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The History of the Order of the Arrow in Vermont

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Members of Wisie Hal'a Con performing ceremonies (circa 1955)

Long Trail Council and Wisie Hal'a Con

 

     Chartered in Burlington  in 1946 under Long Trail Council 592, Wisie Hal’a Con Lodge 351, the first Order of the Arrow Lodge chartered in Vermont, was active from 1946 until its merger in 1973.  According to a 1955 hand-written note by former Lodge Secretary, the Lodge’s totem was “Living Solid Face,” translated from the words “Wisie Hal’a Con”; the translation comes from a currently unknown language.  The Lodge totem and name represented Mount Mansfield, the highest peak in Vermont.  The Lodge’s emblems depict multiple small rivers leading to a large river in the center of a valley.  The mountain in the background of the emblem design is Mount Mansfield.  Initially meeting at Camp Zack Woods until its closure, during its active years, Wisie Hal’a Con frequently met at Mount Norris Scout Reservation in Eden.  To this day, a fire ring originally used by Wisie Hal’a Con is still used by members of Ajapeu lodge.  In 1973, Wisie Hal’a Con merged with Nianque Lodge 398 to form Ajapeu Lodge 351 under the newly formed Green Mountain Council (592).

 

     Wisie Hal’a Con issued the first and rarest emblem of all Vermont lodges.  The first emblem produced by this Lodge, the R1, was a round pocket patch embroidered on light purple felt approximately four inches in diameter; very few examples of these emblems remain in existence. Wisie Hal’a Con also produced many firsts for Vermont emblems; one of the unique emblems is a pie shaped patch sewn to a light, pea green neckerchief.  The neckerchief patch features a left facing, curved arrow and a Vigil triangle over a river flowing through a valley.  Another first for Vermont lodges were the Wisie Hal’a Con 1969 and 1970 Fall Fellowship and the 1971 Fall Pow Wow patches.  These are the only three Vermont Lodge event patches produced before the Ajapeu Lodge 351 Fall Fellowship in 1975. 

The Emblems...

Historic Documents

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