Bill Griesmyer left a comment on my 1:1 page regarding a Gonlix Neckerchief that was not listed in the Blue Book. Bill has a picture on his website, but has allowed me to reproduce the image here and save him some bandwidth.
He describes the neckerchief on his site as follows:
Gonlix Lodge #34 neckerchief. This is a rare neckerchief. The only one I have ever seen. This is a silk neckerchief with the Gonlix arrow patch (A1a or A1c). I have heard there were about 70 made. They were hand made by Patricia Wxxxx (wife of Nelson Wxxxx).
In his comment and subsequent email, he adds the following information.
I’m not sure if Nelson was ever lodge advisor. He was a leader when I was active. He led an effort to form a dance team, which I joined. I remember going to his home in Madison, NY to have him teach about the OA while his wife Pat had my mom help sew our dance outfits.
The neckerchief is a cram/white silk with red piping on the outside. The inner red square is just over 6″ to the side, and is also silk. It has black piping on the outside. I remember being warned not to wash it because the silk dried at different rates. I was given mine by one of my troop leaders (Robert C) when I went to the 1969 National Jamboree. Needless to say, I didn’t trade it. I had never seen another one until the one showed up on eBay this week. I have heard of a few people that had one though.
I was wondering (this isn’t a trade request) why the Gonlix Lodge neckerchief isn’t listed in Blue Book? John Pannell shows the image of the neckerchief to show one of the versions of the arrowhead patch. There is one currently on eBay for sale.
You can see the on on eBay here. I will not be bidding on this one as I have the 34 Gonlix A1 in my collection.
Now the second question at hand is why is it not listed in the Blue Book. The short answer is because it doesn’t meet the criteria. Which begs the question, well what are the criteria.
The Fifth edition of the Blue Book spells it out on page 18 (in part).
The Insignia Listing
What Gets Listed … and What Doesn’t
The distinction is made by what it says on the patch or neckerchief.
Insignia that get listed
- silkscreened and embroidered neckerchiefs
Insignia that don’t get listed
- neckerchiefs with sewn-on patches
If the neckerchief had, for example, Dance Team embroidered on it; than it would be listed separately as N99 RED P WHT – – Emb; White Silk with Red Silk diamond BLK Dance Team found with A1 sewn on neckerchief.
Since it is otherwise an un-embroidered and un-silkscreened neckerchief it does not get a separate BB listing, just the A1 listing.
Now each person can and should collect what they want; and I would certainly collect both the neckerchief version and the arrowhead patch (A1) separately if I had been a member of Gonlix, the Blue Book only lists the Arrowhead.
YMMV
Hi NY Collectors-
Recent research I’ve performed on this neckerchief results in the following:
The red square on the neckerchief containing the #34 A-01a (at least the example I’ve seen) is slightly smaller (perhaps 1″ x 1″ smaller) than those red squares on the neckerchief containing the #34 A-01c (comparison of the two neckerchiefs can be seen on http://www.oaimages.com…A-01a vs. A-01c).
I’ve had several conversations with former #34 Gonlix chiefs and many remember the wife of another adviser (adviser’s name was Ken Bxxxxx) helping create the neckerchiefs and indicate possibly 100-150 examples produced (yet it remains one of the toughest II-G items to find…I still need both examples on a neckerchief…someday I’ll shake both loose!). A few remembered Mrs. Bxxxxx making them in the mid-late 1960’s (presumably the A-01c’s) with the earlier examples accredited to Mrs. Wxxxx (presumably the A-01a’s…Bill G. – I’d like to speak live with you regarding what I’ve learned).
Bill’s recollection of being told not to wash the neckerchief is absolutely correct. At least one other member/chief recanted the same memory and rationale for not washing it (and so, few were worn for purposes other than official lodge representation: ie. conclave training session, LEC meeting, any place where cleanliness would be assured).
I hope this sheds further light on II-G collecting. I look forward to providing Bill Mulrenin with a posting on how Gonlix Lodge #34, originally Lynx Lodge, came to Madison County, NY in summer 1928 (when no surrounding counties had an Order of the Arrow program…it’s a neat glimpse into the early spread of the WWW program.
My best-
-Ray
fellow NYS collectors. I want to thank Ray for his comments. Ray is much more in tune with Central NY, since I haven’t lived there since 1975. It is quite possible that there was more than one “manufacturing” cycle for the neckerchiefs. Based on the rare nature of the neckerchiefs, it seems that that the combined quantities don’t seem to match the availability of the neckerchiefs, though. I received my information from a close friend of Nelson Wxxx. Somewhere in my emails form the late 1990’s, I may have his name.
I would love to talk live with Ray, too.
Additionally, I recieved some history od madision County Council that was created by council leaders for a presentation at an annual meeting. I have added it to my web site at:
http://www.infoblvd.net/griesmyer/collect_files/council/madison_county_council_history.htm
In the 1928 information, it refers to the lodge name as Gonlix Lodge, not Lynx Lodge. That may be due to the fact that the council leadership may not have had anyone that was involved in the initial formation.
Bill Griesmyer
A recent conversation with the last lodge chief of Gonlix (Jim W.) resulted in his recanting his statement about the wife of Ken B. helping to make the neckerchiefs discussed above. He correctly remembers her helping to make the staff neckerchiefs for Camp Eatonbrook (not the lodge). As Bill Griesmyer shared, only Patricia W. (wife of Nelson W.) assembled these neckerchiefs. However, the 70 number is still suspect to me (I can place at least 1 dozen of these in private collections or still with original members…..one former chief has 2!…..the A-01a and A-01c….his n/c with A-01c is soiled and the A-01a is mint pristine…..one would think the reverse would be more likely…..hmmmmmm).
My best-
Ray