The history of Lodge #296 goes back to the latter part of the 1920's with the incorporation of the honor camper organization known as Kunieh. This was one of several camping organizations across the country developed to keep the interest the older boys in scouting. We have traced the use of this society to as early as 1929, although it may have been used earlier. This society was used until the formation of the Lodge in 1945 (there was a stipulation in the lodge charter that existing Kunieh members would automatically become lodge members).       As we enter the 1940's, a young executive from General Greene Council (Tali Tak Taki Lodge #70), named Bob Wolff, came to Tuscarora Council as Scout Executive. Mr. Wolff brought a rich tradition of the O.A. from Greensboro, where he had attended the 1940 National Meeting. Bob began the quest to form an O.A. Lodge in Tuscarora Council. Through several correspondances with George Chronic and H. Lloyd Nelson, the paper trail had begun. On April 5th, 1945, the Camp Committee made the resolution for the installment of an OA Lodge in Tuscarora Council. On May 23rd, we were given approval from the National Council and on May 25th, approval for the National Lodge was complete. The Order of the Arrow had a Lodge affiliated with the Tuscarora Council in Goldsboro N.C.     &nbspNext, the lodge needed a name and totem. At the time the Lodge was being organized a group of arrowmen were meeting for the purpose of finding a suitable name for the Order of the Arrow's newest lodge in a building at Tuscarora's old camp near Goldsboro. The building was located near a ridge called Nighthawk Ridge. Finally, late one evening, several people were sitting outside and noticed the Nighthawks swooping across the deep blue sky in the moonlight. That was it!! The lodge totem was to be the Nighthawk in a deep blue sky on a moon lit night. With the help of a member of the Dept. of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, a congressman and the library of congress, the name of the lodge was supplied as it is written in the Tuscarora language.     &nbspThe First Induction. Since we were a new lodge with no O.A. members who have been through an O.A. ceremony, we needed help. June of 1945. Lodges in Wilson and Raleigh were inactive (per Mr. Wolff's notes)therefore, Mr. Wolff asked some of his friends from the western part of the state (Central N.C. Council) for help. Mr. Gerry Ashwill, Scout Executive in Concord, NC brought four members from Iti Bapishe Iti Hollo Lodge #188 to perform the first induction ceremony on June 2nd. The Lodge was off to a good start, Several Kunieh members, new inductees, and a great advisor in Bob Wolff. 1946- National O.A. Conference. NAYAWIn RaR Lodge is one year old and Performs the opening ceremony for the National Conference. At this conference, Wahissa Lodge performs the pre-ordeal ceremony. Robert (Bob) L. Wolff receives the Distinguished Service Award ( he doesn't accept the award- says it should be used to recognize volunteers, NOT professionals). 1952- Pow-Wow in Atlanta. This meeting brought together all the lodges(councils) of Region 6. One of the purposes was to divide the Region into areas. At this meeting, we were placed into area 6-A along with Lodges 70, 104, 117, 118, 163, 208, and 331. Until this time, the state fellowships had been held at Morrow Mountain, NC. The Lodges of NC had been divided into two parts, those in area 6-A ( the eastern and northern lodges) and those in area 6-B ( presently lodges 188 and 459) were grouped with South Carolina lodges. Area 6A Fellowships- The Atlanta Pow Wow gave us a new Area, now for the Fellowships! Our first fellowship as Area 6A was in 1952 and hosted by NAYAWIn RaR Lodge at Camp Tuscarora. The fellowships were hosted on a rotational basis and returned to us in 1957. As the fellowships rotated from lodge to lodge, The Area Chief was typically from the host lodge. In 1957, it was Joe Creech from Smithfield. As the 1960's came and passed, Tuscarora council purchased a new Camp Tuscarora that was more centralized to the council and located near Bentonville Battleground. This along with Council wide treks to Bath, Halifax, and Washington,D.C. kept the lodge from hosting any other 6A fellowships. &nbspSection 3A- In 1973, Region 6 was shuffled and new section names were given. This did not affect the quantity of lodges in our section, only gave our section a new name. In 1977, Lodge #296 had its' first opportunity to host a fellowship in 20 years. Our Lodge Chief, Rick Burton, was Section Chief. At the National Meeting, he was elected National Vice-Chief, the highest office held by an OA member in this section (until 1980 when Brad Starr of Klahican Lodge became National Chief). This fellowship was held at our new Camp Tuscarora, in its' fourth year of existence. Section SE-7- Once again, there is a regrouping of lodges, but this time, the region is renamed also. We are now in the South East Region. Our new area is called SE-7. Along with this new name, we received Lodges from the western part of the state (lodges 188, 459, 560). In 1986, The rotation returned to Nayawin Rar Lodge. Lodge Chief Thomas Benson and Conclave Chairman Kevin Myers directed SE-7 to one of the largest conclaves in NC thus far. Over 1200 people were in attendance. Southern Section 7- Due to the consolidation of many councils and lodges across the country, the section has been revised. This time we have four visitors ( they are with us only a short time) from Virginia. Lodges 3, 349, 463, and 483. join our section in 1994. As the conclave rotation approaches we are slated to host the conclave in 1996. Several Lodge members feel it would be a great celebration of our 50th anniversary if we hosted the conclave in 1995. The schedule was switched, and "50 in 95" became the catch phrase. Once again, Camp Tuscarora shows that its facilities can hold an ample number of delegates. Happy Birthday Nayawin Rar! SR-7B - The present... We are back to having a section of NC lodges again. Some of the names in the history has been changed... There is no more Tali, Tslagi, or Uwharrie, but the ties remain. We look forward, and glimpse at the past to cherish our roots, hold to our steadfast purpose and become the future of scouting. This history was compiled by Andrew Stevens through various publications, notes, and personal interviews of past lodge members. Any comments should be directed to him at: AStevens@BBandT.com