A Scoutmaster's Blog

To tell the truth, when I wrote about this year’s Naguonabe Lodge’s National Order of the Arrow patch sets last June and July I thought the three part article would be all there would be to write. Surprise! This last month the lodge came out with its fourth patch set option. I did not see this coming, but then I am not very involved with the lodge these days since Troop 68 currently does not have any OA members other than for myself.

This new two patch set is an all red “ghost” set that features the same design as the previous wold head design that also includes the 100th anniversary logo. Our lodge has not created many ghost patches in the past so it kind of makes this a little more special. I am not sure why the red color was chosen, but if I find out I will post an update to this article.

The patch set costs $25.00, and I understand that only one set per person is allowed since only a small quanity was printed. The lodge is using this as a fundraiser. I am not quite sure if the funds raised will help to pay off current bills or if the lodge is preparing for a future activity or project. I guess I really do not care what they use the money for. I just want the set for my collection! I usually will not pay that much for a patch set, but I do want to support my lodge.

What do you think of the patch set? Did your lodge create a ghost set for this year’s National Conference?

You were given a preview of the trader’s two patch set in May. Yesterday I wrote a post about the participant’s set. But did you know there is one more option available for the Naguonabe Lodge members who will be participating in this year’s National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC)? Yes there is!

You may have noticed in the previous posts that the original pocket flap patch and the pocket patch did not “flow” together in their design. Do not get me wrong, I like both patches. But I thought it would have been nice for the two patches to “share” a continuous design like the patch sets of the last few years. Maybe it is just me being an old fuddy duddy. I think the reason for the design was to allow all lodge members to buy a pocket flap patch to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Order of the Arrow. I understand this. I think they did a great job designing the patch and I am glad to have it as a part of my collection.

The picture above shows the recent third option of this year’s patch set. Yes, there is a final option in which the patches “flow” together into one continuous design. The wolf’s ears and forehead can now be seen. I like it! I also like the bright color scheme chosen for this year’s set. I am willing to bet this will be a popular set traded at this year’s event. Yes, this set is a trading set. Note the dark gray border. No, I do not have any patches to trade since I am not attending the conference.

So, you have seen the three options of the 2015 NOAC patches for the members of the Naguonabe Lodge of the Central Minnesota Council. Which set do you like best?

It was over a month ago when I wrote a post about the Naguonabe Lodge’s patch design for the 2015 National Order of the Arrow Conference, otherwise known as NOAC. The two patch set also commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Order of the Arrow. I like the patch set. Unfortunately, I will not be attending this special function so I was able only to show you what the trading set looks like.

Well, today I was able to see, and take a picture of, the participant’s set of patches. It is the same design except that the border is silver instead of dark gray. Each person attending NOAC this year had the opportunity to buy one of these sets for their uniform. I know of one participant that may put his silver bordered set into his collection and place the trader’s set on his uniform instead. He does not want anything to happened to this very limited set, and to tell the truth, I cannot blame him.

What do you think of this patch set? What does your lodge’s patch set look like?

The Naguonabe Lodge of the Central Minnesota Council began handing out patches to its members that are attending the 2015 National Order of the Arrow Conclave during this weekend’s spring conclave. Once again, it will be a two patch set, but unlike previous year’s these patches do not match into each other and do not feature Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox. But that is okay. After all, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Order of the Arrow so something different needed to be done.

The pocket flap patch is our lodge’s official patch to recognize the anniversary. The pocket patch is for the NOAC event and seems to feature a wolf spirit watching over the campsites. I like the colors used on the pocket patch. The picture is of the trading patches. The participant patches have a different color border on each of them.

I was able to receive two sets of the trading patches for my collection thanks to a Scouting friend of mine. I had to work this weekend so I was not able to attend the conclave. If they have any sets after the conclave I plan to get a few more sets. I would like to add a set of the participant patches to my collection, but since I will not be attending I do not think I will be able to do that.

What do your lodge’s patches for the the 2015 NOAC look like?

Naguonabe Lodge 2012 NOAC patches

Several Boy Scout members and adult advisors of our Order of the Arrow Lodge, Naguonabe Lodge, attended the National Order of the Arrow Conclave (NOAC) last week. Unfortunately, I did not attend, but I heard that those who were there had a great time. Our lodge advisor, Chuck, sent me a note through Facebook that during one of the classes he attended this blog, A Scoutmaster’s Blog, was brought up as an example of blogs featuring the OA. Wow, I thought, there are some on the national level that read my blog? Cool.

Last Tuesday during our council’s roundtable meeting, I met with Dan, another adult advisor of our lodge. He had the 2012 NOAC patches with him and, of course, I bought a couple sets. Once again, they featured Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox. Once again, Paul was featured on the pocket flap patch while Babe was on the pocket patch. And once again, Babe would not be seen unless the pocket flap was raised. Somewhere along the way, Babe quit being a normal ox on our patches and became a minotaur, but that is alright with me. I am a fan of Dungeons and Dragons, after all.

What do you think of our lodge’s 2012 NOAC patches? (A larger version can be seen by clicking on the pictures.) What did your lodge’s patches look like? Maybe I should get a few more patch sets and do some trading with you.

More patches of the Naguonabe Lodge can be seen at our troop’s website: http://melrosetroop68.org/OApatches.html  .