History of Itibapishe Iti Hollo

Dr. E. Urner Goodman founded the Order of the Arrow in 1915.   Twenty-five years and 187 lodges later, Itibapishe Iti Hollo Lodge was founded as part of the Central North Carolina Council which was then headquartered in Concord. Itibapishe Iti Hollo means “brothers together.”   This name was proposed by the lodges founders, thought to include V. Reary, N. Rabb, Ralph Mullinax, Hubert Powell, C.D. Hemphill and George Thomason, Scout Executive at the time.

In 1940, Itibap was a member of Area H which included many of the lodges currently in SR-5, but extended down through Atlanta, Georgia to Tampa, Florida. In 1944, Itibap became a member of Region 6, Area I, which included the Greensboro, Raleigh, Wilson, Winston-Salem, Asheville, Reidsville, and High Point Lodges. The South Carolina lodges formed what was then known as Area Z. During the war years, Itibap was critical to the growth of the Order of the Arrow in North Carolina, providing Ordeal and Brotherhood Honor teams for other lodges throughout the state. Itibapishe Iti Hollo helped organize Nayawin Rar Lodge 296 in Goldsboro, NC.

Under the leadership of Scout Executive G. E. Ashwill, Assistant Scout Executive Ralph P. Mullinax, C. D.   Hemphill, and Hubert Powell, the lodge successfully hosted the 1946 and 1947 Area Meeting at Morrow Mountain with over 200 Arrowmen in attendance. The 1946 meeting, at which 5 Itibap Arrowman received the Vigil Honor, also caused some controversy, as others in North Carolina, including the National Chairman Kel Hale, believed that Itibap had “let the bar down” in taking too many men into the Vigil Honor at one time. (Note, the first Vigil Honor members of Itibap were N. Rabb and V. Reary, who “took” their Vigil at the National Meeting held at Chanute Field in 1946). The 7 men selected for Vigil Honor in 1946 created quite the stir, prompting the National Chairman, Chief and others to write letters cautioning G.E. Ashwill to petition the national organization for the Vigil Honor judiciously.

In 1948, Arrowman of lodges in Region 6-A, including Itibap, were prohibited from attending the National Meeting held at Indiana University due to the polio outbreak. The Area Fellowship, which was to be held at Camp Uwharrie in October of 1948, was cancelled due to low registration numbers, but the souvenir patch and neckerchiefs were distributed to lodges in order to recoup some of the expenses incurred in planning the fellowship.

Itibap hosted the Dixie Fellowship in 1954 at Camp Dick Henning, near Ellerbe, North Carolina. In the following years, the lodge hosted the Dixie Fellowship in 1967, 1972, 1979, 2001 and 2012 all at Camp John J. Barnhardt, New London, NC. In 1981, Itibapishe Iti Hollo changed from the old Section 3B to Section 7, in which we remained in until January 1, 1997. While a member of Section 7, Itibap was consistently recognized for our great lodge spirit. This was evident when our lodge won the coveted Spirit Award at Camp Bowers during the 1988 Old North State Conclave. The following year, we hosted the Conclave at Camp John J. Barnhardt.

In 1990, the lodge celebrated its 50th anniversary. The year was highlighted during the Fall Fellowship, which served as a 50th Anniversary Weekend when over 160 Arrowman from as far away as Virginia came to celebrate. On Sunday of that weekend, a time capsule was filled with memorabilia from the lodge and council. The capsule was to remain sealed until the lodge celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary in 2015. In April 1993, Itibap attended the last SE7 Old North State Conclave hosted by Occoneechee Lodge 104. Following that weekend, the region and section were realigned to include four new lodges from Virginia. The section was then named SR7 because of the newly formed Southern Region. Effective January 1, 1997, Itibap and two other North Carolina Lodges left SR7 and joined SR5 which included lodges from South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. 

In 2010, the Lodge celebrated our 70th Anniversary. Special anniversary patches and neckerchiefs created to celebrate the event. The Boy Scouts of America celebrated their centennial anniversary the same year. It was a year to remember. Currently, the lodge covers seven counties and divided into seven chapters:  Anson, Cabarrus, Montgomery, Richmond, Rowan, Stanly, and Union.

Our 75th anniversary was celebrated in 2015 along with the 100th anniversary of the National Order of the Arrow. The lodge sent 75 people to NOAC where they enjoyed a week of brotherhood, fellowship, and amazing shows put on by the national staff.  At Fall Fellowship, the lodge enjoyed a special feast and wonderful presentation covering the lodge’s 75 year history.  The presentation also challenged those in attendance to look to the future to strengthen and grow the lodge.  Several 75th anniversary patches were released but the high-light of the weekend was a special rededication ceremony led by the ceremony team, including a flaming arrow.

In 2016, the lodge created 5 chapters in order to conform to the council’s structure. The chapters/ districts were Union county which was Weichcheu Chapter - Old Hickory District, Anson and Richmond counties which were Meechgalanne Chapter - Pee Dee District, Stanly and Montgomery counties which were Quenischquney Chapter - Uwharrie District, Cabarrus county which was Ktemaque Chapter - Cannon District, and Rowan county which was Sapona Chapter - Sapona District.

Itibap’s theme for NOAC 2018 was World War I in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the war ending. We took 26 people to NOAC that year.

In 2020, Ainsley Moore from Sapona chapter was elected as the first female Lodge Secretary. The lodge unfortunately had to cancel the Spring Ordeal and Spring Fellowship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 Dixie was also canceled. The lodge was able to successfully hold a Fall Ordeal, Fall Fellowship, and Summer Fellowship that year. We also celebrated our lodge’s 80th anniversary with a special flap and T-shirt as well.

In 2021, Salem Fleming from Sapona chapter was elected as the first female Lodge Vice Chief and Abigail Watson was elected as the first female Chapter Chief. In Fall of 2021, Central NC Council downsized and realigned their districts. They chose to have 3 districts which were Anson and Union counties, Cabarrus and Rowan counties, and Richmond, Montgomery, and Stanly counties. The lodge followed suit and elected 3 new chapter chiefs according to these boundaries at the Fall Fellowship of that year. The new chapter chiefs decided new chapter names in consultation with their chapter members and advisers. Cabarrus and Rowan’s chapter decided to be called Hmùkwinùnt chapter which translates to Cardinal. Stanly, Montgomery, and Richmond’s chapter decided to be called Onacona chapter which translates to White Owl. Anson and Union’s chapter decided to be called Sënihële chapter which translates to Sparrow.

In 2022, Abigail Watson was elected as the first female Lodge Treasurer. The lodge also took 18 arrowmen to The University of Tennessee for NOAC. While there, Abigail danced for our lodge as a member of the first female class of NOAC dancers.  During the 2022 year, our Lodge Chief Andrew Adler was elected to the position of Chief of  Section E7.  The Vice Chief Conner Chatari took leadership of the lodge.