To List or Not to List?
Posted in Kaskanampo 310 by John E. Pannell on December 11th, 2007 at 4:10 am 
That is the question. This one is aimed primarily at my Alabama collecting friends.
Larry Faulkner of Coosa lodge recently sent me some images of patches that could easily puzzle collectors if found outside of that area. First up were a series of three odd-shaped felt patches. He writes:
…Three Kaskanampo 310 Double Felts issued by the Greater Alabama Council in honor of Camp Westmoreland as the Lodge Home from 1945 to 2000. Three patches were made by Shelby Patch Company: 1) 25 issues of the Gold Mylar lettering; 2) 50 issues of the Blue lettering and 3) 120 issues of the Red lettering. Sold only to members of the Lodge…
One is these is pictured here. Greater Alabama Council is the council of the successor lodge, Coosa 50. These patches bear the name and totem of Kaskanampo lodge and could reasonably be thought to be issued by that lodge. Would you list these in Blue Book?
Since these appear to be lodge issues — the “Test of Duck” comes into play — but were issues years after the lodge merged, I would be inclined to argue that these should be listed as “historical issues” under Kaskanampo 310 and given an HX designation. What do you think?
Larry Faulkner also wrote me about another patch:
Camp Westmoreland, Greater Alabama Council Issue - “Westmoreland Wings” issued by Camp Westmoreland to those members of Coosa Lodge 50 who participated in the 12/1/07 Hawk Day at Westmoreland. Not a Lodge issue, but provided via the Camp and the Council as a “Thank You” to one of the oldest Camps in the South (founded 1929).
At the risk of seeming inconsistent, I find this one an easier patch to ignore. No lodge name or totem is used. “Service” could mean almost anything. Even the apparent appearance of “WWW” could be explained as happenstance, and not necessarily indicative of this being an OA patch. I would argue Blue Book should ignore this. What do you think?
Agreed on the Kaskanampo: HX issues all the way.
The Westmoreland, probably an eX issue, unless the lack of a date and specific event name makes it an X. The “WWW” is pretty clear. In this case, I think the existence of a site like OAImages makes the listing even more important: the ability to search and find “Westmoreland” would enable people to identify what would otherwise be a completely unidentifiable OA-looking patch.
As a charter member of Coosa lodge and one who grew up within a stones-throw of Camp Westmoreland (not to mention that i was the last-ever chief of Kaskanampo 310), I can verify that these patches were in no way sanctioned by Kaskanampo, Coosa, nor (probably even) the Greater Alabama Council.
I only heard about these patches via an email forwarded from my father who isn’t really involved in Scouting anymore, but has been a long-time supporter of Camp Westmoreland.
I hope my comments won’t lessen the importance of anything Mr. Faulkner has done. Because, as i understand, he is doing a lot to preserve a camp that is very near and dear to the hearts of many. However, these patches were manufactured and sold by a private individual, or group of individuals, (not the lodge or council) and i would hate for them to be falsely represented as such.
John,
Prior to the comment by Ben: if it were a NY item,I would likely list is as a Y. Y as you know is somewhat of a catchall designation. At the least for unknown provenance. If I knew it was definitely not an OA issue, I would include that in the description. e.g. Issued by Camp - Not an OA issue.
Subsequent to Ben’s posting, I would call it a Z. Not to disparage anyone, but it is a private issue and that is part of what the Z category is for. In NY, the 219ZA1 would be a similar issue.
John, with all due respect to Mr. Killen and his service to Kaskanampo as our last Lodge Chief, the Felt Mussell Shells were endorsed by the Greater Alabama Council (thus the GAC and Fleur de Lis on the patch) and approved by Council Executive Mr. Tim Cooper in order to raise funds for the erection of a Historical Marker at the Kaskanampo Lodge overlooking Shoals Creek. These are official Council and Camp issued patches and were listed in the Council’s Digital Eagle newsletter that went out to all Scouters in the Greater Alabama Council. The Lodge is dead, but the patch was to recognize the History of the Lodge and its home Camp Westmoreland. I hope this clarifies the issue for Mr.Killen……WWW, Larry Faulkner