OAImages Blog

This is a sequel to an earlier post on this blog called, “What is a Neckerchief?”

Recently I posted the item pictured here as the “X28.5?” from O-Shot-Caw 265. It’s from the 2002 NOAC but had not previously been listed in Blue Book or my site. I had been told it was issued sewn onto a backpack and added it to the listings.

That last point has been debated by some collectors in Florida in email to me. Some believe this piece does not exist separately from the backpack unless the pack is cut up, and that’s why it had not been listed before now. Upon examination of the item in question, the facts prove otherwise.

As you can see, in the image at the top of this post, the item clearly has a finished cut edge border and a plastic backing. After production, this patch was sewn onto the backpack ini question and sold. As far as I’m concerned, this needs to be listed as a lodge issue.

I want to use this item as a jumping point to a more general question.   So, what exactly is a patch? I’ll also ask the related question: What is a piece of OA insignia? What follows is my opinion and your mileage may vary. Continue Reading »

Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain
And the wavin’ wheat can sure smell sweet
When the wind comes right behind the rain…

I thought it was well past time to return to a state that actually had some state shaped patches.  Some of these are classics of the hobby, too.

This is the sixteenth in an ongoing series of posts about state shaped patches. Previous entries have covered state shaped patches from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.

There seems to be an affinity of sorts between lodge Texas and Oklahoma when it comes to OA collecting.   A couple of lodges chose to use the combined shape of the states of Texas and Oklahoma on their patches.   I will mention them here as well as the post for Texas.

Continue Reading »

Hank Birdsong and Garrick Smith have been keeping me up to date on the situation regarding the fakes of Tsali’s 2002 NOAC flaps.   Both have forwarded to me an image of the S42 with its fake, which was acquired from an eBay seller in British Columbia, for comparison purposes.   Click on the image to see a much larger version of the picture.

The fake is the bottom patch in the image.   As they note it is a very good fake.   It would easily fool anyone not very familiar with the patch or aware that a fake exists.   Very few of these were made, so most collectors would never have seen the real thing except for in a picture .

Continue Reading »

It isn’t just issues from NOAC that come out late!  I have just received word that Tomo Chi-Chi lodge has issued a host lodge flap for last April’s Dixie Fellowship (SR-5 Conclave).  Thanks to Alan McDonald for the news and images.

To be honest, the flap didn’t come out this late.  It just took this long for word of the patch to make it to me here in central North Carolina.

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David Cody and Jimmy Arthurs tipped me off to this patch from 188.  It is the design of the 1994 NOAC flap from this lodge, where NOAC is misspelled “NCAC”.  They believe it should be listed as an issue.   I’m more skeptical.

They say that a large number of this lodge’s 1994 NOAC flaps were issued with NOAC misspelled “NCAC” and claim to have traded for several of these pieces.   Others were corrected after the fact and show signs of being restitched.   They say they informed the North Carolina Blue Book editor of this piece and he has declined to list it.

Continue Reading »

Just when you thought there would be no more patches issued for last Summer’s NOAC, along comes Santee 116 with their first ever NOAC flap.   Thanks to Jason Spangler for the information and scan.

Jason reports this flap didn’t arrive until after NOAC.  The lodge had these and wanted to release them at the 2006 Fall Fellowship, but they could not decide how to distribute them.  Once a decision was made, the lodge released these at their banquet in January 2007.

Continue Reading »

Tsali has issued a new jacket patch and three segments designed to be worn with it.   While the jacket patch has no explictly specific purpose, the segments are all related to the lodge’s Dance and Drum teams championships.

The three segments are “Group Dance Champions 2006 Dixie”, “Group Dance National Champions 2006 NOAC”, and “Southern Drum Third Place 2006 NOAC”. Continue Reading »

Tsali lodge has just issued two flaps to honor their dance team’s winning the team dance championship at this past summer’s NOAC at Michigan State University.

The design features two Cherokee dancers and the traditional symbol, the drawn bow with Tsali written in Cherokee, of this lodge.   The other two word in Cherokee translate as quail and buffalo, in homage to the two dances this lodge performed. Continue Reading »

Wahissa 118 has a third NOAC patch. It has the same design and shape as the other two currently on my site, but with a silver mylar (SMY) border. I am told these were issued to the contingent members, one per person, as they got on the bus to go home.

When I get good picture this will be added to my site.