Yankee Clipper Council

Yankee Clipper Council
Owner	Boy Scouts of America
Country	United States
Founded	1993
Scout Executive	Kevin D. Nichols
Website http://www.yccbsa.org

The Yankee Clipper Council is a council of the Boy Scouts of America serving 52 communities in northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire. The council was formed from a merger of the North Essex Council, North Bay Council, and Lone Tree Council in 1993. Greater Lowell Council merged with Yankee Clipper in 2000. Greater Lowell Council chose to merge with Yankee Clipper over three adjacent councils. Greater Lowell District formed the fifth spoke on the ship's wheel totem of the YCC council strip arm patch. The council now operates two camps: Wah-Tut-Ca Scout Reservation, a Boy Scout camp, and Lone Tree Scout Reservation for Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, after selling Camp Onway in 2007.

Organization

The council had five districts: Aquila District, Greater Lowell District, Lone Tree District, North Essex District, and North Shore District. The council recently reorganized its districts down to three which are now called the Great East District, the Northern Light District, and the West Wind District. Each of these districts are named after historical clipper ships that council youth selected by a contest.

West Wind District serves the Massachusetts communities of Andover, Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Lawrence, Lowell, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, Westford, and Wilmington. The Northern Light District serves the Massachusetts communities of Amesbury, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Ipswich, Merrimac, Methuen, Newbury, Newburyport, North Andover, Rowley, Salisbury and West Newbury, and the New Hampshire communities of Atkinson, East Kingston, Hampstead, Kingston, Newton, Plaistow, Seabrook and South Hampton. The Great Eastern District serves the Massachusetts communities of Beverly, Boxford, Danvers, Essex, Gloucester, Hamilton, Lynn, Lynnfield, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Marblehead, Middleton, Nahant, Peabody, Rockport, Salem, Saugus, Swampscott, Topsfield, Wenham, and Winthrop.

Program and activities

Services provided by the Yankee Clipper Council include training for volunteer leaders, a website, and abundant programs for Scouts of all ages. At the headquarters in Haverhill, YCC employs eight professional field staff members and four support staff members who work to maintain nearly 300 Scouting units. This main office is open for record keeping, tour permits, volunteer support and program support. The new Scout Shop is located at Osgood Landing, inside the old Lucent Technology works at 1600 Osgood Street in North Andover for purchasing uniforms, BSA publications, equipment and advancement awards. The council service center is at 36 Amesbury Road in Haverhill. The council's camps at Wah-Tut-Ca Scout Reservation and Lone Tree Scout Reservation are supported by volunteers for year-round maintenance and operations. At each of the camps there is a part-time resident Camp Ranger. The YCC provides support of Chartering Organizations to maintain high quality Scouting programs. Liability insurance is provided for all volunteer leaders and chartering organizations. The Yankee Clipper Clipboard was the council newsletter, published four times annually.^[1] Currently, the council uses Constant Contact emails for communication of which any interested party can subscribe.

The council was recently recognized by the National Council and the Northeast Region for growth in Scoutreach program in the city of Lawrence. Over 200 Scouts achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in 2007, the largest in Council history.

The council has an Eagle Scout Association which holds an Eagle Recognition Banquet that honors Eagle Scouts from the prior year through November. The banquet program is conducted by Eagles from each district and concludes with a keynote address from an interesting guest speaker. Any Eagle Scout registered in the Yankee Clipper Council who is a member of the Council Eagle Scout Association and under the age of 21 can apply for a scholarship from the YCC Eagle Scout Association. The scholarships are given to assist the student in his first year of college.^[2]

Many editions of the Yankee Clipper Council shoulder patch have been made. They range from updated versions of the original, where spokes were added to the wheel totem for incoming districts and to issues for several national jamboree contingents, religious events and FOS fundraiser sets.^[3]

Camps

Camp Onway

Camp Onway
Location	Raymond, New Hampshire
Founded	1929
Defunct	2007

Camp Onway was a camp of the Yankee Clipper Council from 1929 to 2007. Onway was sold to the LDS Church and is now known as Zion's Camp.

Lone Tree Scout Reservation

Lone Tree Scout Reservation
Location	Kingston, New Hampshire
Coordinates	42°53′13″N 71°4′22″W / 42.88694°N 71.07278°W / 42.88694; -71.07278
Founded	1946
Ranger	Wil Dinsmore
Website www.ltsf.org/

Lone Tree Scout Reservation is a 136.7-acre (553,000 m²) camp in Kingston, New Hampshire, with frontage along the shores of Country Pond. It currently hosts the council's Cub Scout camping programs.^[4] On October 26, 2011, the YCC Executive Board completed the purchase of the Rowe Parcel which added 11.7 acres (4.7 ha) and secured frontage to Route 125. This prevented any commercial encroachment up to the Nature Lodge, securing the woodland feel of the camp.

The 2012 Camp Staff is made up of Council Boy Scouts and LTSF Venture Crew 345 members. The Venture Crew's main program feature is for interested young men and women to be on Lone Tree staff. Many of the staff are interested in teaching, art, and the child care field and relate very well to Cub Scout aged boys. The Camp Totem is the Elm, having three main limbs for the Boy Scout Oath and twelve branches for the points of the Scout Law. The camp was named for the historical landmark Lone White Pine on Lone Tree Hill that guided early colonial sailors up the Merrimack River to Amesbury, Massachusetts.

There are three additional summer programs annually held at the reservation. Camp So-Kee-Tay is a four-day, three-night overnight experience designed especially for Webelos Scouts, in contrast to Day Camp, that remains a weeklong day camp experience for all Cub Scouts going into grades 2-5. Cub Overnight Weekends (COWs) are two-day, one-night experiences for all Cub Scouts going into grades 2-5. Family Camping is a two-day, one-night experience for all Cub Scouts and their families. The Lone Tree Spirit Foundation has an event at the end of every summer and will be hosting a 65th anniversary celebration on the weekend of September 7, 2012.^[5]

From 1946 to 1994 Lone Tree Scout Reservation served as a residential summer camp for Boy Scouts during the summer season. Since 1994, the reservation has served as the Council's Cub Scout camp and continues to serve as a camping location for both Cub and Boy Scouts troops through the fall, winter and spring. The reservation is equipped with four winterized cabins to facilitate winter camping for entry-level Scouts and Scouters.

The Yankee Clipper Council holds many training sessions, including Wood Badge, Order of the Arrow events, and district camping events at the reservation throughout the year.

The reservation was purchased by the Lone Tree Council in September 1946,^[6] with the proceeds from a World War II Boy Scout paper drive and the sale of Camp Lone Tree in Deerfield, New Hampshire. Camp Lone Tree was a 75-acre (300,000 m²) camping facility owned by the Lone Tree Council from 1928 to 1946.^[7]

Wah-Tut-Ca Scout Reservation

Wah-Tut-Ca Scout Reservation
Location	Northwood, New Hampshire
Coordinates	43°12′36″N 71°14′29″W / 43.21000°N 71.24139°W / 43.21000; -71.24139
Founded	1937
Ranger	Tom Lothian
Website www.wahtutca.net/

Wah-Tut-Ca Scout Reservation (WTCSR) is an overnight Boy Scout camp located in Northwood, New Hampshire. The camp belonged to the Greater Lowell Council until that council joined Yankee Clipper in 2000. Scouts will meet lifelong friends and experience things they will take with them for the rest of their lives. Wah-Tut-Ca is on over 250 acres (100 ha), including frontage on Northwood Lake. Wah-Tut-Ca is a Native American term meaning "For Friends and Brothers".^[8] The camp was founded in 1937.

During the weekend of June 22, 2012, Wah-Tut-Ca celebrated the 75th anniversary of the camp. Many pictures, stories and event documents of that event are published on Facebook.

Camp Wah-Tut-Ca offers an open program and a wide variety of activities for Scouts to choose from. The areas at the camp include the Waterfront, COPE, Climbing, Sports, Frontier, Discovery, Workshop (formerly known as handicrafts), Shooting Sports, Project Green, and the Trading Post. Each area is staffed by trained scouts who teach merit badges and Scout skills to help Scouts advance through the ranks.

The Wah-Tut-Ca Senior Staff is made up of camp alumni, often National Camp School Certified, including many Arrowmen from Nanepashemet Lodge. Every summer, they return home to manage the summer camp program for the many resident campers. Junior staff members include veteran campers and staffers from Lone Tree Scout Reservation, Camp Onway and WTCSR.

In the spring of 2007 the Key Foundation, an Order of the Arrow support group, published Wah-Tut-Ca Scout Reservation.^[9] It is the first national publication of the history of a Scout camp.^[10]

Nanepashemet Lodge

Nanepashemet Lodge
Founded	1993
Lodge Chief	Robert Sean McLaughlin
Lodge Adviser	Raymond Morrison
Staff Adviser	Sam Plouffe
Website http://www.yccbsa.org/oa/index.htm

Nanepashemet, translated as "New Moon", was the mighty Indian chief of the Aberginian (Massachusetts) Federation. Nanepashemet Lodge, of the Order of the Arrow, Scouting's National Honor Society, was founded in 1993 from the merger of Shingebis Lodge, Passaquo Lodge, and Amiskwi Lodge. In 2000, Wannalancit Lodge was merged with Nanepashemet Lodge. The codfish was chosen as the lodge totem as it represented the economic life-blood of Massachusetts, in particular the Gloucester and Cape Cod regions. The time when codfish swim north is during the new moon, which holds significance as "the start or the beginning".

Boy Scouts of the Yankee Clipper Council are elected into the Lodge by their troop members. They are chosen, exhibiting the traits of honor campers, by their peers and must be recommended by their Scoutmaster. In order to be considered for election, adults under 21 and all scouts must have achieved the First Class rank or higher. All members must have experienced at least 15 nights of Boy Scout camping within the past two calendar years, including one, but no more than one, long-term camp of 5 or 6 nights. The remaining 9 or 10 nights must consist of overnight, weekend or other short-term camping. Cabin camping is not counted. The Order of the Arrow is a unique organization because the body of its membership is elected from outside of the lodge.

The lodge provides service to the camps and programs of the Yankee Clipper Council. This is conducted through work projects during induction weekends, fellowship campouts, and special events such as the Arrow of Light weekend and the Webelos Woods program. The lodge also hosts fellowship events, conclaves, training events, and an annual family banquet, and supports the council activities at Council-run events. The lodge ceremonial teams bring flair to other events at the council district and unit level. Many lodge members, youth and adult, are active staff members of both Scout and Cub Scout camps.^[11]

The lodge supports the Council's Friends of Scouting program and sponsors camperships for the summer camp programs and training events. The lodge publishes a newsletter, the Codzilla Chronicles, available by mail or online to its paid membership, which currently number over 450. Returning or transferring members from the OA can be reinstated by paying this year's and last year's dues to the Lodge. Adult members must be registered Scouters with Yankee Clipper Council.

In 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 the Lodge earned National Quality Lodge status. On August 1–6, 2009, the Lodge sent a 25-member contingent to the National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) held at Indiana University. Nanepashemet Lodge is part of the NE-1A section of the Order of the Arrow.

In 2011 the National Order of the Arrow Committee awarded Nanepashemet Lodge the E. Urner Goodman Camping Award and the National Service Award. Both honors are given to only eight lodges in the nation each year, and for one lodge to earn them both in the same year is very rare. The E. Urner Goodman Camping Award is awarded to lodges who provide exceptional efforts in the area of camping promotions and achieve tangible results in the growth of camping within the council. Yankee Clipper Council achieved growth in all camping programs in 2010. The National Service Award is reserved for those lodges who perform exceptional service to their council and camps, both in quality and quantity. In 2010 the Lodge completed the Legacy Project which renovated the council campfire rings at both its camps, installed new matching gateways, and planted over 100 trees around the Stockade at Wah-Tut-Ca Scout Reservation.

Nanepashemet Lodge is a 2012 recipient of the OA National Service Grant. The grant was awarded to Nanepashemet Lodge to rebuild the waterfront lookout tower at Wah-Tut-Ca Scout Reservation.

At the annual lodge meeting in May 2012 Bobby Patterson was elected to serve as the Nanepashemet Lodge Chief for 2012-2013. Bobby was sworn into office on July 26, 2012, at Wah-Tut-Ca Scout Reservation and officially assumed the position of lodge chief on August 1. This is Bobby's second term as lodge chief, having previously served as chief from 2009-2010. Matthew Harrington was installed as the Lodge Vice Chief, Timothy Larocque was installed as the Lodge Secretary, and Stephen DeWitt was installed as Lodge Treasurer. Also in 2012, the lodge sent a contingent of 34 Arrowmen to the National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) at Michigan State University, the largest NOAC contingent in lodge history and the largest 2012 contingent for Section NE1A. The lodge finished the year by earning the Gold Standard in the Journey to Excellence, extending its record to five straight years of earning National's top honors for quality program.

After completing five terms as lodge adviser, Michael Bryant stepped down on July 31, 2012. His tenure was marked by a great expansion in the youth's ownership and control of the OA program in Yankee Clipper Council. Yankee Clipper Scout Executive Kevin Nichols announced that Raymond Morrison III will serve as lodge adviser beginning August 1, 2012. This date coincides with the beginning of the term for the new lodge officers. In 2013 Brian Eckelkamp served as Chief of Nanepashemet Lodge and saw the addition of the National Innovation Award to the Lodge's retinue of Awards. He would be succeeded on August 1, 2014 by current Chief Robert Sean McLaughlin under the theme "Unleash the Spirit Within."

This period in the lodge's history saw increasing development in the lodge's program and presence within the Yankee Clipper Council. As the various challenges began to emerge to the YCC, McLaughlin advocated successfully for a stronger youth voice in decision making and served on the Council Executive Board as a youth representative and the Council Boy Scout Camping Committee. Highlighting this year of strength and perseverance, the Lodge was award the National Innovation Award for the Bloomington Plan, the Lodge's organizational structure, and also the National Service Grant to rebuild the rowboat docks at Wah-tut-ca Scout Reservation. Inspiration within the Lodge's youth continues to stem from the phrase, "good, is never good enough."

Former lodges

Shingebis Lodge

Named after the famous American Indian, Shingebis, who appears in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha, Shingebis Lodge was founded in 1953 and served North Essex Council (1925–1993), Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Camp Onway for 40 years. Wannalancit Lodge conducted the first ceremony to begin Shingebis Lodge in 1953. Shingebis' totem, the loon, was always found on Onway Lake or Koo-Wah'ing before an Ordeal. In 1993 Shingebis merged with Amiskwi and Passaquo to form Nanepashemet Lodge. Shingebis Chapter of Nanepashemet Lodge – (North Essex District) used to serve the Scouts residing in Andover, North Andover, Methuen, and Lawrence. Presently the chapter includes all towns from the former Passaquo Chapter, now including Methuen and North Andover from the old Shingebis Chapter since the redistricting. The three new chapters of Nanepashemet have the same towns as the new districts. Lowaneu Wacheu - Northern Light District, is Lenni Lenape for "Northern Light".

Wannalancit Lodge

Named after Chief Wonalancet or "Wannalancit", who was a sachem or sagamore of the Pennacook people, Wannalancit Lodge joined Nanepashemet in 2000 as a result of the merger of the Greater Lowell Council, with the Yankee Clipper Council. Greater Lowell Council chose to merge with Yankee Clipper Council over three other adjacent councils. The totem of this lodge was the turtle, named "Tommy". In 1951, the lodge was chartered to serve Camp Wah-Tut-Ca. This lodge originally formed the Pawtucket Chapter of Nanepashemet. Before the OA was adopted, Camp Wah-Tut-Ca had the Wah-Tut-Ca Braves, an honor camper society. The new chapter is named Wamesit - West Wind District, named for the village of the indigenous people of the district. This new chapter is larger, now including Lawrence and Andover.

Several of the lodge's arrowmen have given rise to the Key Foundation which was incorporated in December 1987 by a group of former lodge officers of Wannalancit Lodge. The idea for the foundation was gained from the 1986 National Order of the Arrow Conference.^[12] For the joining of Nanepashemet, Wannalancit Lodge chose to become Pawtucket Chapter and begin anew in the lodge that they chose. The Pawtucket Chapter of Nanepashemet Lodge – (Greater Lowell District) formerly served the Scouts in Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Lowell, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, Westford and Wilmington.^[13] The Pawtuckets were a tribe of American Indians that hailed from the south side of the Merrimack River.^[14]

Passaquo Lodge

Named after Passaquo, a Pentucket American Indian,^[15] the place name meant that he hailed from the north side of the Merrimack River, Passaquo Lodge was formed in the spring of 1959 to serve the youth of Lone Tree Council. This society of honor campers was created to serve Lone Tree Scout Reservation in Kingston, New Hampshire. Passaquo was a signer of the deed to the land of Pentucket, now Haverhill, Massachusetts, which included the old region named "Timberlane" just to the north in southern New Hampshire, extending to a point in the town of Hampstead. The first induction ceremony was conducted by Passaconaway Lodge from the Daniel Webster Council of New Hampshire, at Camp Carpenter, to help start the lodge in early summer of 1959. The totem of the Lodge was the cock pheasant in flight, impaled by the arrow as depicted from the original lodge.^[16][17]

The first Lodge Flaps were white with red-embroidered border containing the totem of the cock pheasant in flight impaled by the arrow. They were restricted only presented, one per lifetime to Brotherhood members, and not to be traded, sold or given away. The fully embroidered blue flap is believed to be from the early 1970s and had a new eye color for each version until 1993, with a brown eye. The neckerchiefs were restricted as well, featuring the triangular patch on red material, with earlier neckerchiefs having white with red tip or split from tip to long side of red and white sides. The earliest was a homemade version with red rickrack sewn on bed linen. From 1969 to 1972, the lodge was divided into two chapters, Whittier and Chain Bridge.

In 1969, the Pentucket Indian Dancers dance team was started and later performed center stage at the 1971 World Jamboree in Japan with former LTSR Ranger Donald Miller.

The former Passaquo Lodge lived on after the merger of the Yankee Clipper Council and was a Chapter of Nanepashemet Lodge of the Yankee Clipper Council. Several of the lodge's arrowmen have given rise to the Lone Tree Spirit Foundation, a benefactor of the Lone Tree Scout Reservation. The Passaquo Chapter of Nanepashemet Lodge – (Lone Tree District) served the Scouts residing in Amesbury, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Merrimac, Newbury, Newburyport, Rowley, Salisbury and West Newbury, Massachusetts, and those in Atkinson, East Kingston, Hampstead, Kingston, Newton, Plaistow, Seabrook and South Hampton, New Hampshire. Presently the Chapter includes a few towns from the Shingebis Chapter since the redistricting. This new chapter has the same towns and is named after the native American translation of the new district. Lowaneu Wacheu - Northern Light District, is Lenni Lenape for "Northern Light". The totem of the new chapter is the wild American tom Turkey, silhuetted by the Nanepashemet New Moon.

Amiskwi Lodge

According to a copy of the original lodge charter, the lodge was officially founded on July 22, 1953. The name, meaning "beaver" of Algonquin dialect, was picked because the young candidates were working like "busy little beavers" during the first induction of September 1953.^[18] Their newsletter started in 1964 was called "Beaver Chips". Amiskwi Lodge^[19] was started at Norshoco Scout Reservation in Alfred, Maine, the former lodge of the North Shore Council.

When these councils merged, Winnipurkit Lodge (Winnepeuket)^[20] of Bay Shore was inactive, so Amiskwi became the lodge of the new North Bay Council. North Bay Council had four districts: Masconomet, Ironworks, Quapar and Cape Ann. In 1966, Bay Shore Council merged with the North Shore Council to form the North Bay Council (1966–1993).^[21] North Shore Council's camp was NorShoCo Scout Reservation in southern Maine. In 1966, the lodge absorbed Winnepurkit, and in 1993 the lodge merged with Shingebis and Passaquo to form Nanepashemet.^[22][23] The lodge's totem is the beaver. This former OA Lodge had three chapters, first Cape Ann from 1959–60 and then Abnaki and Agawam chapters to handle the influx of new members from 21 communities during the 1966 merger.

The induction ceremonies were then alternated between Norshoco Scout Reservation and Indian Pond Scout Reservation, after this period until the 1971 Area 1-G Section Conclave, where effort concentrated on moving camp equipment to Indian Pond. The last ceremony of May 1979 ended and camp equipment was transferred to Boston Minuteman Council's T.L. Storer Scout Reservation in Barnstead, New Hampshire. Despite camping and doing service projects at T.L. Storer for eight more years, the lodge had minimal contact with King Philip Lodge. In the spring of 1988, the last OA weekend was held at T.L. Storer and then the lodge served at Camp Onway in Raymond, New Hampshire, with Shingebis Lodge, and then merged into Yankee Clipper Council in 1993.

Prior to redistricting, the Amiskwi Chapter of Nanepashemet Lodge – (North Shore District) served the Scouts of Beverly, Boxford, Danvers, Essex, Gloucester, Hamilton, Ipswich, Manchester, Marblehead, Middleton, Rockport, Salem, Topsfield, and Wenham. Their totem remains the beaver of the former lodge. The new chapters have the same towns as the new districts. Ascutegnic Chapter - Great Eastern District, is named for the convergence of rivers around the district which is on the North Shore of Massachusetts.

Winnepurkit Lodge

This lodge took on the name of Nanepashemet's son. Winnepurkit (Winnepeuket) Lodge began in 1939 in the Bay Shore Council formerly located in Lynn, Massachusetts.^[24] The Winnepurkit Lodge totem was the thunderbird. In 1966, Bay Shore Council merged with the North Shore Council to form the North Bay Council.^[21] During that time, due to being inactive, the lodge was disbanded in favor of choosing Amiskwi as the continuing lodge. From the early date of charter, Winnipurket may have been an honor camp association, prior to national adoption of the Order of the Arrow, such as the Wah-Tut-Ca Braves. Several commemorative patches of the former lodge were created to serve as placeholders in OA patch collections.^[25]

Bay Shore Council owned Indian Pond Scout Reservation (Camp Waskeche) on the side of Indian Pond Mountain in Orford, New Hampshire, and Camp Nihan in Saugus, Massachusetts. The plaques at Camp Nihan mention that at one time each community was a district in Bay Shore Council. In 1966, Amiskwi Lodge absorbed Winnepurkit, when Bay Shore Council merged with the North Shore Council to form the North Bay Council. Fittingly, this lodge name (and number) was given new life as a chapter in the new lodge in 1993, when Amiskwi merged with Shingebis and Passaquo to form Nanepashemet.

Prior to redistricting, Winnepurkit Chapter of Nanepashemet Lodge – (Aquila District) served the Scouts of Lynnfield, Lynn, Nahant, Peabody, Saugus, Swampscott, and Winthrop. Their totem remains the thunderbird of their original lodge. The new chapters have the same towns as the new districts. Ascutegnic Chapter - Great Eastern District, is named for the convergence of rivers around the district which is on the North Shore of Massachusetts.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scouting in New Hampshire.

• Scouting in New Hampshire
• Scouting in Massachusetts

References