The BSA breaks the nation into Regions and the Regions into Areas. The area Director may decide to form Sections to help administer the functions of the OA Lodges within the Region. On June 3, 1973, Representatives from eight lodges from Area 3-B and Area 3-F met at the Moraine Trails Council office in Butler, PA to form NE-5C. Section NE-5C included the western third of Pennsylvania, from Maryland to New York. The first annual Section Conclave was held on June 7-9, 1974, at Indiana University of Pennsylvania with Nachamawat Lodge #275 as the service lodge.
In 1988, a re-alignment of the Sections in the Northeast Region took place. Section NE-5C became Section NE-5, and two lodges, Monaken #103, and Ho-Nan-Ne-Ho-Ont #165, were assigned to the Section.
In 1993, two Section member lodges, Tanacharison #67 and Kiausatha #57, merged to become the new lodge Enda Lechauhanne #57.In 1994, a re-alignment of the Section took place once again. This time, Ahtuhquog Lodge #540, joined the Section bringing the total number of lodges in Section NE-5 to ten.
In 2001-2002 business year, the Northeast Region re-designated Pennsylvania as Area 4 so the Sections re-aligned again. Section NE-5 became Section NE-4B and lost three lodges: Langundowi #46, Gyantwachia #255, and Ho-Nan-Ne-Ho-Ont #165, bringing the total number of lodges in our Section to seven. Recognizing that coal mining is an industry common to the history of all the lodges in Section NE-4B, the Section name ‘Haken Waleck’ was taken from the Lenni Lenape words ‘To dig coal’. The Section’s totem was a coal miner’s helmet covering a crossed pick and spade. The spade has an arrowhead as the head and the handle of the pick as two feathers attached to it. The helmet has a fleur-de-lis centered on its profile and has three Ws around it, one on the left, one on the right, and one below it.
At the 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) Kuskitannee #168, Ah’Tic #139, and Enda Lechauhanne #57 took the top three places in the nation respectively in the Northern Drum Competition.
In 2008 the Northeast Region, BSA announced yet another re-alignment of its Areas and Sections. Resulting in these changes, Kuskitannee #168 and Ah’Tic #139 were moved from NE-4B to NE-4A.
In 2011 two lodges (End Lechauhannee #57 and Nachamawat #275) merged to create Allohak Menewi #57 and Kuskitannee #168 was reassigned back into the section. In early 2014 Allohak Menewi #57 absorbed Ahtuhquog #540.
During Project Magellan in 2021, the 4 Order of the Arrow Regions converged into 2 new Regions. The Northeastern Region became the Eastern Region and the Western Region became the Gateway Region. The pre-Project Magellan Central and Southern Regions were split between the new Eastern and Gateway Regions. The Eastern Region consists of 20 sections and the Gateway Region consists of 24 sections. This resulted in the identifier change from NE-4B to E12, for Eastern Region Section 12.
Section E12 is home to many of the Northeast Region’s Strongest and most well represented lodges. With the dedication and spirit of its members, the lodges of E12 will continue serving scouting in Southwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland for years to come. E12 has been instrumental in providing the National Committee with suggestions on how to implement and improve the new role of the Section. Our youth officers have been involved nationally in the training at NLS and GOL, as well as being selected for various National and Regional officer positions.