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 1^st and 2^nd grades;  Cub Scout Pack 3889 for boys in 3^rd through 5^th grades, and Venture Crew 2889 for young men and women of high school age.

CLICK HERE    to flip through our archive of photos dating back to the 1920s.