Lodge History

Takachsin Lodge was the result of a merger of three councils in 1973. Takachsin means “Leader,” and it’s totem is the Calumet (peace pipe). Below is a brief overview of those three councils and lodges.

  Harrison Trails Council of Lafayette, Indiana, was founded in January 1940 and their Order of the Arrow Lodge was formed on January 29, 1940. They were the 173rd lodge to form nationally and were named “Ojibwa.”

  Meshingomeshia Council of Marion, Indiana, was founded in June 1944 and their Order of the Arrow Lodge was formed in June 1944, as a conversion from Tipisa-Order of the Red Lodge. They were the 269th Lodge to form nationally and were eventually named “Me-She-Kin-No-Quah.”

  Three Rivers Council of Logansport, Indiana, was founded in October 1949 and their Order of the Arrow Lodge was formed in 1949, as a conversion from Gimogash. They were the 425th Lodge to form nationally and were eventually named “Tipicon.”

These three councils merged into the current Sagamore Council #162, out of Kokomo, Indiana. As a result of the merger, the three previous Lodges merged into the current Takachsin Lodge which took on the oldest Lodge number, 173.

For a brief printable document about the Lodge’s history, click here.  For more extensive reading about the Lodge’s history, download the book.

Other Notable History

  The 1994 National Order of the Arrow Convention (NOAC) was held at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana and Takachsin Lodge was the service lodge with over 100 members giving service to this great event.

  In 2006 Takachsin Lodge was the service lodge for the Section C-2C Conclave at Camp Belzer. A total of 47 members from the lodge served the section.

  In 2010 after another section realignment Takachsin Lodge served as the host Lodge for the Section C-6A Conclave at Cary Camp.

  In 2014 the Lodge earned Gold status in the Journey to Excellence.  There were less than a dozen other Lodges that earned this honor.

  In 2015 the Lodge again earned Gold status in the Journey to Excellence.

  In 2015 the Lodge sent its largest contingent ever to a NOAC of 22 members.  They traveled to NOAC 2015 at Michigan State University.  The Lodge issued several 100th Order of the Arrow anniversary commemorative flaps to honor the first century of the Order of the Arrow.  This included a special patch honoring the Lodge history.

  In 2016 the Lodge “three-peated” Gold status in the Journey to Excellence.

  In 2017, Takachsin Lodge was the Host Service Lodge for the Section C6-A held at Camp Buffalo on April 7-9th. Lucas Bowman served as Conclave Vice Chief (CVC) for Takachsin Lodge for our hosting responsibilities. It was the largest conclave in at least the last 10 years of the section, with over 250 in attendance. Lucas Bowman was elected Section Vice Chief. To end the year, we “four-peated” Gold status in the Journey to Excellence. Yes, that’s 4 years in a row to accomplish this honor.

 In 2018, Takachsin Lodge once again achieved Gold status in the Journey to Excellence. Yes, that’s 5 years in a row to accomplish this honor. We believe this is a rare honor to achieve, so be proud Lodge!