Lone Scouts Of America
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Lone Scouts of America (LSA) was a
Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...
organization for American boys that operated from 1915 until it merged with the
Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...
(BSA) in 1924. The LSA was founded by W. D. Boyce, publisher of the '' Chicago Ledger'' and the ''Saturday Blade'' and one of the founders of the BSA. Boyce felt that the program of the BSA did not help the rural boy who could not find enough other boys to form a troop or a patrol. James E. West, the first
Chief Scout Executive The Chief Scout Executive is the president and chief executive officer of Scouting America. The office holder is a member of the organization’s professional staff and is responsible for its management and operations. Roger Krone is the curren ...
of the BSA, disagreed with Boyce's concept, believing that the
4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...
program was fulfilling the role. After Boyce left the BSA, he started the Lone Scouts of America and incorporated it on January 9, 1915. Boyce became the
executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...
or ''Chief Totem'' and Frank Allan Morgan became the editor of ''The Lone Scout''. In October 1915, Boyce appointed all of his
paperboy A paperboy is someoneoften an older child or adolescentwho distributes printed newspapers to homes or offices on a regular route, usually by bicycle or automobile. In Western nations during the heyday of print newspapers during the early 20th cen ...
s as members of the LSA and published the first issue of ''The Lone Scout'' magazine.


Program

The LSA program was inspired by the Lonecraft program of the British Boy Scout Association and by
Ernest Thompson Seton Ernest Thompson Seton (born Ernest Evan Thompson; August 14, 1860 – October 23, 1946) was a Canadian and American author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians in 1902 (renamed Woodcraft League of America), and one of the foun ...
's
Woodcraft Indians Woodcraft League of America, originally called the Woodcraft Indians and League of Woodcraft Indians, is a youth program, established by Ernest Thompson Seton in 1901. Despite the name, the program was created for non- Indian children. At first th ...
program that used American Indian themes. No adult leaders were required in the Lone Scout program, and there were no age limits. By November 1915, over 30,000 members were reported. Lone Scouts who lived near each other could form a "local tribe", while others could form a "mail tribe" and communicate by post. Tribes could join to form "wigwams". Tribes elected officers such as chief (president, initially called captain),
sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Alg ...
(vice-president),
scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing. The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...
(secretary) and
wampum Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western ...
-bearer (treasurer). By October 1916, the LSA reported 133,000 members. By popular demand, a uniform was created in 1917 and the Lone Scout Supply Company was formed.


Media

The main link of the Lone Scouts of America was the weekly newspaper ''The Lone Scout'', published by Boyce's company, and sold by Lone Scouts. Boys were encouraged to write articles, stories and cartoons for Lone Scout, and several prizes and contests were announced. Many tribes started their own local "tribe papers"– this later became part of a program that became the Authorized Lone Scout Amateur Publications (ALSAPs). By December 1920, financial difficulties forced Boyce to publish the magazine on a monthly basis and increase the price. The Tribe Paper Editors' Protective Association was formed to help maintain the quality of the more prestigious of the tribe papers. In 1924, a radio tribe was formed, sponsored by
Sears, Roebuck and Co Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwal ...
. Lone Scouts would read news stories on Sears' WLS radio station.


Advancement and recognition

An advancement program was developed that was split into lodges. The Teepee Lodge consisted of the First Degree (Lone Scout), Second Degree (Woodcraft) and the Third Degree (Lone Eagle). The Totem Pole Lodge included the Fourth Degree (Lone Bachelor), Fifth Degree (Lone Woodsman) and Sixth Degree (Lone Hunter). The Sagamore Lodge consisted of the Seventh Degree (Sagamore). The literary competitions were awarded with Lone Scout Contributor (LSC), Lone Scout Scribe (LSS), Lone Scout Graduate (LSG) and Lone Scout Quill (LSQ). The Booster Award system recognized Lone Scouts who recruited new members and was awarded in two levels: Lone Scout Organizer (LSO) and Lone Scout Booster (LSB). A Lone Scout who earned Sagamore Degree, Lone Scout Booster and Lone Scout Quill was recognized as a Supreme Scout (SS)– 123 were presented. War Work medals recognized those Lone Scouts who performed service work during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.


Final years

The beginning of the end came in 1920, when Boyce hired the first professional editor for ''The Lone Scout'' magazine, George N. Madison. Madison discovered LSA's membership roster was wildly inaccurate and was full of duplications and inactive members. The magazine switched from a weekly to a monthly. By 1922, Boyce's newspaper business was suffering and ''The Lone Scout'' was losing money. Although membership was reported at 490,000 Lone Scouts in 1922, the editors of ''The Lone Scout'' realized that the numbers were wildly inflated. As Chicago entered the 1920s
nadir of American race relations The nadir of American race relations was the period in African-American history and the history of the United States from the end of Reconstruction in 1877 through the early 20th century, when racism in the country, and particularly anti-bl ...
, ''The Lone Scout'' announced that they would no longer accept applications "from members of the negro race" and in 1922, the mast head of ''The Lone Scout'' changed from "A Real Boys Magazine" to "The White Boys' Magazine."


Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America strongly defended their right to the usage of the term ''Scout'', and West wrote to Boyce voicing his concerns, but the BSA never brought litigation against the LSA. In 1916, the BSA created the Pioneer Scout program in direct competition to the LSA, but it was never very successful. In April 1924, Boyce finally accepted James West's persistent offer of a merger with the BSA. On June 16, 1924, the merger was formalized. When ''The Lone Scout'' ceased publication, many of the boys dropped out of Scouting entirely. About 65,000 Lone Scouts transferred to the BSA, and membership peaked at 108,000 in 1926. The BSA ran the program unchanged for about a decade as the Lone Scout Service and then the Lone Scout Division. The unique program features were then eliminated and the Lone Scouts transitioned to the standard
Scouts BSA Scouts BSA (known as Boy Scouts until 2019) is the flagship program and membership level of Scouting America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations i ...
program. Lone Cub Scouts were added after the Cub Scouting program was introduced in 1930. The last issue of ''The Lone Scout'' in April 1924 announced the merger with the BSA. The BSA continued to print ''The Lone Scout'' for a short time before it was merged as a section of ''
Boys' Life ''Scout Life'' (formerly ''Boys' Life'') is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Its target readers are children between the ages of 6 and 18. The magazine‘s headquarters are in Irving, Texas. ''Scout Life'' is published ...
''. Some of the more literary Lone Scouts later helped form the National Boy Scout Press Association. Both the Lone Scout and Lone Cub Scout programs continue to serve boys who cannot take part in a nearby troop or pack on a regular basis because of such factors as distance, time, disability or other difficulties.


Legacy

As a Lone Scout, Charles J. Merlin of Hudson Heights, New Jersey published a tribe paper called the ''Lone Beaver Tribune'' or ''LBT''. In 1927 he formed the Elbeetian Legion to tie together former Lone Scouts and published the ''Elbeetee'' newsletter until his death in 1995. Merlin was recognized for his work when the BSA awarded him the
Silver Buffalo Award The Silver Buffalo Award is the national-level distinguished service award of Scouting America. It is presented for noteworthy and extraordinary service to youth on a national basis, either as part of, or independent of the Scouting program. The ...
in 1986. The Lone Indian Fellowship was formed in 1926 by Ernst Grube of
Sheboygan, Wisconsin Sheboygan () is a city in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Sheboygan Metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan area, which has a pop ...
who published the monthly ''Lone Indian'' until his death in 1994. The Lone Scout Memory Lodge was built in 1970 and was located on Cannon Scout Reservation at Camp John J. Barnhardt, Central North Carolina Council in
New London, North Carolina New London is a town in Stanly County, North Carolina, Stanly County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 600 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census, and was estimated to be 724 as of 2019. The town lies between Albemarle, N ...
. The lodge contains memorabilia from the Lone Scout days and a print shop museum that contains
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...
es and type elements used to print many of the tribe papers. In 1970, The Lone Scout Foundation was established to maintain and promote the lodge. In 2006, the building was re-purposed and the collection was transferred to the Ottawa Scouting Museum in
Ottawa, Illinois Ottawa is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the confluence of the navigable Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River and Illinois River, the latter being a conduit for river barges and ...
. In 2019 a Facebook page, "Friends of Lone Scouts of America" (@lonescoutfriends), was started "in the interests of the Elbeetian Legion and Old Timers of the LSA so that they may not forget those friendships that took root in the days of our boyhood." The page acts as an archive of covers and pages of popular newsletters related to the LSA, mainly covering the ''Elbeetee'' newsletter and the ''Lone Indian'' magazine.


Notable Lone Scouts

*
Broderick Crawford William Broderick Crawford (December 9, 1911 – April 26, 1986) was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Willie Stark in the film ''All the King's Men'' (1949), which earned him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Of ...
; Academy Award-winning actor. *
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer, and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best-known for starring in such films as '' The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937), '' Gunga Din'' (1939) ...
; Actor and decorated Navy officer who fought in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. *
Orval Faubus Orval Eugene Faubus ( ; January 7, 1910 – December 14, 1994) was an American politician who served as the List of governors of Arkansas, 36th Governor of Arkansas from 1955 to 1967, as a member of the Democratic Party (United States), D ...
; Six-term governor of Arkansas. *
Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American politician who served from 1965 to 1969 as the 38th vice president of the United States. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 19 ...
; Mayor of
Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
and thirty-eighth
Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...
. *
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;
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
winning American actor and
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
singer and author. *
Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...
; Actor. * Don McNeill; Radio personality, best known as the creator and host of ''
The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American independent teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. The ensemble cast includes Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ring ...
''. *
Harry Morgan Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was an American actor whose television and film career spanned six decades. Morgan's major roles included Pete Porter in both '' December Bride'' (1954–1959) and '' Pet ...
; Actor, director, writer and narrator. * Vincent Schaefer; Chemist and meteorologist who developed
cloud seeding Cloud seeding is a type of weather modification that aims to change the amount or type of precipitation, mitigate hail, or disperse fog. The usual objective is to increase rain or snow, either for its own sake or to prevent precipitation from ...
.


See also

*
Wigwam A wigwam, wikiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wikiup'' ...


References

{{authority control Associations related to the Boy Scouts of America Disbanded Scouting organizations Youth organizations established in 1915 Organizations disestablished in 1924 1915 establishments in the United States 1924 disestablishments in the United States