Subject: RE: Achpateuny History

Date: Wed 10 Nov 1999 13:08:27 +0100

From: “Coberly, Daniel, SGM, 21TSC PAO” <CoberlyD@HQ.21TSC.ARMY.MTL>

To: “’kiska@twics.com’” kiska@twics.com

OK. No, we didn’t do any bylaws for the Lodge as the SE said the Council’s bylaws were it, and at that time BSA wanted all councils to adopt their bylaws, not make their own. Here is the quick story less details... I arrived in 1982, the lodge wasn’t functioning, no advisor (just left), no real boy involvement. No ceremonies except folks in Korea and Phil who were doing their own thing. There were no DEs and money was out of control. The SE, Dick Weidman and I met, the day I arrived. . . he had just gotten the council out of debt that he inherited to the tune of $80,000; when I left in 1985, there was a trust fund of more than $100,000. .. . Dick said no one was interested in the OA, the council was indebt, so he was going to just save the money and not recharter the Lodge. He was very negative, but also very alone trying to fix things. I decided that he needed help and some public relations. I had been there two weeks when asked to staff Woodbadge (82) and after that talked again about the Lodge. Thus began woodbadge 82-84 and the cub course. I convinced Dick to run a camp school three times as well. So we started a NEW lodge, not just a name change, but since the number remained the same folks recorded it as a name change. I convinced Dick to make a new, simple flap (the Ikuhnakasi supposedly meant “a gathering of nations in Tagalog, where the previous Lodge Advisor had been... and Dick didn’t like the Hinode Goya “Rising Sun” and the implications of that). Then I asked to be appointed Lodge Advisor (the only time I ever got what I asked for from a professional!) and since I was working with his son Steven, a new Eagle, we convinced him to be Lodge Chief for a year to get things going. Dick, Steve and me travelled to all the districts (easy for me since I worked for Stars and Stripes) and we conducted Ordeal, Brotherhood, and Vigil Ceremonies in Korea (where Jack Peacock showed up to help with a ceremony) Taiwan, Phil, Japan, Okinawa (did not make the trip to Thailand until, later). We also presented a silver beaver or two in Korea and Taiwan. The Taiwan trip was great--we met with Howard Ang of Howardson’s and I almost ran off with one of his beautiful daughters! Each country was considered a Chapter, to have a chief and an election, but it took time to hire DEs. When I arrived there was only one DE and that was in Japan. When I left ,we had DEs in Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Phil. You pretty much know the rest of the story. We looked up some names in the Lene Lanape Dictionary, and came up with Achpateuny, for East Wind; I wanted a simple flap that retained the dragon, and wanted the Silver color to represent Council Service. Dick drew it up on the spot, and that was that. I wasn’t a very good Lodge Advisor, but together, we did a pretty good job of getting things going. Travelling to all the chapters made a big difference. The newsletter helped too (we made it an insert to the council newletter we started/stripes printed at a discount since I worked there) Email would make it easier to keep folks informed with an on line newsletter and web page. I have a few stories about the council I wrote for Stripes that I can send.

Dan Coberly

Sergeant Major