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Some 142 Vigils were conferred on members of Otena Lodge during its fifty-eight year history. The first Vigil Honor was not given until 1955, some ten years after the formation of Otena Lodge. A vigil ceremonial team from Karanaka Lodge, Corpus Christi, Texas, held the first vigil ceremony at Camp Billy Gibbons on August 28th, 1955. There were no Vigils in the Otena Lodge to perform the ritual at that time. The ceremony was held during the Area 9-D 1955 Conference hosted by Otena Lodge at Camp Billy Gibbons. Jim Cooper, Leo Buckmaster and Dabney Kennedy took their Vigil at the ceremony. The Vigil Honor is "the highest honor that the Order of the Arrow can bestow upon its members for service to their lodge and local council.” The first Vigil Honor member in the Order of the Arrow was E. Urner Goodman, who received this honor in 1915. Each lodge is eligible to make application for Vigils based on its membership. A lodge is not obligated to nominate anyone. No Vigils were conferred in Otena Lodge in 1957, 1959, 1973, 1986, 1987, and 1993. The first ceremonies were held on the other side of Brady Creek on a private ranch for many years. In about 1994, the land changed hands, and due to liability issues, the ceremony was move to the Camp Billy Gibbons side of Brady Creek. Vigil Members at Camp Billy Gibbons - 1974
In researching the Vigil
list we found that James M. Perkins was turned in twice for the Vigil Honor.
His application was first submitted in April 1981 with the Indian name
"Teacher" and again in October 1991 with the Indian name "Advisor." Apparently
he was not inducted in 1981 and the Lodge forgot he had been elected to
this high honor. He has the distinction of being the only member of the
Lodge that has his name listed twice on the National Vigil Honor roster
published by the Order of the Arrow.
Below is an alpha list of Otena Lodge Vigils. Please note that the date by each name is by the year they were inducted into the Vigil Honor, not necessarily by the year they were elected. For instance, four Arrowmen were submitted to National in March 1990 and another group was submitted in October of the same year. Sometimes two years worth of Vigils were inducted on the same date. Names prior to 1983 were taken from records sent to the council in 1993. The Order of the Arrow National only listed their Indian translation and not their Vigil Indian name. The names since 1983 were taken from Vigil application forms still in the council office. The other names were taken either from the individual Vigil Arrowman or from the OA Handbook's "Lenni-Lenape Wordlist." If you are interested in viewing a list of Vigil Honors by the year they were inducted click HERE. |
