Lodge Information
Council: Pennsylvania Dutch Council
Headquarters: Lancaster, PA
Totem: Owl
Lodge Website: www.wg39.org
Council Website: www.padutchbsa.org
Lodge Key 3
Lodge Chief: Ben Knol
Lodge Adviser: Jim Troebliger
Lodge Staff Adviser: Josh Glacken
Lodge History
Wunita Gokhos Lodge was formed in 1972 with the merger of Swatara Lodge #39 of Lebanon County Council and Minqua Lodge #519 of Lancaster County Council. Wunita Gokhos Lodge was first chartered undo the name of Deer Lodge on June 25, 1928. During World War II, the Lodge became inactive and was officially disbanded in June 1947. Lodge #39 was reorganized and re-chartered on July 5, 1951 as Swatara Lodge, taking its name from a local Native American tribe and a creek in the area. A leaping buck became the totem for the lodge. National records show that Lodge #39 was represented at the Region 3 meeting held May 30 - June 1, 1929. James Fentress of Lebanon, Pennsylvania took his Brotherhood at the 1936 Grand Lodge (National) meeting at Treasure Island.
In neighboring Lancaster County, a local organization known as the Pathfinders of the Golden Trails was converted to the Order of the Arrow and was first charted as Minqua Lodge #519 on September 20, 1956. The lodge was named for a Susquehanna tribe, which inhabited the lower Conestoga Valley and was known as the "turtle clan". The name is an Algonquian term meaning "stealthy" or "treacherous". On September 1, 1971, Lancaster County and Lebanon County Council merged to form the Lancaster-Lebanon Council, BSA. On November 15. 1972, the new lodge became operational as Wunita Gokhos Lodge #39. Wunita Gokhos is translated as "able or wise owl" in the language of the Lenni Lenape. The lodge totem is the owl.
Wunita Gokhos and its predecessor lodges were part of the old Area III-E, and hosted the last III-E Conference in 1973 at Bashore Scout Reservation, near Jonestown, Pennsylvania. The lodge then became a member of the new Section NE-5A, hosting the 1981 Conclave at the J. Edward Mack Scout Reservation near Brickerville, Pennsylvania. A region alignment in 1988 resulted in the reassignment of Wunita Gokhos to NE-6, where it hosted the 1990 Conclave at J.E. Mack. With the redesignation of NE-6 as NE-4C in 1994, Wunita Gokhos became the service lodge for the first NE-4C Conclave in June 1995 at Bashore. In 1997 a regional realignment moved Wunita Gokhos to NE-4A and the lodge hosted the 2001 Conclave at Camp Mack and the 2008 Conclave at Bashore. In 2008, Wunita Gokhos was again reassigned to Section NE-6B as a result of a region realignment.
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