Shenandoah Area Council and Mason-Dixon Council consider merger

On May 22 Shenandoah Area Council of Winchester VA and Mason-Dixon Council of Hagerstown, MD each posted notices on their official Facebook pages advising they have been involved in discussions to merge.
 
Votes in each council are scheduled for mid-July so it is entirely possible that at the 2024 Section E9 Conclave next April Shenshawpotoo Lodge will not be present, instead replaced by a new Lodge formed from the current lodges 276 and 317. Likewise, delegates from Guneukitschik 317 may never attend another Section E11 Conclave after the one this weekend (June 2-4) hosted by Kittatinny Lodge 15.
 
Since the eight Virginia OA Lodges formed their own Area 70 years ago there have only been two mergers among them. In 1973 Koo Koo Koo Ku Hoo Lodge 161 of Piedmont Area Council of Lynchburg merged with Powhatan Lodge 456 of Blue Ridge Council of Roanoke to form Tutelo Lodge 161. In 1992 Peninsula Council of Newport News merged with Old Dominion Area Council of Suffolk, but their OA Lodges (Kecoughtan 463 and Chanco 483, respectively) were not merged to form Wahunsenakah 333 until 4 years later in 1996.
 
The past few years have been extraordinarily difficult for Scouting and many Councils have faced economic uncertainties few could have ever anticipated. The combination of BSA bankruptcy, COVID, loss of LDS memberships, and an uncertain economy that sank donations has exacted financial pressure on many councils causing them to consider relinquishing their independence in order to survive.
 
The 2001 National Order of the Arrow Annual Report listed a membership total of 181,647 Arrowmen in 318 Lodges. By 2022 those numbers plummeted to 99,460 members in 255 lodges. Two Councils (Greater Niagara Frontier and Iroquois Trail in New York, with their corresponding lodges 159 and 339) merged on May 1, 2023, and it will not be surprising to see more follow as councils are forced to consolidate resources to help the program survive.
 
As a web site dedicated to the preservation of the history and traditions of the Order of the Arrow in Virginia you might expect the prospect of a merger affecting the future of Shenshawpotoo Lodge (formed in 1944) and nearby Guneukitschik 317 (formed in 1945) to be reported with sadness and regret. Indeed, there is a genuine sense of loss when something that has been a constant in your life goes away. Both my Ordeal and Brotherhood Lodges are defunct, merged into new entities, so I well understand the outlook looming for current 276 and 317 members. The prospect of change under such forced conditions inevitably leads to worry and concern about how the future Lodge can preserve the unique relationships built over decades of service.
 
The proposed merger FAQ provided by both Councils specifically addresses the future of their OA Lodges:

Q: WHAT ABOUT THE TWO ORDER OF THE ARROW ORGANIZATIONS?
A: They will be combined pursuant to “how to” guidance provided by national-level BSA lessons from earlier such transitions. The phases are Pre-merger, Planning, Transition, First Lodge Year, and Fluidity. A transition Task Force will guide the lodges through this process.

 
The Guidance referred to is documented in the Lodge Merger Guide for Councils, published by the National Office in January of 2022.
 
The Guide is careful to point out that like other aspects of OA, “The youth lodge leadership should be at the forefront of the entire [merger] process and have the primary voice in all decisions … Advisers should be present throughout the process, but they are there to simply do as their name states: advise.”
 
Our hobby of collecting OA memorabilia tends to view lodge mergers with a narrow focus on patch availability. Will there be a “death flap” issued by the merging lodges? How difficult will it be to obtain a “first flap” from the new Lodge? Will prior issues become harder to obtain? I confess up front that all of these quickly crossed my mind upon hearing the news of a possible merger.
 
But after stopping to consider the momentous changes on the horizon for these organizations and the myriad of difficult decisions that lay ahead, I realized those concerns were not only selfish, but misguided. One of the long-standing criticisms of patch collectors by those who don’t share the passion for it is that collectors/traders lose sight of the primary mission of the BSA/OA and instead become obsessed with possessing the emblems that represent them.
 
So while a merger assuredly will spark discussions about patches from both old and new lodges, my hope is that those of us who trade and collect OA insignia will find ways to provide support and encouragement during the merger process and long afterwards. Help bring focus to the incredible opportunity for collaboration by the youth on the birth of a new Lodge that will be key to helping the newly expanded council succeed. Be the example of accepting the challenge and rising to meet it instead of seeking targets to blame for the circumstances that led to the merger.
 
Brandy Martin of Guneukitschik 317 astutely observed on their FaceBook page about the merger:

As Arrowmen, we have all taken an obligation to “preserve a cheerful spirit even in the midst of irksome tasks and weighty responsibilities.” It can be understood that this may be a test of our own obligations to the Order. Above all, the Order of the Arrow is a service organization, and now we have a chance to further demonstrate just how important that service is to both of our councils.”

As collectors and traders we enjoy the “thrill of the hunt” for the items we seek to add to our collections, and take pride in sharing our experiences and documenting and displaying the history through emblems. But in the long run the reason every collector I know truly enjoys the hobby are the lasting friendships that are forged and ongoing involvement in an organization whose goals and principles continue to resonate with our own values.
 
I’ll be watching with great interest to see the results of the votes from each Council, and wish all the best to the youth and adults who are tasked with determining the best path for the future of Scouting and the Order of the Arrow for the affected regions.