History of Mowogo Lodge
On June 2, 1934, the National Council approved the formation of Order of the Arrow.
The date that the Order of the Arrow first came to the Northeast Georgia Council is unknown, but it is known that it was not properly organized at first and had turned into a secret fraternity with members selecting candidates. It was also working against the Council camping program instead of strengthening it.
The first written account of Mowogo Lodge begins in April of 1949 at which time the Lodge was in a defunct status. At that time J. M. Molder, then the Scout executive, assigned Charlie Bethea, the new Field Executive of the Chattahoochee, Mountain, and Cherokee Districts to reorganize the Order of the Arrow in the Northeast Georgia Council. Mowogo Lodge received its name from a good friend of the Council's camping and scouting program, Mr. Mose W. Gordon.
In 1949, when Mr. Bethea began to work on the project, he could find only three boy members: Charlie Brice and Johnnie James from Troop 26, and Hugh Skelton of Troop 15, both troops from Gainesville. There were only two adult members, Al Willis and Harold Brooks from Chicopee. These two adults and Mr. Bethea set out to develop plans according to the Order of the Arrow Handbook to recognize and properly charter the Lodge. The three boy members aided with candidate elections. The first unit elections were started in the fall of 1949.
The first national chartering of Mowogo Lodge was applied for January 1, 1950 through December 31, 1950 with minimum membership.
Mowogo Lodge's first Ordeal was held in conjunction with the Spring Camporee of the Chattahoochee District in April of 1950. At the Friday night campfire the district's candidates were tapped out with all districts participating except Broad River, which was unable to attend. Cherokee and Piedmont districts, however, provided a large number of candidates. For the Lodge's first Ordeal ceremony, Hugh Skelton performed the part of Allowat Sakima, Charlie Brice as Meteu, Johnnie James performed Nutiket's duties, and Bill Barnes, a candidate from Post 9 of Chicopee, performed the duties of Kichkinet.
Due to the lack of current members, Mr. Al Willis and Mr. Harold Brooks served as yeomen and Paul Tweedell and Roy Cromartie, both elected candidates, served as "Ordeal Masters" to supervise work projects. One of the major projects completed was a chapel area at the Chicopee campgrounds, which was then used Sunday morning for the chapel services.
The Skyuka Lodge of Spartanburg, South Carolina Council inducted Mr. Bethea into the Brotherhood at its Area 6C Fellowship, and then agreed to conduct the first Brotherhood ceremony for Mowogo Lodge. This momentous occasion occurred at the first Mowogo Lodge encampment at Rainey Mountain Scout Reservation in 1952.
Mowogo Lodge hosted its first Area 6C Fellowship at a very primitive Camp Rainey Mountain in April of 1956. A practicing Cherokee Medicine Man, Ammoneto Sequoy attended as a guest and added much to the gathering. Also in attendance was Dr. E. Urner Goodman, the founder of the Order of the Arrow. It was at this fellowship that Mr. Charlie Bethea received the Vigil Honor, making him the first Vigil recipient from Mowogo Lodge.
By 1985 Mowogo Lodge was a thriving part of the Council camping program. The Lodge maintained a total of 708 members on its roster and averaged over a hundred new member inductions per year, as well as over 40 Brotherhood inductions. In 1988 Mowogo Lodge hosted the Section IV OA Conclave at Camp Rainey Mt. There were 675 participants from ten Councils in Georgia. The Lodge also won the E. Urner Goodman Award.
Every year since 1950 Mowogo Lodge has performed immeasurable, cheerful service for the Council, especially at Camp Rainey Mountain. An example of this is in 1992, when over 4,000 service hours were performed at Camp Rainey Mountain and 2,400 at Scoutland.
In 1992 under Chief Kevin Jones and Adviser Dale Anderson the Mowogo Lodge conducted Spring Fellowship at Scoutland. This was a departure from the normal tradition of having it at Camp Rainey Mt. It was determined that there was a real need for services at Scoutland. All told, there were 27 major projects, including 27 new patrol tables, 5 campfire rings, an addition of an activity building, and the removal of diseased trees. Over 400 members and candidates labored until darkness to show a graphic example of what the Order of the Arrow is all about - SERVICE.
In April of 1997, Mowogo Lodge was moved into a new section: SR-6S (South). As one of the leaders in this new section, Mowogo had the privilege of hosting the first ever SR-6 South Conclave at Camp Rainey Mountain, in April of 1998, under the leadership of Lodge Chief Jeff Bricker and Section Vice Chief for Conclave Patrick May.
In the year 2000 Mowogo Lodge emerged as one of the premier Lodges in the Southern Region. Early in the year Patrick May became Section Chief and at Conclave the Lodge retired both the Quest's Golden Arrow and the Section Recognition Award. At the National Conference in Knoxville, under the leadership of Lodge Chief Andrew Gast, Mowogo was named a Founder's Lodge (one of 23 Lodges honored), and was one of only 16 Lodges in the country to receive the NOAC Lodge Spirit Award.
In 2002, Mowogo broke the 1000 members mark and set records for attendance at Lodge functions. The Lodge inducted 312 new members, a record, and converted 107 new Brotherhood members, also a record. Then, in 2003 the Lodge converted 152 Brotherhood members. Meaningful growth continued in 2004 as more than 100 were converted to Brotherhood membership and attendance exceeded the 1000 member mark for the third year in a row. A large contingent was sent to the 2004 National Order of the Arrow Conference and Mowogo took second place nationally in the Ultimate Frisbee competition.
In the winter of 2006, severe weather decimated Camp Rainey Mountain as Mowogo prepared to host the Section SR-6 South's Conclave in April, and ready the property for Summer Camp in June. Many Lodge members spent countless hours rehabilitating the camp, and Mowogo was able to host a most successful Conclave. Mowogo sent a record contingent of 46 Lodge members to the 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference, where again the Lodge took second place nationally in the Ultimate Frisbee competition.