"Now we pledge ourselves to service..!"

--The Feather's proper role within Minisink--

Camp Minisink's logo depicts a tent that has been erected between two sheltering pine trees, suggesting a reason for why the camp's original male staff development brotherhood was given the name: "Order of The Pines".

It is not surprising, given the granting of one feather to a "Pines" candidate upon completion of each of what were 3 required years at camp, that the postwar version of the brotherhood would be named: "Order of The Feather".

As a staff development tool, Pines/Feather had the purpose of developing men of a caliber suitable to their lead roles amongst males in the carrying of the Camp Minisink program. A clue to the nature of that Camp Minisink program is easily found in the roster of those men who were designated Founders of The Order of The Feather: 2 members of the clergy included as well as a leader in the Boy Scouts.. which organization's troops were primarily housed in churches.

This church connection -- typifying the NYC Mission Society approach -- also explains the special need to recuit and train males.. who tend not to be represented in the same numbers in that environment as are females.

Both the integrating of a cadet corps into NYCMS' Harlem Branch and the ages of Feather recruits suggested the need for a more senior group to guide and manage what became a broader Minisink program. It was given the rather obvious name: "The Order of The Bonnet".

An enhanced campwide counselor-in-training program emerged in the 1950s; creating a second (though different) layer of preparation for male Minisinkers. But for years, despite the existence of internal officer training schools, membership in the Order of The Feather qualified one for a "field" commission in the Minisink Cadet Corps (and Band, aka The Minisink Warriors). Feathermen would later be responsible for the establishing of a military fraternity: "The Pen & Scroll".

That which distinguishes The Order of The Feather, amongst what later became an even larger group of Minisink programs, is the combination of its core "Camp Minisink" mission and its collegial nature: all candidates "crossing" with the approval of existing Brothers into a democratic organization capable of acting and of perpetuating itself and those original core "Camp Minisink" ideals and values.

This question emerges: "If not us, then who?". This question also emerges: "If not now, then when?".

Other Places to go:

Camp Minisink Alumni Homepage
NYC Mission Society Web Site

Email: David E Williams

This page was generated by Ethos Online's Version of Manny Juan's EZHomepg

	Camp Minisink's logo depicts a tent that has been erected between two sheltering pine trees, suggesting a reason for why the camp's original male staff development brotherhood was given the name: "Order of The Pines".
	It is not surprising, given the granting of one feather to a "Pines" candidate upon completion of each of what were 3 required years at camp, that the postwar version of the brotherhood would be named: "Order of The Feather".
	As a staff development tool, Pines/Feather had the purpose of developing men of a caliber suitable to their lead roles amongst males in the carrying of the Camp Minisink program. A clue to the nature of that Camp Minisink program is easily found in the roster of those men who were designated Founders of The Order of The Feather: 2 members of the clergy included as well as a leader in the Boy Scouts.. which organization's troops were primarily housed in churches.
	This church connection -- typifying the NYC Mission Society approach -- also explains the special need to recuit and train males.. who tend not to be represented in the same numbers in that environment as are females.
	Both the integrating of a cadet corps into NYCMS' Harlem Branch and the ages of Feather recruits suggested the need for a more senior group to guide and manage what became a broader Minisink program. It was given the rather obvious name: "The Order of The Bonnet".
	An enhanced campwide counselor-in-training program emerged in the 1950s; creating a second (though different) layer of preparation for male Minisinkers. But for years, despite the existence of internal officer training schools, membership in the Order of The Feather qualified one for a "field" commission in the Minisink Cadet Corps (and Band, aka The Minisink Warriors). Feathermen would later be responsible for the establishing of a military fraternity: "The Pen & Scroll".
	That which distinguishes The Order of The Feather, amongst what later became an even larger group of Minisink programs, is the combination of its core "Camp Minisink" mission and its collegial nature: all candidates "crossing" with the approval of existing Brothers into a democratic organization capable of acting and of perpetuating itself and those original core "Camp Minisink" ideals and values.
	This question emerges: "If not us, then who?". This question also emerges: "If not now, then when?".