Maka-Ina Lodge 350
Under construction! We know there's a lot more history out there, we just haven't gotten it all gathered together yet. If you can help, please let us know.
Although the Maka-Ina Lodge was not formed until 1946, the Order of the Arrow had already been active in the area since 1938.
Scouting first arrived in Chillicothe in 1911, when Ross County Council was established. In 1925, the men who were the driving force behind scouting in the area had moved away, and the council was no longer able to support itself. In 1926, Ross County Council merged into Central Ohio Council, but due to a lack of leadership and financial problems brought on by the Great Depression, scouting virtually vanished from Ross County until the end of 1930. Ross County left Central Ohio Council in 1935 and joined the Scioto Area Council in 1936.
In 1938, the Shawnee Lodge of the Order of the Arrow was formed, with chapters at Camp Oyo near Portsmouth and Camp Mingo near Chillicothe. Many area scouts were inducted into Shawnee Lodge at this time. In 1944, Ross, Pike, Jackson, and Vinton counties left the Scioto Area Council to form the Chief Logan Area Council, and two years later the council’s Arrowmen formed the Maka-Ina Lodge, with the first induction of new members taking place in 1946. George Shearrow served as the first Lodge Chief.
In addition to Camp Mingo, the Chief Logan Area Council also operated Camp Ophir Falls until sometime before the early 1960s. In 1962, the Chief Logan Scout Reservation was opened in Jackson County, and the lodge moved its activities there from Camp Mingo, which closed soon afterwards.
Fred May became the first member to receive the Vigil Honor in Maka-Ina in 1950.
Robert Tomastik served as the Area 4-C Chief in 1960. Bill McKell served as the EC-6A Section Chief for both the 1979-1980 and 1980-1981 terms. Maka-Ina hosted the C-5B Conclave at the Chief Logan Scout Reservation in 1993.
The lodge received the E. Urner Goodman Camping Award in both 1979 and 1984.
Maka-Ina merged with Katinonkwat and Shawnee lodges on January 1, 1996, to form the Tecumseh Lodge.
Last updated 20 April 2021
