OA Circle

History of Tuckahoe Lodge

All members of Troop 312 who are in the Order of the Arrow belong to Tuckahoe Lodge 386.  The York-Adams Area Council decided to organize an Order of the Aarrow Lodge in the year 1948.  The Council Camping Committee selected 12 Scouts and 8 Scouters to undergo the Ordeal and organize the lodge.  On May 12, 1948, the individuals took their ordeal, conducted by Nentico Lodge.

The name Tuckahoe means, "Land of the deer and fawn."  The lodge totem is the leaping deer.  South Mountain Memorial Camp was renamed Camp Tuckahoe by the action of the Executive Committee of the York_Adams Area Council.

Lodge events are listed on the Troop Calendar.

History of the Order of the Arrow

The Order of the Arrow (OA) was founded by Dr. E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson in 1915 at the Treasure Island Scout Camp of the Philadelphia Council, Boy Scouts of America. It became an official program experiment in 1922 and was approved as part of the BSA program in 1934. In 1948, the OA, recognized as the BSA's national brotherhood of honor campers, became an official part of the Boy Scouts of America. In 1998, the Order of the Arrow was recognized as Scouting's National Honor Society when it expanded its reach beyond camping to include a greater focus on leadership development, membership extension, adventurous programming, and broader service to Scouting and the community. Today, its service, activities, adventures, and training for youth and adults are models of quality leadership development and programming that enrich, support, and help extend Scouting to America's youth.

Purpose of the Order

To recognize those campers—Scouts and Scouters—who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives, and by such recognition cause other campers to conduct themselves in such manner as to warrant recognition.

To develop and maintain camping traditions and spirit.

To promote Scout camping which reaches its greatest effectiveness as a part of the unit’s camping program, both year-round and in the summer camp, as directed by the camping committee of the Council.

To crystallize the Scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others.

Eligibility Requirements

To become a member, a youth must be a registered Boy Scout or Varsity Scout and hold the first class rank. He must have experienced 15 days and nights of Boy Scout camping during the two-year period prior to election. The 15 days and nights must include one, but no more than one, long-term camp consisting of six consecutive days and five nights of resident camping, approved and under the auspices and standards of the BSA. The balance of the camping must be overnight, weekend, or other short-term camps. Following approval by the Scoutmaster or Varsity team Coach, Scouts are elected to seek membership in the Order by their fellow unit members. Then, after completing the Ordeal experience, they become members of the Order of the Arrow.