Recent OAImages News

I missed this one amidst all the recent mergers. Jeff Gruenke just announced on Patch-l that Awase and Ag-Im lodges have merged to form Kon Wapos lodge. There was no news about what number, if any, the lodge might use. Their totem will be the snow shoe hare.

There is no word yet on any patches for Kon Wapos lodge. Read the Full Post

Last winter the BSA announced that it was considering a change in its membership policies that would allow chartering organizations the freedom to decide whether or not it would allow gay males to join as either youth members or adult leaders. Currently such people are officially disallowed from becoming members of the BSA. After much feedback, it was decided to delay a decision on this important membership change until the BSA's annual meeting in May. However, I have since received word from reliable sources within the BSA that a decision has been made, although the final legal details have yet to be completely worked out.

An acquaintance of mine, Eli Tillbush from Florida, was able to fill me in on some of the details. All are pending approval of the BSA Executive Board and may also still face legal hurdles on both the state and federal levels. Effective 4/1/15 the BSA will divide itself into two separate but equal organizations. One, to be known as the Boy Scouts of America, will maintain the current membership policy. The other organization, tentatively named the National Equality Scouting Association, will openly admit boys and adult leaders regardless of sexuality. This organization will prohibit discrimination based upon sexual preference.

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Kanwa tho lodge, 636, formed from the recent merger of Mascoutens 8 and Mikano 231 has issued their first flap. One thousand of these charter member flaps were produced. The flaps were first sold at the lodge's Winter banquet and are currently restricted to one per person. Approximately 350 people were at the banquet but not all were brothers.

The lodge's totem is a panther. There has been some disagreement over the correct spelling of the lodge name. At present the lodge has said the name is spelled "Kanwa tho", no hyphen and a lower case "t" to start the second word. The name on the flap is considered a misspelling. The number used by this lodge is the same as their council, Three Harbors Council.

Thanks to Dan Gille for the image and information about this lodge.

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I think I have most of the issues resolved. Warning: Tech speak follows!

I found another one while trying to fix the problems. If my email was downloading properly it would have been spotted sooner. One of the drives for the server was not properly mounted after the maintenance my "colloc" folks did. That meant that users saw a lot of dead links for a few thousand of the more recent images on the site. That is resolved now.

When I was still thinking the email issue was on my end, one solution was to delete and reinstall my email account in Thunderbird. I was then unable to reinstall it (turns out because the issue was on my server). That meant all the saved OAImages mail I had was deleted! OOPS! Well, not really. ..

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I just became aware that there appear to be some technical issues with the site's server. Due to the Christmas season and time away from the computer, I didn't spot them sooner.

It appears that mail sent to me since around mid-day on12/20 has not been received. I do not know if outbound mail -- specifically the automated messages the server sends when someone signs up to the members' area -- has been sent properly. There is reason to believe it hasn't been.

I am unable to ftp into the site. Connections are being refused, making it difficult for me to change much of anything on my own.

I have opened a ticket with my server's host and will update here when I know more. Please be patient. Read the Full Post

Are you looking for a stocking stuffer for a patch collector out there? Do you just want to pick up some more trading stock? I have a deal for you.

I always find myself with an accumulation of flaps that don't quite ever get into my collection. They're nice patches and "get along well with others" but I never seem to find the time to put them properly with the rest of my stuff. The accumulation keeps growing. This is an opportunity for you. For a limited time (until I run out), I am offering a ten (10) flap bulk deal for $39.99, postpaid. That's just under $4 per flap and include postage.

All the flaps will be different, no duplicates. All will be mint, no ratty or sewn, or laundered flaps. All will be real lodge issues with no spoofs in the bunch. These include standard issues as well as special (eg. NOAC, Jamboree, anniversary) issues. Payment via PayPal (to jpannell@triad.rr.com) is preferred. The flaps will be mailed out within a day of receiving payment, helping you receive these in time for holiday gift-giving.

If you have any further questions, please email me at jpannell@triad.rr.com. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from many of you soon! Read the Full Post