Lodge History

Wa-Hi-Nasa Lodge, the 111th Lodge to be founded, was established at the old Camp Boxwell, located on the Narrows of the Harpeth, on May 20, 1938. The original Ordeal ceremony was performed by the Cherokee Lodge from Birmingham and was made possible due to the help of Dr. Peterson of Franklin. Eight Scouts went through this ceremony: Roy Shaub, Hillary Osborn, O.E. Brandon, Jr., Lynn Farrar, Forest Glascow, James Gribble, A.J. Anderson and Tillman Newsum. Three of these new Brothers were staff members of Nashville's scouting newspaper, "The Bugle." These Brothers were invaluable in publicizing the Order of the Arrow to Scouts in the Council.

After the original Ordeal, approximately five people were inducted into the Ordeal each week of summer camp at Camp Boxwell. When the Order was founded, a Scout had to be elected by his Scout camp, instead of by his troop, to become a member of the OA. Members who had gone through the Ordeal wore their sashes on their left shoulders. After a member obtained Brotherhood, he moved his sash to his right shoulder. The Order also called itself Wimachtendienk W.W., as opposed to today's name Wimachtendienk, Wingolauchsik, Witahemui.

During the summer of 1938, Roy Shaub was elected as the Lodge's first chief, and A.J. Anderson, Scout Executive of the Nashville Council, was the Supreme Chief of the Fire. As summer camp continued and new members were elected, two more staff members from "The Bugle" were chosen: Don McMillan and James Kilgore. At the time, McMillan was editor of "The Bugle," and James Kilgore was associate editor. Immediately after McMillan's induction, he was elected Lodge Scribe. Together with four other Brothers, McMillan and Kilgore went to the National Meeting of the Order of the Arrow, a 1938 version of today's National Order of the Arrow Conference. When they returned from the three-day event, all six Brothers showed a great amount of enthusiasm to help Lodge 111 grow.

When Camp Boxwell ended its season in the summer of 1938, thirty-two Scouts had been elected. Don McMillan was elected Lodge Chief for 1939, and he was followed in 1940 by Charles Rudd. Under Chief Rudd Wa-Hi-Nasa produced its first newsletter. At that time, the letter had no name and only cost one dollar to print out enough copies for all forty members of the Lodge. The original newsletter discussed renovation projects at Camp Boxwell and featured an "Arrowman Spotlight" article on Don McMillan. Also in 1940 the distinguished Scouts L.G. Boxwell, Justin Potter, and E.E. Murrey were inducted into the OA.

During the late fifties and early sixties, Wa-Hi-Nasa underwent several major changes. At the beginning of the 1950's the Lodge was headquartered in Old Camp Boxwell at Rock Island and had a small registration of under forty people. Because of its small size Wa-Hi-Nasa was not permitted to have chapters despite the request of Chief Barry Goad. Each year the Lodge would hold only one Ordeal in one weekend in which the candidates would prepare for the opening of Boxwell. One member said that for both breakfast and lunch during his Ordeal he was given half-a-piece of stale bread and half-a-cup of a drink that looked "pretty much like dishwater." There was not an OA Lodge building at Old Camp Boxwell; instead, the Lodge used a broken down shack with a hole in the middle where the floor had collapsed.

During the fifties the number of newly-elected members began to skyrocket. Camp Boxwell had a greater attendance than it does today, boasting eight weeks of summer camp; so in 1960 Boxwell was moved from Rock Island to its current location. During the very first year (1960), summer camp took three weeks to set up as opposed to the few days that are necessary today. The camp staff had to clear out an extraordinary amount of brush, and then the staff installed tent floors some of which are still being used. In that year, because of the rapidly increasing registration of both Wa-Hi-Nasa and Boxwell, the Lodge began to hold two Ordeals. The very first ceremony at the new Camp Boxwell was held in Parnell near the northeast corner of the Athletic Field.

The original Wa-Hi-Nasa Chapters were divided into districts, like today's Chapters, but were given numbers instead of names as identification. Some of the early Chapters lacked advisers or any form of help. The Order of the Arrow did not supply a handbook for officers, and the only source of information was the OA handbook and the ceremonies pamphlets, which were very short.

Although Wa-Hi-Nasa was becoming more and more like today's Lodge, there were still many differences. While the Lodge used Ordeal Masters, Elangomats would not be used until the 1970's. Instead, work crew leaders were placed in charge of groups of three to eight candidates. The Lodge, rather than Chapters, was responsible for all ceremonies; so a few members ended up performing in all four ceremonies in one weekend. The Howard Olson OA Lodge would not be built until years later. Instead, Wa-Hi-Nasa met at the Stahlman Dining Hall. During this period, annual events were limited to two Ordeals, the Winter Banquet, and a "Food for Families" type event at Christmas time.

During its sixty-eight years, Wa-Hi-Nasa has had many distinguished members who have gone on to serve in leadership positions in the Section, Region and Nation. Cliff Harmon, an ordeal Member of our Lodge who moved to Knoxville, served as National Chief in 1973. Josh Sain served as National Vice-Chief until his untimely death in 1997. Clay Capp served as National Chief in 2002. Todd Trapnell served as Southeastern Region Chief in 1987, and Michael Salazar served as the 1993 Southern Region Chief. On the Section level, Wa-Hi-Nasa has had thirteen members serve as Section Chiefs of Section SE2A, SE2, SE6, SR6, SR6A and now SR6N. These individuals are Chris Snoddy, David Garrett, Todd Trapnell, Craig Salazar, Travis Spivey, Todd Metcalf, Michael Salazar, Jim Schwab, Scott Danton, Josh Sain, Lee Thackston, Clay Capp, Peter Capp and Roderick McDaniel .

We have also been fortunate to have twelve members who have received the Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor bestowed for service to the Order on a Regional and National basis. These Arrowmen are Ray Capp (1973), William F. Ketron, Sr. (1979), Howard Olson (1986), Todd Trapnell (1988), David Garrett (1990), Todd Metcalf (1994), Craig Salazar (1994), Michael Salazar (1994), Jim Schwab (1998), Carl Head (2002), and Clay Capp (2004). (Craig Salazar and Michael Salazar were the first set of brothers to ever receive the DSA at the same time.) We have also had numerous members who have received the Council Silver Beaver award for outstanding service to the Middle Tennessee Council. Three members of our Lodge have received the Silver Antelope for Outstanding service to the Region: Ray Capp, Jimmy Stevens, William F. Ketron, Sr. and Howard Olson.

It should also be mentioned that two of our brothers have served on the National Order of the Arrow Committee. Bill Ketron served from 1978 to 2003, and Ray Capp began his service in 2001. He became Vice-Chairman in 2005.

If you have any additional information about Wa-Hi-Nasa History please contact one of the Historical Committee at historical@wa-hi-nasa.org.