly followed by another order. Most probably, it was a
single large order utilizing more than one loom. In any case, the
result was S6a,
a small shield with 3 white stripes on an eagle WITHOUT
a tail, no periods in BSA, and a 98mm long "Black Eagle Lodge". The
other version, S6b, came with all lettering about twice as thick as in
S6a, again with 3 white stripes, no tail, one period (after the B in
BSA) and a 100mm long "Black Eagle Lodge". S6b was also 2mm longer than
the S6a.
1986 was the 35th Anniversary of the Lodge, and a new orange flap was
issued, S5, to commemorate the event.
For some unexplained reason, the small shield with only 3 white stripes, no periods in BSA, a skinny head, and no tail was continued. This is the first year that we have a known issue quantity for a Lodge flap, in this case 200, which is why it's a reasonably scarce flap. The story is that the Lodge Chief wouldn't reorder any more, maybe to increase its scarcity, or to informally restrict them to those Arrowmen in the Lodge during the 35th year.
In 1988, the F7 flap came upon the scene,
the first all-twill patch since the F4 from about 1969 or 1970. Although the tail reappeared, and the shield nearly doubled in size, it contained only 3 red and 2 white stripes. Also making its first appearance was a black fleur-de-lis. Reportedly, a two year supply of 1000 flaps were ordered, which carried this flap into the 90's. However, Dan Coberly feels that only 400-500 were produced, and he once owned about 200 of them.
In 1985, the Lodge Officers felt it was desirable to have a series of patches to recognize the brothers who had been giving cheerful service at various Lodge and Chapter events. The result was a set of 8 - 77mm diameter patches, all of red twill with silver letters and border. Four were lettered as "Black Eagle Lodge", and 4 were lettered as "Sukeu Woapalanne". There were one of each design for the "1st Aid Team", "Cook Crew", "Ordeal Team", and "Brotherhood Team". Similarly, in the fall of 1988, the Lodge decided to honor the Lodge Elangomats with a special patch. This was a 78mm diameter white twill with red letters and black border. The Crew and Team patches must have proved popular, and they reordered the "Black Eagle Lodge" version in 1989. The new 77mm patches were similar, red twill with silver lettering and border. However, the "Cook Crew" was replaced with "Cook Team" and pictured a black cooking pot instead of the silver chef's hat, knife fork and spoon of the earlier version. The new "Ordeal Team" and "Brotherhood Team" versions had the same war bonnets, but they were now outlined with very thick black lines. The lettering was slightly smaller and definitely thinner on the new versions. I assume there was also a new "1st Aid Team" version, but I have not identified one yet. There is a third version of the "Ordeal Team" patch, with some slight differences in the bonnet. It is logical that the Ordeal Team would need the most patches, and is possibly the reason for the third variety.
In 1979 or 1980, the blue neckerchiefs with the X4 patch were reordered,
and possibly at least once more after that, hence the thin/thick letter
varieties. Finally, as supplies of the X4 patch version of the N/Cs
were drawn down again, in 1985 a new X5a patch on a light blue N/C was
ordered.
The 137mm square light orange twill patch featured a very nice representation of the old-style eagle. The patch itself has nearly square corners. It proved popular, and 1987 saw the reorder of the patch and N/C. This version of the patch, X5b, came in a 130mm square darker orange twill with very rounded corners, on a pale, lighter blue N/C than before. Possibly due to costs, when supplies ran low in 1988, a new silk-screened of the X5 patch was applied to a dark orange N/C with black piping. What is surprising about this N/C is that it seems to be a fairly scarce item.
PART 6
Although Part 5 covered the Lodge flaps, neckerchiefs, and a few other miscellaneous Lodge patches from the 80's, there is a small bit of history from Chris Kimball that I recently discovered in my files.
In 1988, some members of the Lodge wanted a new Lodge flap. The Lodge
Executive Board approved a much changed new design by Dave Ginsburg (it
is the Blue Book S8 flap,
which is also known as ZS1). When presented to the Council Executive, it was disapproved. Walt Steffen (Staff Advisor) then told Karl Kleusch (an assistant) to reorder a few hundred patches (initially it was to be 1000, but he reduced the order to about 400-500) as an interim measure until a new flap was designed, and approved. However, he failed to specify "fully embroidered", and the resulting reordered flap (F7) came in twill as mentioned in my previous article. Now, apparently Dave Ginsburg or someone else went ahead with his design anyway, and 40 of the proposed design were produced. I always considered this a "private issue", but it erroneously was provided (not by me) to the Blue Book (first edition) editors as a Lodge issue. Now you know.
Now for the Berlin Wall flaps. Early in 1989, Chris Kimball was asked
by friends in the States whether the Lodge was going to have a 75th
anniversary (of the Order) or a NOAC flap. Designs that had been
submitted for them in 1988 had now disappeared. There was no big desire
by the brothers for either, and the Council Exec and the Staff OA
Advisor were against any new flap anyway. Time was ticking away before
the NOAC. Now Chris had been asked by a friend whether the Lodge would
have a flap commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall.
He thought it was a good idea, so he designed and had 200 made. He sold out within a month (It was also popular among the Germans.), so he ordered 200 more to get them prior to the NOAC. They proved popular there, so he ordered one last loom run of 200. They were created to be a light hearted patch, and have never been given official sanction. Another "private issue." Now you know, again.
As 1990 came along, enthusiasm grew for some sort of 75th OA Anniversary
patch. The Lodge Executive Board voted to have one large backpatch (J2)
for the anniversary.
Only 500 were made, so they are a very desirable patch today.
When the F7 flap sold out, the same design was reordered, but this time
as a fully embroidered version (S7), sometime in 1990.
As stocks of this flap grew low, it was reordered again. Upon close examination of these S7's, some have noticeably thinner lettering. I don't know which version was the original order in 1990, but the Blue Book now recognizes them as S7a with standard lettering, and S7b as the version with thin lettering.
1990 also saw the birth of a new 40th Lodge Anniversary flap (S9).
Exactly why it was ordered and released in 1990, since the Lodge was
chartered in 1952, is unknown. Probably they were ordered in late 1990,
and they were planned to be on sale until exhausted, presumably in
1992. And, with 1000 of them, they may have lasted that long too, since
another regular flap (S10) was ordered and went on sale that year also.
This was to be the same design as the F7 and S7's. However, as in almost all patch orders, differences arose. The S7's had a 93mm long "Black Eagle Lodge", while this S10 had the name in 88mm. Lettering was thicker, and the yellow background is stitched diagonally. In 1991, with the drawdown of US forces in Europe, Lodge membership dropped from about 1200 to 300. And this was BEFORE the Gulf War.
In 1994, a new version (F8) of the F5 and F6 was ordered.
For some
reason, only 100 were ordered. They arrived with 8 red stripes in the
shield instead of the 6 in the previous versions. And, since the 40th
Anniversary patch was in use early, 1995 saw the introduction of a new
45th Lodge Anniversary flap, also 2 years early.
Only 400 were ordered,
and inevitably they ran short, so in 1996 another 400 were ordered. To
show the difference, they border color was changed. The first order
(S11) has a red border, while the reorder (S12) has a yellow border.
This also marked the first major departure from the conventional "German-style" eagle on a Lodge flap, a move that has been controversial ever since.
The first NOAC flap (S13) was introduced in 1996.
This also marked the first use of mylar threads (gold) on a Lodge flap. The flap was 64 x 135mm, considerably larger than all previous flaps. An original order, probably of about 200 was supplemented with an additional order of 200. The small difference between the two orders consists of the main design on one, lets call it S13a, is farther from the bottom border than the other, lets call it S13b. In the S13a, the distance from the bottom of the "2" in "482" to the bottom border is about 3.5mm, whereas for the S13b, it is 5mm. The same is true from the bottom of the FDL to the border, which is about 1.5mm and 3mm respectively.
1997 ushered in the age of computer designed patches. An attempt was
made to get back to the conventional black eagle of the past, but it
didn't come very close. This S14 was also larger than usual (62 x
128mm).
Lots of folks didn't care for this one either, and when sold
out, it's design life was ended. Also in 1997, a Service flap was
introduced (S15),
using gold mylar on the border and FDL. Surprisingly,
it has not been a popular flap either. The Lodge Chief in 1997 felt
that he needed a way to recognize those brothers who had performed
exceptional service to the Lodge. A new, limited edition of 100 Lodge
Chief flaps (S16) were produced featuring an eagle in flight.
As of this writing, only about half of them have been awarded to our brothers. Also in 1997, a larger version (89 x 177mm) (J4) of this flap was produced, and has been sold primarily as a Lodge fundraiser.
With
the coming of the 1998 NOAC, a special flap was produced with a bald
eagle in flight toward the US depicted.
A reorder of the S10 flap to follow the exhaustion of the supply of the S14 flap in 1998 brought us back to the traditional black eagle . The original S10a had a black FDL which just touched the bottom black border of the patch. The reordered S10b has a black FDL with an obvious 1mm gap between it and the border.
The Lodge, in 1995, felt there was a need for an official Lodge backpatch, so 200 of a 150mm diameter patch (J3) with silver mylar border was introduced.
It has proven to be popular, and was reordered in 1998 , with a gold mylar border (J5).
In the summer of 1997, as Camp Freedom Director, Jack Gaylord had 200 special patches (X7) made to be awarded to brothers who had performed cheerful service to the Camp.
In 1998, he reordered the patches (X8), with the only difference being a 98 embroidered on the silver FDL.
Only one new Lodge N/C was produced in the 90's (so far). In 1993, a light blue N/C with the same design of the N2 embroidered directly on the N/C was produced. It has been reordered since then, and is currently in use today.
Without a doubt there will be a few new Lodge issues in the next year or so. They'll be covered in a later issue of DWT. But for now, this ends the history of the Lodge flaps, Lodge patches, and Lodge N/Cs. If anyone has additional information, or a correction of my history in these first 6 parts, PLEASE contact me.
Parts 1 thru 6 have been published in the the Deep Water Traveler, the publication of the Overseas Arrowman Association. In the Fall 1999, issue, I'll begin to cover the history of the various Lodge activity patches. If you were in the Lodge in the 50's or 60's contact me at 410-997-0563; email: kenwdbdg@erols.com; or 6409 Cardinal Lane, Columbia, MD 21044.
*1 Corrections and/or comments from traders are encouraged. Enjoy the visit! Website maintained by Matt Kirkland.
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