Quelqueshoe Lodge History
On June 13th - 20th, 1938, sixteen members of the Order of the Arrow completed the first part of the Ordeal, conducted by members of Lodge 62 from Port Arthur, Texas. The Ordeal took place at Camp Prien under the direction of Mid Cole, the Camp Director. During the second week of camp, another seventeen members passed the Ordeal. They were chosen during camp and brought out into the woods for the night. Their task was to find their way back to camp. After successfully finding camp, they completed the Ordeal. Among the new Ordeal members were six Scouters, four Sea Scouts, and twenty-three Scouts.
The first meeting was held at Camp Prien on November 19, 1939. Mickey Reed was elected as the first Chief of Lodge 166. Willard Green was elected Secretary, and Glenn Harris was elected as Treasurer. There were twenty-three members present. National records show that the lodge was not chartered the first year it was organized, so the council applied for a charter and received it the next year.
In 1939, there were thirty-three active members registered in the lodge. In 1940, sixty-two members were chartered, and there were eight-eight members in 1941. All records from 1941 to 1952 cannot be found except for the names of members who passed the Ordeal. Mid Cole stated that the lodge became somewhat inactive during this time due to war and lack of leadership. In 1952, the council applied for a charter to organize a lodge. Upon being informed that a lodge had previously existed, they simply reactivated during the summer of 1952 at Camp Edgewood. The next accurate records show that thirty-two members were inducted at Camp Edgewood in 1955. The next dated record is a list of ninety-eight members for 1958. There is another list of thirty-three members inducted from 1957 or 1959.
In 1959, there was an area conference at Camp Edgewood, and an orange twill patch in the shape of Louisiana was issued. It is believed that this was the first conference that Lodge 166 participated. Since then the lodge has participated in every area conference.
In 1963, the lodge sent its first delegates to the National Conference in Illinois. A total of twelve members attended, including two adult members: Claudius Mayo and Wallace Cobb. Members attending were William Mitchell (Lodge Chief), Richard Fusilier (Vice Lodge Chief), Ronnie Hamilton, and other Arrowmen who are unnamed. Also in 1963, the lodge activated its first dance team under the direction of Bobby Judd.
The lodge’s name is Quelqueshoe, meaning "screaming eagle", from which Calcasieu is derived. The totems are a pine tree and an eagle.
Lodge officers are elected during the annual lodge business meeting.