For more than a century, 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.

The Purpose of the Order is:

• To recognize those campers — Scouts and Scouters — who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives and by such manner as to warrant recognition.
• To develop and maintain camping traditions and spirit.
• To promote Scout camping, which reaches its greatest effectiveness as a part of the unit’s camping program, both year-round and in the summer camp, as directed by the camping committee of the council.
• To crystallize the Scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others.

Woapalanne Lodge 43 of the Order of the Arrow was chartered Jan. 1, 2001 and serves the Patriots’ Path Council #358, and its camps – mainly Mt. Allamuchy Scout Reservation and Winnebago Scout Reservation.

Lodge Goals

1. To be a strong presence in the Patriots’ Path Council by carrying out the mission and purpose of the Lodge in providing cheerful service to the council, its districts, units and individual members.
2. To provide opportunities for all Arrowmen to get involved with their lodge in any capacity in which they feel comfortable.
3. To conduct three Fellowship weekends for the purposes of inducting brothers, giving eligible brothers a chance to seal their Brotherhood, and gathering Arrowmen in the spirit of fellowship and service.
4. To provide service to the Patriots’ Path Council Camps and promote these camps to units within the council.
5. To develop a successful unit election system.
6. To strive for a Brotherhood conversion rate of 30% of the eligible ordeal members in the lodge.
7. To utilize and promote the OA Troop Representative program.
8. To publish an informative newsletter at least four times during the year and send it to all members of the Lodge.
9. To develop and maintain high caliber ceremonies and dance team(s).
10. To make a substantial monitory contribution to the council and/or the council endowment fund if the Lodge budget allows.
11. To send a contingent to the section conclave and promote other sectional, regional and national Order of the Arrow programs.
12. To provide leadership training to Arrowmen in key leadership roles within the lodge through a Lodge Leadership Development Course and an opportunity to attend a National Leadership Seminar.
13. To have a strong presence at the Patriots’ Path Council Camps during their summer camp programs through an involved and beneficial “OA at Summer Camp Program.”
14. To set standards and practices that will guide Woapalanne in the years to come.
15. To be recognized as a Journey to Excellence Bronze level by the National Committee through the successful completion of the above goals.

 

Troop Representative

The Order of the Arrow troop representatives act as the youth liaison between Woapalanne Lodge #43 and their troops. This is a youth leadership position that counts for the Star, Life, and Eagle requirement. The OA Troop Representative duties are as follows:

• Serve as a communication link between the lodge and the troop
• Encourage Scouts to actively participate in community service projects.
• Promote and record Service to America in the troop.
• Run or assist with leadership training in the troop
• Encourage Arrowmen to actively participate in the lodge functions and seal their membership in the OA by becoming a Brotherhood Member.

The representative should be an older Scout that younger Scouts look up to and be someone who lives by the scout Oath, Law and OA Obligation. To apply, use Troop Representative Form. Questions can be sent to Raleigh- Vice Chief of Administration or the Brandon- Lodge Chief.

Lodge History

In 1999, the Boy Scouts of America oversaw a number of council mergers. In 2000, the Morris-Sussex Area Council (based in Denville, NJ) and the Watchung Area Council (based in Mountainside, N.J.) underwent such a merger, forming the Patriots’ Path Council – now based out of Cedar Knolls, N.J.

As there can only be one lodge for every council, there were merger meetings between the two lodges (Allemakewink #54 and Miquin #68). Since it was a NOAC year, and Allemakewink was both celebrating its 70th anniversary and hosting a Section Conclave, it did not want to merge immediately. The merger committee decided it was best to merge the lodges in the following year.

The merger committee wanted the number to be low because both prior lodges had lower numbers (#54 and #68), and wanted to incorporate elements of the two previous lodges into the new one. The name decided on was Woapalanne #43, roughly translating to “eagle”. The merger committee decided that the lodge color would be green, and that the totem would be an eagle with outlined feathers. In 2005, however, the totem was modified by the LEC to incorporate the eagle exclusively.

The Winter Banquet was held that January at the Morristown Armory, the first time both lodges met as one.

In the spring of 2001, the lodge held its first Fellowship Day, and two Ordeal Weekends. The lodge decided to have two Ordeal Weekends in the spring (one at each camp) and one Ordeal Weekend in the fall (rotating the camp). The lodge’s first National Jamboree was also in this year. Also starting in 2001, the lodge decided to hold an annual OA Day at each summer camp at which service would be accompanied by a brotherhood conversion ceremony for eligible Ordeal members and a cracker barrel for all brothers attending camp. Peter Keays, the Lodge’s first chief, was elected to be NE-2B Section Chief in that same year – the first in the Lodge’s young history to hold a section position.

In 2002, Woapalanne participated in its first NOAC at Indiana University. The theme was “Test Yourself and So Discover”. Woapalanne was one of only two lodges in the Northeast Region and one of only eight in the country to earn the E. Urner Goodman Camping Award.

In 2003, Woapalanne held its first section conclave for Section NE-2B at Mt. Allamuchy Scout Reservation. The theme was “How Uncas Got His Groove Back.”

In the summer of 2004, NOAC was held at Iowa State University, and a contingent of Woaplanne brothers attended. That same summer, the lodge LEC voted to give a donation to the council for the purchase of a new sail boat for Camp Somers. The boat was named the S.S. Woapalanne, in honor of the donation. In the fall of 2004, the lodge created a new campsite near the chapel at Camp Somers. Site 14 received the name “Woapalanne” to commemorate the lodge’s service in its construction.

In 2005, the lodge participated in its second National Jamboree.

On Jan. 1, 2006, the lodge celebrated its 5th Anniversary. At the NE-2B Section Conclave, our immediate Past Lodge Chief, Joe Maugeri, was voted in as the Section Vice Chief, the second lodge member to hold a section position. In the summer of 2006, a Woapalanne contingent of 8 traveled to NOAC at Michigan State University.

In 2008, the sections were reshuffled, and Woapalanne found itself in Section NE-7A, along with Central NJ, Northern NJ, and Greater NY council lodges.  Our lodge sent a small contingent to ArrowCorps5 to build trails in George Washington National Forest.

In 2009, 22 Arrowmen from Woapalanne traveled to Indiana U. for NOAC 2009.  Frank Caccavale began a two-year stint as Lodge Chief.  Our lodge was designated as a Quality Lodge for the year.

2010 saw us host our first Section NE-7A conclave at Camp Winnebago, with the theme “A Band of Brotherhood.”  It would be the last, as we were, once again, re-sectioned into NE-5A, encompassing most of New Jersey.

In 2011, 16 of us traveled by van out to West Virginia, where we joined Week 2 of SummitCorps, a national service project to build a mountain biking trail in New River Gorge National Park.  We were, once again, named as a Quality Lodge.  Lodge member Bill SanFilippo started the first of 2 terms as NE-5A Section Chief.

NOAC returned to Michigan State in 2012, and Woapalanne was there with a contingent of 15.  We traveled out in 3 minivans and visited the R&R Hall of Fame on the way out.

Woapalanne hosted the NE-5Asection Conclave in 2013, which saw the election of Nick Kaufman as Section Chief.  The theme was “Year of the Arrowman.”  We finished the year having earned JTE Gold Status.

At the start of 2014, we had the largest banquet in our history, with 114 attendees.  Again, we finished the year as a JTE Gold lodge.  Much of the year was devoted to the upcoming centennial celebration of the OA.  With the demise of Central NJ Council and Sakuwit Lodge #2, Woapalanne added those Arrowmen and troops from the area assigned to PPC.  The “new” Brothers have been a decided plus for our lodge.

2015!  100 years old!  For the first time, we offered a package plan for dues and events.  Again, our banquet broke records with 148 in attendance.  In 2015, we secured a National Service Grant, repurposing one of the Wheeler Cub cabins to a STEM/computer facility.  We were also chosen to host ArrowTour, and national road show for our Centennial.  230 people attended.  We named 9 people as “Centurion Award” winners, and 3 were given a Lifetime Service Award.  In August, 53 traveled to NOAC, once again at MSU.