Lone Scouts of America (LSA) was a

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

organization for American boys that operated from 1915 until it merged with the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

(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 top professional of the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America. In most similar non-profit organizations, this is equivalent to the position of CEO, national executive director or secretary general. Roger ...

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 i ...

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, o ...

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 ...

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 an English-born Canadian-American author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians in 1902 (renamed Woodcraft League of America), and one of ...

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-Native American in the United ...

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 together 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 Al ...

(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 automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

(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 Nort ...

-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 founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began as ...

. 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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, especially racism against A ...

, ''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 (previously known as Boy Scouts, the official name until 2019) is the flagship membership level of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) for boys and girls between the ages of typically 11 and 17. It provides youth training in moral char ...

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 boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 18. The magazine‘s headquarters are in Irving, Texas. ''Scout Life'' is pu ...

''. 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 the Boy Scouts of America. It is presented for noteworthy and extraordinary service to youth on a national basis, either as part of, or independent of the Scouting pro ...

in 1986. The Lone Indian Fellowship was formed in 1926 by Ernst Grube of

Sheboygan, Wisconsin Sheboygan () is a city in and the county seat of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populatio ...

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, United States. The population was 600 at the 2010 census, and was estimated to be 724 as of 2019. The town lies between Albemarle and Richfield along U.S. 52 in the southern Piedmont regi ...

. 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 wh ...

es and type elements used to print many of the tribe papers. 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 located at the confluence of the navigable Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The Illinois River is a conduit for river barges and connects Lake Michigan at Chicago, to the Mississippi Riv ...

. 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 stage, film, radio, and television actor, often cast in tough-guy roles and best known for his Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning portrayal of Willie Stark in ''All t ...

; 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. *

Orval Faubus Orval Eugene Faubus ( ; January 7, 1910 – December 14, 1994) was an American politician who served as the 36th Governor of Arkansas from 1955 to 1967, as a member of the Democratic Party. In 1957, he refused to comply with a unanimous ...

; Six-term governor of Arkansas. *

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

; Mayor of

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

and thirty-eighth

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

. *

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

;

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winning American actor and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

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 teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The film t ...

''. *

Harry Morgan Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was an American actor and director whose television and film career spanned six decades. Morgan's major roles included Pete Porter in both ''December Bride'' (1954–1959 ...

; Actor, director, writer and narrator. *

Vincent Schaefer Vincent Joseph Schaefer (July 4, 1906 – July 25, 1993) was an American chemist and meteorologist who developed cloud seeding. On November 13, 1946, while a researcher at the General Electric Research Laboratory, Schaefer modified clouds in the B ...

; 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 that falls from clouds by dispersing substances into the air that serve as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, which alter the microphysical p ...

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