The Great Lakes Field Service Council was a field service council of the
Michigan Crossroads Council
The Michigan Crossroads Council (MCC) is a local council of the Boy Scouts of America that encompasses the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The council was formed in 2012 by the merger of nine councils.
History
2012 Merger
The Scouting program in ...
, a local council of the
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...
. It served the
Detroit metropolitan area
The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the ...
and covers all of
Wayne,
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
and
Macomb counties. The council had eight districts, one council service center, and four camp properties.
The Great Lakes Field Service Council was the result of a 2012 merger of nine local councils into a statewide council due to an initiative to reorganize the administrative structure of the Boy Scouts of America.
The Great Lakes Field Service Council was merged into the Eastern Division of the Michigan Crossroads Council in 2020 and as a result the Noquet Lodge #29 was officially merged into the Mishigami Lodge #29. Any references to the Council and/or Lodge are accurate to their final form before their respective mergers.
To find current information about Michigan Crossroads Council or Mishigami Lodge, visit michiganscouting.org or mishigami.org
Organization
![Michigan BSA Councils](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Michigan_BSA_Councils.png)
The Great Lakes Field Service Council is divided into eight districts divided by the school and religious districts they serve.
* Chippewa District serves the school districts of Anchor Bay, Armada, Avondale, Chippewa Valley, Clintondale, Lanse Cruse, Mt Clemens, New Haven, Richmond, Rochester, Romeo, and Utica.
* Mahican District serves the school districts of Allen Park, Crestwood, Dearborn, Dearborn Hts No. 7, Ecorse, Flat Rock, Gibraltar, Grosse Ile, Huron, Lincoln Park, Melvindale/North Allen Park, River Rouge, Riverview, Southgate, Taylor, Trenton, Westwood, Woodhaven, and Wyandotte covering the vast majority of the area known as
Downriver
Downriver is the unofficial name for a collection of 18 cities and townships in Wayne County, Michigan, south of Detroit, along the western shore of the Detroit River.
The place is sometimes referred to as South Detroit.
Etymology
The name ...
.
* North Star District serves the Berkley, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Clawson, Troy, Lamphere, Royal Oak, and Madison School Districts and the Bloomfield Hills Stake (LDS).
* Ottawa District serves the school districts of Farmington, Huron Valley, Northville, Novi, South Lyon, Walled Lake, and West Bloomfield.
* Pontiac-Manito District serves the school districts of Brandon, Clarkston, Holly, Lake Orion, Oxford, Pontiac, Waterford, and the Grand Blanc Stake (LDS).
* Renaissance District serves the school districts of Detroit, Ferndale, Hamtramck, Hazel Park, Highland Park, Oak Park, and Southfield covering the entire city of Detroit (except LDS units in the city which are grouped in either the Bloomfield Hills or Westland Stakes).
* Sunrise District serves the school districts of Center Line, Eastpointe, Fitzgerald, Fraser, Grosse Pointe, Harper Woods, Lakeshore, Lakeview, Roseville, South Lake, Van Dyke, Warren Consolidated, and Warren Woods.
* Sunset District serves the school districts of Clarenceville, Garden City, Inkster, Livonia, Plymouth/Canton, Redford, Romulus, South Redford, Van Buren, Wayne/Westland, and the Westland Stake (LDS).
History
![Michigan Boy Scout council map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Michigan_Boy_Scout_council_map.png)
The Great Lakes Council was a product of merging the Detroit Area Council and the Clinton Valley Council. On August 4, 2009, the two councils voted to merge and the new Council officially came into existence on October 1, 2009. On November 10, 2009, after a month-long contest, the new name Great Lakes Council was selected to represent the new council.
In 2020,
Michigan Crossroads Council
The Michigan Crossroads Council (MCC) is a local council of the Boy Scouts of America that encompasses the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The council was formed in 2012 by the merger of nine councils.
History
2012 Merger
The Scouting program in ...
made a decision to merge their Field Service Councils to create one central Council.
Camps
Note: while these camps have historically been connected to Scouting in the Metro Detroit area, since 2012 they are all owned and/or operated by the Michigan Crossroads Council rather than the Great Lakes Field Service Council.
Camp Agawam
Camp Agawam is a camp located in northern
Oakland County
Oakland County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Metro Detroit, metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, its population was 1, ...
, Michigan. Camp Agawam is a
Boy Scout
A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...
Camp and is the third of four pieces of property owned by the Great Lakes Field Service Council. It was purchased in 1918 as ''Camp Pontiac'' and renamed in 1938. Camp Agawam features 9 campsites, 3 lodges, and 2 lakes. In 2009, Chippewa 29 received a National OA Grant and will redo the docks on one of the 2 lakes.
There is a living history themed campsite called Fort Pontiac. Fort Pontiac was created by the Chief Pontiac Trail Committee (CPT) as a resource for Scout units to conduct primitive skills training. It includes a blacksmith shoppe, carpentry shoppe and brick oven that may be used by units that have a leader who has taken the FORT Skills training conducted by the CPT. The CPT also conducts living history themed weekends during which the CPT committee members are in attendance in period clothing representing 1775. During these times the CPT fort staff are demonstrating period crafts and providing hands-on activities to those in camp.
Effective January 1, 2013, the camp is closed. With the closure of Camp Agawam, the Chief Pontiac Village has relocated the living history site to
Kensington Metropark's Farm Center.
Edward N. Cole Canoe Base
Edward N. Cole Canoe Base is a
Boy Scout
A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...
Camp and Canoe Base for the Great Lakes Field Service Council in
Ogemaw County, Michigan
Ogemaw County ( ') is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 20,770. The county seat is West Branch.
The county newspaper of record is the ''Ogemaw Herald''.
History
Ogemaw County started as ...
. Edward N. Cole Canoe Base is the second of four pieces of property owned by the Great Lakes Field Service Council.
The base was first opened in 1968 as the Rifle River Canoe base. It was renamed Edward N. Cole Canoe Base in honor of
Edward N. Cole, VP General Motors Corp., and Detroit Area Council President in 1962. That same year, the service building and Bosco Lake were completed.
Cole has been a Nationally Accredited "A" Rated
summer camp
A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...
facility since 1980,
and it boasts one of the highest unit return rates in the nation.
D-bar-A Scout Ranch
D-bar-A Scout Ranch (Formally known as D-A Scout Ranch) is a
Boy Scout
A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...
ranch located in
Metamora, Michigan
Metamora is a village in Lapeer County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 565 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Metamora Township.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total ar ...
. The ranch is a piece of wilderness, located on the southern border of
Lapeer County
Lapeer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 88,619. The county seat is Lapeer. The county was created on September 18, 1822, and was fully organized on February 2, 1835. The name ...
, Michigan. The
Flint River
The Flint River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. The river drains of western Georgia, flowing south from the u ...
runs through the northeast corner of camp through the camporee field. It was opened in 1950 and since then has offered
Boy Scout
A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...
summer camp in addition to its other year-round activities, including equestrian and aquatics activities. D-Bar-A has 28 heated cabins and 13 tent sites, along with its 3 lakes.
Lost Lake Scout Reservation
Lost Lake Scout Reservation (LLSR) was a camp located in
Freeman Township, Clare County in
Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan (known colloquially to residents of more southerly parts of the state and summer residents from cities such as Detroit as " Up North"), is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. A popul ...
. LLSR was a
Boy Scout
A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...
Camp and was the fourth of four pieces of property owned by the Great Lakes Field Service Council. It was purchased for $350,000 in 1964. Lost Lake features the very popular week-long summer camp. Scouts from around the United States could attend this camp. The camp has three lakes, the largest is
Lost Lake. The site is also the home of Bennett's Lodge, formerly a retreat owned by
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
executive
Harry Bennett
Harry Herbert Bennett (January 17, 1892 – January 4, 1979), was a boxer, Naval sailor, and businessman. From the 1920s through 1945, he worked for Ford Motor Company and was best known as the head of Ford’s "service department", the company's ...
. Throughout the year, especially summer camp, tours were offered of Bennett Lodge. In 2003, Chippewa Lodge, the former service lodge to the camp, unveiled a new 10-mile trail, dubbed Chippewa "Chippy" Trail, in Lost Lake's back forty. Lost Lake closed at the end of 2012.
Order of the Arrow - Noquet Lodge 29
The council was served by the Noquet Lodge 29. The word Noquet means Bear Claw in the Ojibwa language. The lodge used bears and bears claws as symbols on its insignia.
Noquet Lodge performed service to all Great Lakes Council Camps, hosted fellowship activities, promoted camping among council Boy Scout Troops and Cub Scout Packs, and attended regional and national Order of the Arrow events.
Noquet Lodge was divided into administrative units called chapters. There were five chapters, each corresponding to one or more of the council's eight districts. Chapters coordinate their own service and fellowship activities, as well as train teams which conduct the membership
induction process.
Like all Order of the Arrow programs, the Noquet Lodge had youth leaders who were advised by appointed adults. The seven lodge officers (Chief, Executive Vice-Chief, Vice-Chief of Administration, Vice-Chief of Activities, Vice-Chief of Unit Relations, Treasurer, and Lodge Secretary) were elected annually.
The lodge's work was performed by committees which had youth chairmen and adult advisers.
A volunteer Lodge Adviser is appointed by the Scout Executive. The lodge adviser appoints other adults to serve as advisers to specific lodge officers and committees. The Scout Executive also appoints a member of the professional staff to serve a Staff Adviser to the lodge.
When the Great Lakes Council formed in November 2009 through the merger of the Clinton Valley and Detroit Area Council, each council had an Order of the Arrow Lodge. Those two lodges, Chippewa Lodge 29 and Migisi Opawgan Lodge 162, continued to operate while members of both lodges set up the structure for the Noquet Lodge. The Noquet Lodge became the council's Order of the Arrow Lodge in May 2011.
The lodge was part of the Section C-2. Noquet Lodge was divided into five Chapters: Chippewa, Lalai Haki, Migisi Opawgan, Ottawa, Pontiac-Manito. Noquet Lodge was the home lodge of 2012 Central Region Chief Marty Opthoff
After the duration of Mishigami Lodge merger, Noquet Lodge was no longer chartered by the National Order of the Arrow Committee and beginning in late January 2022, after a vote by the Michigan Crossroads Council Executive Committee, the 5 chapters that made up Noquet were split between the East and South Lodge Service Areas of Mishigami as part of a larger realignment
Noquet Lodge Chiefs
*Jon McCormick: 2011-2012
*Charles Coutteau: 2012-2014
*Andrew Larkin: 2014
*Tyler James: 2015
*John McCoy: 2015-2016
*Nick Meier: 2016-2017
*Jameson Cavanaugh: 2017-2018
*Matthew Sanker: 2018-2019
*Ryan Stults: 2019-2020
*Peter Stavropoulos: 2020-2021
*Cullen Houlihan: 2021-2022
Migisi Opawgan Chapter
The Detroit Area Council received a charter to create an Order of the Arrow lodge in the summer of 1939.
Inductions for the new lodge were held at the Detroit Area Council's two summer camps – Charles Howell Scout Reservation and Camp Brady. The initial inductions were assisted by the Munhake Lodge in Ann Arbor and the Chippewa Lodge in Pontiac. Throughout the summer, the lodge continued to initiate its own members.
The new lodge selected its name and totem as Migisi Opawgan, meaning "Eagle" and "Peace Pipe" respectively, in 1941. The name comes from the Ojibwa Language. The hyphens were removed from the lodge's name in the 1980s. Eagles and Peace Pipes figured prominently in most lodge insignia during its many years. The Lodge was assigned number 162.
Continuing on its initial foundation at Boy Scout Summer Camp, Migisi Opawgan continued to provide service to the Detroit Area Camps. Although camps Brady and Howell were closed in 1959 in 1986, the council acquired different camps which the lodge served. The lodge worked to support the summer camps at D-bar-A Scout Ranch starting in 1951 and Cole Canoe Base starting in 1969.
Migisi Opawgan was involved in the construction and funding of many major projects and Detroit Area Camps. Charles Howell Scout Reservation's O-A Cabin was funded by Migisi Opawgan and its members. At D-bar-A Scout Ranch, the lodge was responsible for the construction and maintenance of a 10-mile hiking trail, the funding, construction, and staffing of the Thomas D. Trainor Scout Museum, and provided the labor for many other projects. Many of the lodge's projects were developed over many years. The initial six-mile loop of the Pedro Trail was completed in 1991.
It was expanded to 10 miles ten years later. A fire bowl at D-bar-A's Trout Lake was completed in 1995
and expanded in 2003.
Migisi Opawgan had many administrative structures in place, each representing the needs of the Council and its members. As the lodge grew, the initial camp based chapters were replaced by divisions of the council's territory. At times, each chapter served one or more of the council's districts. In 1974, a clan structure was adopted to provide a layer of administration between chapters and the lodge. When lodge membership declined this level of organization was no longer necessary.
In addition to providing service to Council Camps, Migisi Opawgan participated in regional and national Order of the Arrow Activities, beginning as the host of the first Michigan State Conclave, held in 1947. Nine members of Migisi Opawgan have been presented with the Order of the Arrow's Distinguished Service Award.
Migisi Opawgan also hosted annual Pilgrimages to the council's
Abraham Lincoln statue which was on display at Charles Howell Scout Reservation and later moved to D-bar-A Scout Ranch. The Lodge and its chapters also hosted fellowship events for its members.
This event was continued by the Noquet Lodge which is the successor to Migisi Opawgan after its merger with the Chippewa Lodge.
Migisi Opawgan became a chapter within the Noquet Lodge in 2011. Migisi Opawgan Chapter recognizes its members at an Annual Awards banquet. Awards were presented to youth and adult leaders, lodge and chapter officers and committee members, and those who had distinguished themselves in outstanding ways. Awards included the Robert Rutherford Service Award, the Russell Neynaber Award, the Harold Oatley Service Award (formerly Arrowman of the Year Award), and the Extended Elangomat Award. After the merger of the 4 lodges of Michigan’s lower peninsula in 2021, Migisi Opawgan Chapter became part of the Noquet Area of Mishigami Lodge 29. On February 1, 2022, in the Mishigami Lodge Area Realignment, the chapter became part of the South Service Area of Mishigami Lodge.
See also
*
Scouting in Michigan
Scouting in Michigan has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Beginning years (1910-1950)
The YMCA in Michigan was organizing Scout troops based ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Lakes Field Service Council (Boy Scouts Of America)
Cole Canoe Base
Cole may refer to:
Plants
* Cole crops of the genus ''Brassica'', especially cabbage, kale, or rape (rapeseed).
People
* Cole (given name), people with the given name Cole
* Cole (surname), people with the surname Cole
Companies
*Cole Motor ...
Organizations established in 2009
Organizations based in Detroit
Culture of Detroit
Central Region (Boy Scouts of America)
Youth organizations based in Michigan