1970 Area 6-A Fellowship
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1970 Area 6-A Fellowship Patch
The lodges of eastern and central North Carolina were hosted by Tali Taktaki 70 for the 1970 Area 6-A Fellowship. This was their first fellowship in two years as Region 6 held no area fellowships in 1969.1
This rather large pocket patch is probably my favorite North Carolina conclave issue. The unusual shape of this patch was based upon by a lodge event issue, eX1966, but inverted. The central part of the design, featuring the lodge’s totem, is very similar to the design of the lodge’s A1 and J1.
1970 Area 6-A Fellowship Neckerchief
As was customary, there was also a neckerchief issued for this meeting. The design is similar to the pocket patch but its execution as a single colored silk screened neckerchief, is disappointing. In my opinion, an opportunity to take a great design and do something special with it was squandered.
As we move into the 1970s, these items become easier to find. While not yet common, the pocket patch can be . I don’t remember having any difficulty acquiring mine, but that was probably about 10 years ago. The neckerchief will be harder to find, as with all the neckerchiefs, but isn’t particularly valuable or scarce.
Notes:
- Rusty Riddle and Mac McLean write about this in their excellent tome, A Golden Legacy: A 50th Anniversary History of the Dixie Fellowships 1952-2002:
“In 1969 there were no area fellowships anywhere in Region Six. Back when I was researching Dixie History in 1989, I was an active patch trader. While attending the Charlotte tradoree I was told by several traders from Florida that this was the reason no fellowships were held: In 1968, several Native Americans, probably Seminole, were invited to an Area Fellowship in Florida to be dance judges. They were so highly offended by the performances of religions dances put on by some lodges that they wrote numerous letters and registered complaints with both the National and Regional BSA offices. Thus, the Regional office cancelled all area fellowships for the following year. The fellowships were reinstated in 1970 when the offending lodges agreed to “cool it”. This may be true or it may only have been a rumor. But it is interesting to note that only a few years later, after the 1972 fellowships, the National Office outlawed religious dances…”
Like the authors, I do not know if this was true or just some sort of urban legend.
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Florida gets blamed for so many things, but the story of the missing 1969 Area Meetings is a new one. The way I heard the story, Region Six made a determination to have Area Meetings every other year, around the years with a National Conference, and that this plan was abandoned after a year (see also the Area 6-C patch for 1970, dated “1969-70″). It wouldn’t make sense to cancel all Meetings because of one activity held at one Meeting, instead of proibiting the alleged activity.
It just hit me that I missed something significant in this year’s patch design: the silver background.
These lodges, and a few others, first met at Area I meeting in 1945. The 1970 Area 6-A fellowship would then be the 25th (silver) anniversary meeting, even if it’s not the 25th time these lodges met.
John,
Carroll Edson was at this conference at Camp Wenasa. Many of us still have our signed sashes.
Herman