The Nacha-Mawat Lodge was formed in 1973 when the Southwest Michigan Council was formed. The name Nacha-Mawat is Deleware for "Three-One" indicating that three lodges had united to form one. The number 373 had been the number of one of the three lodges that made up Nacha-Mawat, and was chosen because it signified that the 3 lodges had joined in the year 73. The first patch that was issued had a blue background to match the new council shoulder patch.

This is the first of the so called "Nacha-Mawat Blues." Three of variations of this patch were printed starting with this one. It is identifiable because the background weave is vertical and the fleur-de-lis is not as sharp as in the second patch.

This is the second of the "Nacha-Mawat Blues." It is differentiated from the first two because the fleur-de-lis is clearer.

This is the last of the "Nacha-Mawat Blues." It is clearly identified from the first two because the background weave is horizontal instead of vertical.

It is important to note here that in 1983, at some point while these first three patches were issued, there was also a 10^th Anniversary patch printed. The 10^th Anniversary design used the blue design as its base, but had 1973 printed to the left of the fleur-de-lis, and 1983 printed to the right. This is perhaps the most valuable of all of the Nacha-Mawat Lodge patches as it is very rare. The average going price for one is about $50, and I apologize for not being able to show one here.

During the time that the "Nacha-Mawat Blues" were in issue, the lodge also printed what are known as the "Blue Indian" patches. These patches were intended for trade only and were not meant to be worn, while the dark blue patches were intended to be worn only and not traded. There were five or six different printings of this patch and each one is slightly different. The one shown here is very wide (too wide for the pocket flap) and is the only one I have to show. These patches are also difficult to find these days and are becoming collector's items.

Sometime in the mid-1980's the lodge decided to liven up its patch a bit. The new design featured a forest scene, with a hefty amount of symbolism. The six rays of the sun signified the six chapters that made up the lodge at that time. (More on that later.) The deer was said to be a representation of one who was well known at Rota-Kiwan for his friendliness around campers. This patch has come to be called the "Road" patch because the river had strait banks. So much criticism was heaped upon this first attempt at the new design that a new one was quickly printed.

The new patch corrected the problem of the strait river. As an interesting side note, some people thought that the river looked like a road with red ketchup and yellow mustered smeared on it in preparation for a deer road kill. Not the image the lodge leaders were hoping for, I'm sure.

The lodge issued at 15^th Anniversary patch in 1988 which was taller than all the others due to the light blue strip across the top. This patch was never intended to be worn on the uniform; it was only a collector's and commemorative item.

To commemorate the 75^th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America the lodge issued a patch which featured a diamond in the river. However, two different looms of this patch were made, one with at white diamond, and one with a gray or silver diamond. This is the "Gray Diamond" version which is much easier to come by than the "White Diamond" version.

This is the "White Diamond" version. Look closely to notice the difference in diamond color. Many a collector has been fooled when they are unable to compare two patches at once.

After the diamond patches were issued the lodge went back to its original design. However, there were no longer six chapters in the lodge (due to two some council reorganizing) so it didn't make sense for the patch to feature the six sun rays. So the lodge leaders decided to add a ray making the total seven. The new patch would have three trees on the left, seven sun rays in the middle, and three trees on the right, thus symbolizing the lodge's number: 373.

In 1993 the lodge issued at 20^th Anniversary patch. The design was almost identical to the previous patch, but it featured a large yellow fleur-de-lis with a number 20 in the river, and a yellow border.

After the 20^th Anniversary, the lodge printed another run of the previous design (the one with seven sun rays). However, the new run was run off of a computer, so the stitching was more precise, and the difference is noticeable, especially in the clarity of the tree trunks, deer, and fleur-de-lis.

The next flap that the lodge printed was essentially the same design of as the previous one. Once again it was printed on a computer and the stitching is clear and precise. The only change made was that the border was changed to yellow to match the new Southwest Michigan Council strip that had just been issued.

Go Home