The honor society of Camp Mitigwa, The Old Guard Honor Society, began in 1931 by Scout Executive J.C. Underwood.  The stated purpose of the Old Guard was to assemble veteran and qualified campers to maintain and perpetuate the ideas and traditions of Camp Mitigwa.

In 1951, the Council Executive Board approved the petition for membership into the Order of the Arrow, which was integrated into the Boy Scout movement in 1948.  So began Mitigwa Lodge #450.  The members of the Old Guard were first inducted in the summer of 1951 by special ceremonies performed by an Illinek Lodge #132. Our summer inductions at camp have continued to this day.

In 1970, the Bo Qui Lodge, of the Southern Iowa Area Council and the Mitigwa Lodge of the Tall Corn Area Council merged to form today’s Mitigwa Lodge.

In 1998 and 2004, Mitigwa Lodge served as the Service Lodge for the National Order of the Arrow Conference held at Iowa State University in Ames Iowa.  In 2004, The National Order of the Arrow discontinued using numbers to designate lodges thus while we can still use #450 it has no meaning.  The Mitigwa Lodge is recognized as serving the Mid-Iowa Council #177.

In 2001, the Mitigwa Lodge celebrated its 50th Anniversary of existence.  It was celebrated with a commemorative gold lodge flap which was presented as the Lodge Service Award.  The Lodge re-issued the original Green Border, white background Mitigwa Flap with the dates 1951-2001 stitched into it. .

Lodge Chiefs and Terms

1951 A.J. Olson
1951-1952 Bob Nixon 
1952-1953 Byron Swedburg
1953-1954 Lee McMillan 
1954-1956 Richard Barbour 
1956-1957 Harold ‘Butch’ Hammer 
1957-1958 Mark Stacey 
1958-1959 John Millen 
1959-1960 Robert Horn 
1960-1961 Russ Nussbaum 
1961-1962 Steve Clarke 
1962-1963 Dave Pollock 
1963-1964 Craig Wells 
1964-1965 Mike Thornhill 
1965-1966 Allen Andersen 
1966-1967 Bob Thomsen 
1967-1968 Glen White Jr. 
1968-1969 Phil Hassel 
1969-1970 Bob Skow 
1970-1971 Mike Douglas 
1971-1972 Rich Cave 
1972-1973 Craig Reid 
1974-1975 Jim Stewart 
1975-1976 Greg Nichols 
1976-1977 Jim Edmonson 
1977-1978 Jeff Edmondson 
1978-1979 Rick Biddle 
1979 (Did Not Serve) Jeff Fazio 
1979-1980 Phil Douglas 
1980-1982 Royal Spragg 
1982-1984 Ron Hodges 
1984-1986 Steve Palm 
1987-1987 Khushal Wardak 
1987-1989 Dave Pellegrino 
1989-1990 Steve Huber 
1990-1992 Chris DeSaulniers 
1992-1993 Kyle Brown 
1993-1995 Mike Guthrie 
1995-1996 Robby Kinsey 
1996-1997 Joe Samo
1997-1998 Robert Gideon 
1998-1999 Paul Vogtlin 
1999-2001 Ryan Risse 
2001-2002 Andy Herzberg 
2002-2003 Ross DuBois 
2003-2004 Pat Hon 
2004-2006 Chris Baldon 
2006-2010 Andy DeBoard 
2010-2011 Charles Abel 
2011-2012 Jeff Flowers 
2012-2013 Matt Epperson 
2013-2014 Nick Wallace 
2014-2015 Garret Davies 
2015-2017 David Konfrst
2017-2018 Tyler Krugler
2018-2019 JP Norton
2019-2020 Dalton Ballard
2020-2021 Jakob Hoffmann

Lodge Advisers

1951-1970 Julius Fidler
1970-1974 Bill Darby
1974-1975 Dennis Dowell
1975- 1994 Jim Goodding
1994-2007 Robert Trusty
2007-2012 David Meisinger
2012-2014 Michael Weber
2014-2020 Dana Danks
2020-present Greg Jones

Source: Scouting in Iowa-The values Endure by Paul W. Lewis