What does Gischeleman mean?

Don’t you hate randomly-named blogs? Well, let me tell you what Gischeleman means. It is a word — from the language of the Delaware tribe, or in their language, the Lenape.

Gischeleman means “to create with the mind,” an appropriate term for many of the things I have done in life, from my decade-plus in public radio, to high-tech PR, through the latest social media innovations that have conspired to smush all these past lives together.

I was given this name through a fraternal organization of the Boy Scouts called the Order of the Arrow, which uses the Lenape as an inspiration and its language as its glossary. The OA bestows names on youth (and adult) members who achieve the “Vigil Honor” status. I was given Gischeleman, which was translated in my case as “vision maker,” which I must admit is an even cooler definition than the more common one cited above. It is heartening that name my peers gave me has come to stick through the last 20 years. Amazing, isn’t it?

By the way, while I do not remain active in Scouts for a variety of reason, I do participate in a non-profit organization, called the Key Foundation, which supports Order of the Arrow programs and the local Scout Camps in my original home region of Lowell, MA and surrounding areas. In fact, we are publishing a book about the rich history of our favorite summer camp, Wah-Tut-Ca, the proceeds of which will go to build a new boat house for the camp– information in the previous link but pre-order here if you like (it will be on Amazon as well).

Anyway, that’s why I stuck this unusual word on the name of my blog. Any questions?