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Sakuwit Lodge 2 is the Boy Scouts of America's Order of the Arrow Lodge that serves Central New Jersey Council and is part of Section NE-2B. The name means "from the mouth of two rivers". It's current Lodge Chief is Brandon Rhea and it's Vice-Chief of Operations is Randy Breingan, Jr. The Lodge Adviser is David Oertle. HistorySakuwit Lodge 2 is a very young Lodge, carrying on the traditions of ones that are very old. When George Washington Council and Thomas A. Edison Council merged, their respective Lodges merged as well. Sanhican Lodge 2 and Narriticong Lodge 9 merged to produce a new OA Lodge boasting over 700 members. An all youth Merger Committee unanimously selected Sakuwit Lodge as a new name and adopted the racoon as a totem, which later went on to be known as "Rockwell the Racoon". On September 2, 1999, new Lodge By-Laws were authorized and Sakuwit Lodge 2 was officially created. The name is significant because Central New Jersey Council is located between the Raritan and Delaware Rivers in central New Jersey. Their Lodge totem, the racoon, is a fitting symbol of New Jersey's camping traditions. Their Lodge number, 2, stands out as a reminder to all of the rich traditions of the Order of the Arrow in the area and being the second oldest Lodge in the United States. Symbols
Sakuwit Lodge Flap from NOAC 2000
Sakuwit's Lodge Flap is symbolic of it's history. Two rivers merge to form one, symbolic of "from the mouth of two rivers" as Sanhican Lodge 2 and Narriticong Lodge 9 came together to form Sakuwit Lodge 2. The two mountains on each side symbolize the two Central New Jersey Council Camps, Kitattiny Mountain Scout Reservation and Yards Creek Scout Reservation. There are two rocks in the river for Sanhican Lodge 2 and nine ripples in the water for Narriticong Lodge 9. Originally, there were three clouds in the sky for the original three chapters, but now that Sakuwit has adopted a six-chapter program it has been amended to include six clouds. The Lodge totem is a racoon, also shown on the patch. There are many other fundraiser and NOAC patches from the Lodge, such as the one seen above from NOAC 2000. ChaptersAt the outset, there were three chapters: Pahaquarra, Sakawawin and Cowaw. Each chapter served two districts. However, towards the end of Ryan Korn's tenure as Chief it was changed to six chapters: Pahaquarra, Sakawawin, Cowaw, Lenape, Sanhican and Narriticong. Each chapter now serves only one district. This program continued under the leadership of Chief Ted Midura and his Vice-Chief of Chapters Dan Garrihy. The program still continues today.
Recently, the first chief of the new Pahaquarra Chapter, Andrew Kries, passed away suddenly. He was fourteen years old. "The Broken Arrow" ceremony, a rarely performed ceremony for fallen Arrowman, was performed at the 2006 Council Camporee in East Brunswick, NJ. Lodge Executive CommitteeThe Lodge Executive Committee is a group of elected and appointed youth (younger than 21) who run all Lodge events and the Lodge itself. They meet on the second Thursday of each month at the CNJC Office to discuss Lodge happenings and to plan Lodge events. Each year, the Lodge meets to elect new officers. The following officers were elected in June, 2006:
The next election will be held in June, 2007. Lodge ChiefsAccording to the Sakuwit Lodge 2 Bylaws, the Lodge Chief "is the Chief Executive Officer of Sakuwit Lodge 2. [He is] responsible for all agendas and presides at all Lodge and Executive Committee meetings". As of June, 2006 there have been eight Chiefs of Sakuwit Lodge 2. They are as follows:
No Chief of Sakuwit Lodge 2 has served a second term, though there is nothing preventing a Chief from running again. It is also interesting to note that Tom Voorhees and Ryan Korn both went on to become Vice-Chief of Section NE-2B, the section to which Sakuwit Lodge 2 belongs.
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