Cowikee Lodge 224 Vigil Pin & Arrow

Cowikee Lodge 224 of Dothan, AL was blessed with the good fortune of having Mr. Gene Ramage as their first Vigil Honoree.  He kept his Vigil at the 1952 Va Conference and was given most appropriately the name "First in the Dance" as 224's first Vigil.  From here he would go on to a long and rewarding service to his Lodge, Council, Camp and Region.  Among the Scouts he mentored were DSA Awardee Morgan Weed who was Killed in Action in Cambodia, May 1970 and his friend Frank Gainess III.  Morgan kept his Vigil in July 1961 and was known as "In The Woods". In October Frank kept his Vigil at the Boy Scout Reservation (later Camp Alaflo) and was known as "In The Pines".  Thus was their connection to one another in the Lodge, as friends and followers of Gene Ramage.

Gene decided sometime in the late 1950's or 1960 to start a tradition of presenting a specially made Vigil Pin of Cross Calumets to each Vigil Honoree.  The Pin was made by a local jeweler in Dothan, AL and had a small chain with a clasped Arrow attached.  On the reverse of the Vigil Trianagle was the Vigil Honoree's name.  The above pictured Pin belongs to Mr. Frank Gaines III and was exactly like those of other 1960's Honorees.  Sometime in the mid to late 1960's this tradition ceased so taking into account all who kept their Vigil with Cowikee during this time there is likely less than 50 of these Pins.  Making it as valuable or more so than most Caldwell OA Pins from the 1920's - 40's.  And you thought a "Three Cloud" Patch was rare!

Camp Rotary - Birthplace of Cowikee 224

Pictured above is the last Summer Camp issued patch from the old Southeast Alabama Council.  Camp Rotary is located just north of  Eufuala, AL on Cowikee Creek that feeds into the Chattahoochee River.  The Camp began operations in the 1920's and served as the Summer Camp home for Southeast Alabama up until 1957.  In 1958, the Council moved Summer Camp to their new location "The Boy Scout Reservation" later to be called Camp Alaflo (Council would change name to Alabama-Florida Council when part of the FL Panhandle came on board) near Enterprise, AL.

Camp Rotary items are relatively hard to find due to limited camp weeks during the summer.  Also many of their early patches were made of felt and they simply did not hold up well to washing, moths and aging.  But Camp Rotary holds greater significance in that it was here that the Cowikee Lodge got its namesake and developed into one of the stronger OA Lodges in the Southeast.  Camp Rotary still exists to this day as a primitive camp, so check it out if you can.  You are a lucky Scout if you have one of these patches.

"Three Cloud" Cowikee 224 Round

The "Three Cloud" Cowikee R1 is probably the most sought after O.A. Patch in Alabama.  While there are some questions as to how many were issued (50 as was published or even 100) they are still a difficult to find patch.   This patch was issued in 1948 and was simplistic but beautiful in design.  Three rounded White Clouds with an Orange Thunderbolt (a symbol of Good Luck).  The totem for the Lodge changed in 1953 to the Crossed Calumets - also a symbol of Good Luck.  Yet it is the "Three Cloud" that pre-occupies collectors of the Lodge and Arrowmen in the state.  The "Three Cloud" pictured here once belonged to Cowikee first Vigil Mr. Gene Ramage, who in turn passed it along to 1965 DSA Awardee & Cowikee Chief Morgan Weeed upon keeping his Vigil in 1961.  Morgan was killed in Vietnam, May 1970 but is still honored in Cowikee lore - the Section to which the Lodge belongs gives out the Morgan W. Weed Best Lodge Award each year at their Conclave.

The lodge name Cowikee came from the creek that ran by the old lodge home - Camp Rotary, just outside Eufuala, AL.  Cowikee translates to "river that meets itself". More about the history of Cowikee Lodge can be found at http://www.alflcouncilbsa.org/cowikee.html