History of the O-Shot-Caw Lodge
Take a look at the impressive accomplishments of O-Shot-Caw Lodge 265!
South Florida Council of Miami, Florida has had two Order of the Arrow Lodges.
On June 20,1944, our local lodge was chartered by the National Lodge, Order of the Arrow, WWW under the name Ala-Paw-Tah Lodge 265. Unfortunately, very little is known about our early lodge. No minutes, patches, neckerchiefs or insignia have been found. On September 8, 1949 our Scout Executive disbanded the lodge seemingly for excessive adult involvement.
For six years, we had no OA lodge. Former OA brothers moving to Miami lobbied for a new lodge here. Finally in April 1955, Tom Gato, Camp director of Camp Snapper Creek was instructed to visit the Area Meet (Section Conference) and report back to Scout Executive McFarland. The report had a positive effect and Mr. McFarland approved a new lodge. On June 28, 1955 the National Office chartered O-Shot-Caw Lodge 265. On August 5, 1955, 22 candidates gathered at Camp Snapper Creek for their first Ordeal. The Aal-Pa-Tah Lodge 237 ceremonies team came down to induct our first candidates.
By 1956 we had grown to over 125 brothers and our first 3 vigils were inducted at the National Order of the Arrow Conference. Richard Galeano, Joseph Galeano and Harold Hollis were these first vigils.
The Galiano brothers were Indian hobbyists and encouraged the lodge to become active in Group Indian Dance – a tradition that continues until today.
O-Shot-Caw 265 has won first place in Section Group Dance in the following years: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, and 2007. This is a total of 28 times on a Section level. O-Shot-Caw has won first place in National Team Dance in 1961, 1963, 1969, 1986, and 1990. In recent history, O-Shot-Caw has placed second in the National Team Dance competition in 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2002 and 2006.
View movies of our current Dance and Drum Teams:
Dance Team
Dance Team
Drum Team
We are not just a dancing lodge, however. We have won the coveted title of Best All Around Lodge in our Section for a total of thirteen times: 1973, 1985, 1986, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010. Notice that nine of those victories are consecutive.
At the 2000 National Order of the Arrow Conference, the NOAC Special Events Committee established the NOAC Spirit Award. The award is a glass acrylic flame with the NOAC patch engraved on it. Lodges that demonstrate, spirit, teamwork, and leadership for a common goal are considered for this award. O-Shot-Caw was a recipient of the NOAC spirit award at both the 2000 and 2002 National Conference.
O-Shot-Caw Lodge has received two nationally recognized lodge awards since our founding. In 1969, O-Shot-Caw Lodge was one of the first recipients of the E. Urner Goodman Camping Award Its purpose is to encourage and challenge Order of the Arrow members and lodges to increase their effectiveness in promoting and increasing Scout camping in each council.
In the summers of 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, O-Shot-Caw became a recipient of the coveted National Service Award. The National Service Award was established to recognize lodges in each region that have performed outstanding service, both in a qualitative and a quantitative sense, to their council.
In 1959, just 4 years after our reorganization, we hosted the Section Conference. Art Tate, our chief from 1956-58, and later a decorated Vietnam Veteran, recalls his fondest memory of that conference, its theme. “A man who can lead 10 others is better than the man who can do the work of 10”.
We hosted the Section Conferences in 1959, 1963, 1971, 1979, 1987, 1996, 2005, 2016 and in 2023. In 1975 we hosted the first Section Seminars training event held with the Council of Chiefs. We have hosted the section seminars again in 1977, 1978, 1985, & 1995 and 2004. The name was changed To Section Leadership Summit in 2013 and we hosted this event in 2014 and 2021.
We have an honorable record of service to the Order of the Arrow beyond our lodge, with 1 brother serving as a National Officer and 26 brothers serving as Section Officers, including 9 Section Chiefs.
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Three of our Brothers have served or are serving as National OA Committee Members – Thomas Tatham, Ron Bell and Alex Gomez. Twelve have received the Order’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award: Thomas Tatham (1988), Phil Engelman (1988), Ron Bell (1988), John Rotruck (1996), Devang Desai (1998), Robert Kuntsman (2002), Paul Anderson (2004), Stan Hoff (2004), Geoff Landau (2009), Alex Gomez (2009), Jason Wolz (2012) and Barry J.F. Ekle (2015). Three times we have had national conference vice chiefs: Jason Wolz, conference vice chief of Indian Events at the 1995 Philmont Retreat, in 1996 at NOAC with Devang Desai serving as conference vice chief of Indian Events and again in 2012 with Frank Gamez serving as the vice chief of Founders Day at Michigan State University.
In 1975 we formed a joint contingent with Echockotee Lodge 200 of Jacksonville to attend NOAC and in 1985 we formed a joint contingent with Osceola 564 for the OA Philmont Trek.
We are justifiably proud of our service to the Section, but service to our Council is our greatest pride. In 1992, following the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, O-Shot-Caw launched a program of Brothers helping Brothers to rebuild the troops destroyed by the hurricane and we mounted a monumental effort to restore the two South Florida camps heavily damaged by this storm: Camp Everglades and Camp Seminole. Thousands of man-hours were donated to scouting by the O-Shot-Caw lodge.
Following a tragic accident and the loss of a brother’s life in 1991 we established the Joseph Aaron Abbott Campership fund to aid Scouts in need to go to summer camp. Yearly our Haunted Forest and now the Scout Youth Expo have donated thousands of dollars to this cause. So far over $106,500.00 has been raised and distributed to our fellow Scouts.
In 1999, O-Shot-Caw noticed a problem with Brotherhood retention among lodges around the nation. In response to this problem, O-Shot-Caw Lodge created the First Year Arrowman Program. The First Year Arrowman Program has been such a success that it was featured in the National Lodge Program Resource Book, and the National Bulletin. Moreover, dozens of lodges around he nation have contacted our Lodge Executive Committee for more information on the First Year Arrowman Program.
For O-Shot-Caw Lodge, we “find the greater beauty in the life of cheerful service”. Brotherhood, Cheerfulness, Service!
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