West Suburban Council T1 a New "Old" firstCSP.

by Dave Pede


West Suburban Council T1	Same patch in Black and White

I have known about this patch for almost as long as I have been collecting. This patch is not a new discovery. It is in fact pictured on page 93 of the 1984 Arapaho I update (second edition). The arched council name on the top has always made us wonder whether or not it could have been used as a shoulder patch. We now have conclusive evidence that this patch, issued in the early 50's, was in fact used as Shoulder Patch. Something we had suspected but had no hard evidence.

So, consider the following.
Let's, consider the area and time this came out. The patch is from the early 1950's. West Suburban Council is located outside Chicago. The neighboring council to our south west is Rainbow Council. They produced a T1 in the early 50's. Also, about 25 miles to the west is another council who produced a T1, Chief Shabbona Council. It is extremely likely that these professionals attended common area meetings that would have influenced them.

So, where's the "real" evidence.
Well they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Here are some shots from the September 1954 Dedication ceremony of Camp Tomo-Chi-Chi-Knolls outside of Woodstock, Illinois
Note the date printed at the bottom of the photo.
Close-up of the gentleman at the podium.
Close-up of the gentleman sitting behind the podium.
Another shot of the same person from a different angle.

So, why isn't it more common?
West Surburban Council was a very small council and was always a community/state strip council. Only the professionals and council level members where allowed to wear the shoulder patches. These patches were also not available to others. Even as late as 1978, I was not allowed to purchase the council Red and White until I became a member of the camp staff. West Surburban Council was also home to Leekwinai lodge 157. The lodge having a 1 per OA honor restriction and a tough No Trade attitude. So, consequently there aren't a lot of traders from West Suburban Council and finding council related items outside the council is rarer than from other areas.

Isn't there another, What about the gold bordered one?
In 1960 the council went out of their way to promote the 50th anniversary of scouting. They modified the council camps patch by changing it to Orange and adding the dates 1910-1960. They also modifed the shoulder patch by changing the border around the council name to golden yellow.

West Suburban Council T2