Tomo Chi-Chi lodge recently issued a new standard flap.     This flap replaces their previous set of Ordeal, Brotherhood and Vigil flaps and puts the lodge in compliance with a national policy that forbids such “OBV” flaps.     Thanks to Alan McDonald for this image.

The flap uses the new artistic depiction of the lodge’s totem, the Great Blue heron, in use since 2006′s “S35?”.

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Popularity: 8% [?]

Yamni Wakpa chapter has issued the most patches of any chapter in Occoneechee lodge. In addition to the neckerchief I recently wrote about here, Greg Grimes tells me the chapter is also issuing five new patches for those who have participated on or assisted with any of the chapter’s ceremonial teams.

There are two rounds and three segments. The white border round was a “fundraiser”, freely sold to generate the funds for the other award patches.

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Popularity: 7% [?]

O-Shot-Caw 265 has released their multiple sets for the lodge’s ArrowCorps⁵ contingent.   Two of the sets were available for sale as fundraisers, while a third set was distributed to the contingent only, at 2/ person.

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Popularity: 8% [?]

Yes, 2005. That is not a typo. This patch had not been listed in Blue Book and until now not pictured on this site. Remember, items only get listed on this site if I know about them.

Croatan lodge issued this rather simply designed patch for their 2005 Fall Fellowship. The design features a traditional representation of the lodge’s deer totem on a blue background. As far as I know this is the only 2005 event patch from this lodge.

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Popularity: 6% [?]

For those who don’t know me too well, I like to bicycle.   I don’t have the physical stamina or level of fitness to race — and really aren’t that interested in it — but I do like to ride when I get a chance.   Unfortunately I lost my riding companion when I lost my job last Winter, but that’s another story.   Anyway…

I found this neat site for logging rides, www.mapmyrun.com.     It appears to have been initially designed for runners, as the name would indicate but works well for cyclists, too.     Using Google technology, it lets you map out your trips.     You can also save them or share them with others.     I just started using it, primarily as a way to alert folks where I’ll be riding as I ride alone.   Registration is required to use most features, but that is free.

For the real patch geeks out there, I’m sure you can use this to plot your routes to trade-o-rees or travel plans between concurrent events.  

You can also post your route on a blog.     After the break you can see the ride I took Monday afternoon.

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Popularity: 7% [?]

A set of chapter issues from Arrowhead Chapter of Nentico Lodge #12; like the Chesapeake issue of my last post, these are not brand-new but have not previously been documented. There are four arrowhead-shaped patches, all with button loops. Three have a white background and indicate “Ordeal”, “Brotherhood”, and “Vigil”; the fourth has a light gray background and says “Staff”.

The “Staff” patch is distinct from the already-listed A2 in two key ways: the background is light gray (instead of white) and the term “Lodge 12″ is ghosted (instead of red).

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Popularity: 12% [?]

A friend recently sent this to me.     I’m sure it’s all over the internet and has probably been emailed thousands of times.   Still, I think it worth sharing here.     There is also a personal connection here, I’ll share later in this message.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve probably seen the bumper sticker somewhere along the road. It depicts an American flag, accompanied by the words à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å“These colors donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t run.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m always glad to see this because it reminds me of an incident from my confinement in North Vietnam… Then a major in the U.S. Air Force, I had been captured and imprisoned from 1967 to 1973. Our treatment had been frequently brutal. After three years, however, the beatings and torture became less frequent. During the last year, we were allowed outside most days for a couple of minutes to bathe. We showered by drawing water from a concrete tank with a homemade bucket. One day, as we all stood by the tank, stripped of our clothes, a young naval pilot named Mike Christian found the remnants of a handkerchief in a gutter that ran under the prison wall. Mike managed to sneak the grimy rag into our cell and began fashioning it into a flag… He made red and blue from ground-up roof tiles and tiny amounts of ink and painted the colors onto the cloth with watery rice glue. Using thread from his own blanket and a homemade bamboo needle, he sewed on stars. Early in the morning a few days later, when the guards were not alert, he whispered loudly from the back of our cell, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å“Hey gang, look here!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ He proudly held up this tattered piece of cloth, waving it, as if in a breeze… When he raised that smudgy fabric, we automatically stood straight and saluted, our chests puffing out, and more than a few eyes had tears… Now, whenever I see the flag, I think of Mike and the morning he first waved that tattered emblem of a nation. It was then, thousands of miles from home in a lonely prison cell that he showed us what it is to be truly free.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ Medal of Honor recipient Leo K. Thorsness

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Popularity: 6% [?]

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has named John Gottschalk as its new National President at their annual meeting in San Diego.

According to the Omaha World-Herald cited above:

Gottschalk was a Boy Scout from 1951 to 1958 while growing up in Rushville, Neb., and has been involved with the organization as an adult for at least 25 years. He will direct the National Executive Board and assist with preparations for the Boy Scouts of America’s 100th anniversary celebration in 2010…

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Popularity: 6% [?]

For whatever reason I rarely get news of new issues from Wahissa lodge. I guess the folks in Wahissa that use this site and read this blog like having their lodge’s patches incompletely and incorrectly cataloged? (Consider that a friend and not very subtle nudge!)

Woody Woodruff brought over this new issue from Elauwit Chapter of Wahissa lodge for me to scan. Like the Croatan flap I recently wrote about, he also didn’t know when this was issued. We can only guess it came out very recently.

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Popularity: 7% [?]

This “new” item from Chesapeake Chapter of Nentico Lodge #12 is eight years old now, but has been hard to catch up with. I have finally been able to scan one this week; I saw it briefly at last summer’s lodge picnic, but was unable at that time to get either an image or enough notes to have a good description. Nentico started using district-based chapters in 1980; several chapter issues have commemorated anniversaries, including the piece pictured here issued by Chesapeake Chapter in 2000.

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Popularity: 10% [?]