CHICKAMAUGA LODGE 293

On December 20, 1939, the Chattanooga Area Council adopted the following resolution:

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RESOLVED: That the Chattanooga Area Council approve application for installation of a local chapter of The Order of The Arrow.

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At the time, there were more than 10,000 members nationwide in 110 active lodges.  Five years later, the delay perhaps due to World War II, the Cherokee Area Council requested a formal application to start a Lodge.  The National Chief, H. Lloyd Nelson, sent Scout Executive Charles Peacock the following letter on July 13, 1944:

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Dear Mr. Peacock:

Through Mr. John C. Norsk, our National Secretary, I learn of your interest in the formation of a Lodge of the Order of the Arrow, and am pleased to enclose herewith two copies of a yellow form of "Application for the Institution of a Lodge of the Order of the Arrow"—one copy for your records, the original to be sent to me along with check in the amount of $10.00 payable to the National Lodge Order of the Arrow, in accordance with the paragraph at the top of Page 4 of the Application.

Also enclosed are one copy each of the National Constitution and By-Laws and the Local Lodge Manual, these being printed booklets; one copy of a printed Summary for Regional Executives and Deputies which outlines the organization and program in a very brief way; and one copy of each of the last two issues of the National Lodge Bulletin which is mailed on an irregular schedule to all Lodges.

Before a Council may start a new Lodge in the Order of the Arrow, it is necessary to have a formal Resolution passed by the Executive Board of the Council and copied into the attached Application form; and the Application is subject to approval both of the National council B. S. A. and of the National Lodge.

If, after going over the enclosures, any additional questions remain unanswered in your mind, please write me and I will try to secure the answers for
you.

Cordially yours,
H. Lloyd Nelson
National Chief.

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The following year, on April 6, 1945, H. Lloyd Nelson sent an almost identical letter again to Chattanooga, this time directing it to the attention of both Charles Peacock, Scout Executive, and D.F. Hinannt, Field Scout Executive, and beginning the letter as follows:

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I have been advised by the Senior Scouting Service at the Home Office in New York, under date of April 5th, that Mr. Hinnant has requested information concerning the Order of the Arrow, and I am glad to comply.

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The Cherokee Area Council submitted the application in 1945.  The Lodge name they selected  was "Chickamauga Lodge," and the totem was "Beaver."  Cliff W. Bowers was chosen as Lodge  Chief.  On May 1, 1945, Chickamauga Lodge’s application was approved by the National  Council, and approved by the National Lodge on May 2, 1945. The National Lodge assigned the  number "293" to Chickamauga.

The 1945 Camp Tso-Le-Tsu-Ke brochure announced that "the Cherokee Council has just completed the organization of a lodge of the Order of the Arrow, the Camp Honor Society.  Several scouts will be nominated for membership each week on the basis of their performance as a good camper."  This was the beginnings of the "Chickamauga Lodge 293" which conducted an induction but never became active in the Cherokee Area Council.  It wasn’t until 1957 that the Council formed "Talidandaganu’ Lodge 293" that is still active today.

 

In either 1945 or 1946, a group from Wa-Hi-Nasa Lodge in Nashville traveled to Chattanooga for the first Order of the Arrow induction ceremony.  Chattanooga was not receptive to the group that, according to one member present, "came in with a vengeance," and with a bad attitude.  Soon after starting Chickamauga Lodge, the Council voted to dismantle it.
 

No known patches or other insignia are known to exist from this early lodge.