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The History of the Order of the Arrow in Vermont

Pre-Order of the Arrow Societies in Vermont

While Wisie Hal’a Con was the first officially chartered Order of the Arrow Lodge in Vermont, there did exist at least two pre-Order of the Arrow honor societies in Vermont prior to Wisie Hal’a Con. A Rutland Herald article from 20 July, 1940 states…

“A camp honor society, secretive in nature and known only as the “O.S.” selected its first candidate for initiation at the campfire in an impressive Indian ceremony.”

While it is never mentioned as to what “O.S.” actually stood for, we can guess that it may have been “Order of Sunrise” and clearly based off of the Order of the Arrow indicated by the Indian Ceremony. Another pre-Order of the Arrow honor society in Vermont is featured in “A History of Camp Plymouth” by Edward R. Morse (1977).

“Mr. Vanderpool (Kenneth F., Scout Executive and Camp Director from 1944 to 1951) had originated the Camp Plymouth Honor Society, a fore – runner of the Order of the Arrow, in the summer of 1946. The week ended Saturday night with a special campfire on the hill near the cemetery and induction of new members into the society. Many campers and staffers still retain the ribbons as a reminder of their membership.

In the early days of the Order of the Arrow, it was not uncommon for many camps nation-wide to only offer the Order of the Arrow or a similar honor society as a camp summer program; inducting only those who were deemed honor campers during their camp sessions.

Special thanks to Barry Simays for providing the 1933 Rutland Herald article and A History of Camp Plymouth excerpt.


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