|
|
St Alphonsus
Scouts
 |
|
St.
Alphonsus' first troops (885, 886, 887, and 889) in 1922.
Shortly after the end of World War I, St. Alponsus pastor Fr. John Deiderich
along with members of the St. Alphonsus Athletic Club, a parish social
organization of the time, began looking for a program which would satisfy the
needs of the young men of the parish. They had heard of an organization founded
in England in 1908 and brought to America by Chicago businessman William D.
Boyce, called the Boy Scouts. Many of the men of the parish had served in World
War I and were impressed by the skill and knowledge displayed by the European
Boy Scouts during the war and on June 18, 1922, Scouting was instituted at St.
Alphonsus as the social and ethical program for boys. Five troops were chartered
and recruitment began. Fr. Al Liebl was appointed as First Chaplain of Scouts
and parishioner John Dahm was commissioned as First Scoutmaster of Scouts.
Despite devastating fires in the church and Scout Room, membership increased
during the twenties and thirties and it wasn’t long before St. Alphonsus had its
own Scout Camp in the Illinois Forest Preserve at Palatine, Illinois near Dear
Grove. After another fire in the early 1940s swept through the Forest Preserve
destroying the camp it was reopened at a site near Echo Lake in Lake County,
Illinois. St. Alphonsus camp operated until 1957.
During the World War II years, St. Alphonsus was distinguished as the largest
sponsoring organization of Scouting in the country and possibly in the world,
boasting over 2000 Scouts and adult leaders registered in a single year. More
than 20 individual Scouting units (Cub Scouts, Sea Scouts, Air Scouts,
Explorers, and Venturers) have been sponsored by the St. Al’s Scouting program
over the years.
Of the five original troops chartered in 1922, only 889 has operated
continuously until the present day making it one of the longest
continuously-operation troops in the nation. Cub Pack 3889, chartered in 1939
has also continued operation to the present day. Throughout its long history,
several thousands of young men have participated in the St. Alphonsus Scouting
Program and over 50 Eagle Scouts have graduated from our ranks.
Today, our award winning units are still acclaimed as some of the best and most
active in the Chicago area. Our Scouts camp, rapel, swim, canoe, hike, study,
learn ethics and leadership skills, worship and continue to preserve the long
traditions of Scouting at St. Alphonsus.
Currently, the parish sponsors Boy Scout Troop 889 for boys 11 to 18 years of
age; Tiger Cubs 3889 for boys in 1st and 2nd grades; Cub Scout Pack 3889 for
boys in 3rd through 5th grades, and Venture Crew 2889 for young men and women of
high school age.