Blue Heron 1990 NOAC patch

The 1990 National Order of the Arrow Conference was held at Indiana University from August 12-16, with 25 Arrowmen from Blue Heron Lodge sharing a bus to Bloomington with 18 Arrowmen from Shenshawpotoo Lodge 276 to attend as delegates. The 75th anniversary of the Order of the Arrow was celebrated, and many of the delegate emblems like the one above featured the anniversary logo of a turtle with the number 75 on its back.

The conference was the largest to date, with 6,907 Arrowmen in attendance, representing 364 Lodges. One of the highlights for Blue Heron was the presentation of the Distinguished Service Award to D.W. “Si” Simons, longtime Lodge Advisor. The DSA was created in 1940 to honor those who rendered outstanding service to the Order outside their Lodge. The first DSAs were presented to Dr. E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson, Founder and Co-Founder of the Order of the Arrow.

Simons was the third Arrowman from Lodge 349 to receive the honor; Tom Webb and Bruce Sanders both received the award as youths in recognition of their service to the Order. Simons passed away on October 24, 2008 at the age of 80. He asked that memorial gifts be given in the form of camp scholarships to the Council he served for over 50 years.

Sources:
• Blue Heron Lodge History – the 1990’s
• National Order of the Arrow Bulletin, October-December, 1990
• D.W. Simons Obituary