Who Has the Most Patches?
Posted in Patch Collecting by John E. Pannell on March 7th, 2007 at 9:48 pm 
Monday evening I was sitting at home and adding images to the site for a bunch new issues from Wipala Wiki 432. As I added the image for what should become their S136 (I’m still missing images for S128 through S133) I started to wonder which lodge issued the most* patches.
The answer is not what you might think.
Helped by a slew of issues since Blue Book 6 was published, over 140 solid flaps — there are several fractional number listings in this lodge — and a rash of recent fakes there are approximately 420 different issues from Wipala Wiki lodge and its chapters. In terms of sheer volume, that’s quite impressive.
Octoraro 22 won the race to S100 and currently has approximately 130 solid flap issues in addition to a few modern twill issues. They are one of the older lodges in existence, having celebrated their 80th anniversary recently. They even have some rather old issues. However, there are only about 275 different issues from this lodge and its chapters.
Ajapeu 33 has the distinction of having issued the first true “flap”, the first “first flap” . However when it comes to sheer number of issues, this Pennsylvania lodge is not even an “also ran”. They only have about 160 issues.
Continuing what appears to be a tour of Pennsylvania lodges, we next turn to Unami 1. The first “patches” came from this lodge, though they have since been destroyed. The R1 (pictured) is dated back to the late 1920s.
Unami has had a large number of odd-shaped patches (X issues in Blue Book), a small horde of recent fakes, and many chapter and activities issues but “only” has about 420 issues.
A few other lodges have broken the S100 barrier but still don’t have the most issues. These include Chattahoochee 204 (up to S109?) and O-Shot-Caw 265 (up to S110? ). Amangament Wipit, up to S112? by my count, makes an honorable run for the most issues title with just under 500 patches. O-Shot-Caw also has had more than 500 issues, However, neither is the winner.
Owasippe 7, founded as a result of Carroll Edson’s move to Chicago, is one of the lodges distinguished by a long patch history and an outstandingly high number of both chapter and events issues. However, this lodge is not very active on the patch front in recent years, when compared to some other lodges, and their recent 85th anniversary flap is probably “S37?”. With approximately 570 issues, they do not have the most issues!
Now for the winner!
With just over 600 issues listed and/or pictured on my site, the lodge with the most issues is Siwinis 252!
Yes, this lodge has issued a large number of flaps in recent years, but that isn’t how Siwinis earned the title for most patches. This is largely the result of a huge number of chapter issues, many dating to the 1950s and 1960s. I am told the lodge’s chapters once all but functioned as lodges in their own right. That does not surprise me as the lodge is headquarted in Los Angeles, CA.
How long will Siwinis hold this distinction? Have I missed a lodge with more issues? Who will pass them next? Who will surpass Wipala Wiki for the distinction of having the most flaps?
(* Since the Blue Book database is now nearly a year out of date all issues totals here are approximations.)
And I thought that 442 put out a lot of issues. I almost put my money on 266 or 407. 508 is approaching also.
252 catches me off guard because I still need their 05 Jaombo issues as the only ones from the Western Region I need.
Jeff
The current 442 hasn’t been around long enough to catch up with 252. That lodge has a huge advantage with the large number of chapter issues. Perhaps 442 can make a run for it later.
508, 266 and 407 aren’t even “competitive”… yet.
265 and 237 are also both in the running… I missed them as I forgot they both have a large amount of activity patches. Both of these lodges should have been mentioned in the post… I may have to edit the post to add them.
Or not… These two lodges are going to figure prominently in another post I’m drafting. How’s that for a teaser?
Yeah, there seem to be three classes of issue–lodge regular issues, lodge event issues, and chapter issues. I recall that the Blue Book started with only the regular issues and added the event and chapter items in later editions.
So it makes sense that the lodge with the most total issues of all three types would be one which has a history of producing lots of event issues and chapter issues on top of its regular issues… just because a lodge is into the S100+ range on its flaps doesn’t necessarily mean it has a history of issuing lots of event patches or having active chapters with their own issues.
There’s also some neat OA history hiding in all these patches: how chapters were run and how some lodge were once much larger than they are today.
Siwinis 252 and Owasippe 7 were both once hotbeds of chapter issues. That hints that both lodges were once much larger and more active on the district/chaper level than they are today.
Patches — especially the older issues — tell our history, if we know how to listen.
It’s telling of the lodge’s history to see the context of why all of the issues were made. Lodges 252 and 7 had the large numbers due to strong chapter programs. As far as activity patches, it is a reflection of the prominence and frequency of lodge events, as lodge calendars move from one event a year to two, three, and even four. Economics (i.e. fundraising) and embroidery as recognition have fuelled the increases that have occured just in the last 20 years.
I wish I had the time and resources to do a thorough study of quantities of issues from lodges, before and after 1985. Why that year? That was the 75th anniversary of the BSA, and it was almost a “green light” for lodges to make special items. Since then, the issuance of NOACs, Jamborees, anniversaries, and national officer commemorations have exploded. Just as an example, O-Shot-Caw 265, now up to S-113, F-30, C-25, N-20ish, B-4, and X-43. S-11 was the 75th DJ of the BSA, in 1985; only up to F-4, and maybe N-2. Aal-Pa-Tah 237? Their first DJ in ‘85 was S-21 (now up to S-90).